Namkoong Min takes lead role in comedy series 'One Dollar Lawyer' Actor Namkoong Min plays the role of lawyer Cheon Ji-hun in SBS' new comedy series “One Dollar Lawyer.” Courtesy of SBSBy Lee Gyu-leeActor Namkoong Min, who made his debut in 2001, had his major breakthrough with KBS' 2017 hit comedy series, “Good Manager,” which earned him the second-highest honor at the network's year-end award.About five years later, the actor has returned to comedy with SBS' new series “One Dollar Lawyer,” taking the lead role as a peculiar lawyer, Cheon Ji-hun. The new comedy series revolves around the stylish lawyer who only charges his client 1,000 won ($0.7) for his fee, despite being one of the best attorneys around. A soon-to-be graduate of the Judicial Research and Training Institute, Baek Ma-ri (Kim Ji-eun), who comes from a family with a legal background, comes to finish her training at Ji-hun's office. Joining hands, they fight against the privileged and their high-priced, fancy lawyers from getting away with crimes. The series kicked off on Friday with an 8.1 percent viewership rating, and had 8.5 percent on SaturdaySep 26, 2022By Lee Gyu-lee
Kim Sun-a returns to small screen as prosecutor in 'The Empire' Actors Kim Sun-a, left, and Ahn Jae-wook pose during an online press conference for JTBC's new series “The Empire,” Thursday. Courtesy of JTBCBy Lee Gyu-leeActress Kim Sun-a is returning to the small screen as a privileged, high-class prosecutor in JTBC's new legal crime series, “The Empire,” set to air on Saturday. Her last appearance in a TV drama was in the 2019 SBS drama series, “Secret Boutique.”“The series' script is written by actual lawyers. So when I first got the script, I found it was very realistic and had the details only people in the legal world would know. I learned that (the script) came after years of development and effort,” Kim said during an online press conference for the series, Thursday. Led by director Yoo Hyun-ki, who helmed the 2018 rom-com “Matrimonial Chaos” and the 2011 medical series “Brain,” the new series follows the scandal and dark secrets of a wealthy, privileged family with a deep law background. Kim plays the daughter of the family, Han Hye-ryool, who leads a special investigSep 23, 2022By Lee Gyu-lee
'Extraordinary Attorney Woo' actress Park to embark on Asia fan meeting tour Actress Park Eun-bin in a scene from the ENA series “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” / Courtesy of ENA By Kim Rahn The poster for actress Park Eun-bin's Asia fan meeting tour that will start in Manila, Oct. 23 / Courtesy of Namooactors Park Eun-bin, the heroin of recent drama sensation “Extraordinary Attorney Woo,” will have a fan meeting tour in four cities in Asia, her agency Namooactors Entertainment said, Thursday. The actress will hold the tour titled “Eun-bin Note: Binkan” starting from Manila on Oct. 23, which will be the first overseas fan event for Park who debuted in 1996 at the age of four as a child model.Earlier this month she had a fan meeting in Korea which was her first ever, either here or abroad. Tickets sold out immediately after reservations opened. For fans who missed out on tickets, the agency live-streamed the event.“Park will haveSep 23, 2022By Kim Rahn
Star creator Kim Eun-hee's new series to star Kim Tae-ri, Oh Jung-se Actors Kim Tae-ri, left, and Oh Jung-se will star in scriptwriter Kim Eun-hee's new series on SBS. Courtesy of Management mmm, PrainTPCBy Lee Gyu-leeFamous scriptwriter Kim Eun-hee, who is known for creating and writing Netflix series “Kingdom” and tvN series “Signal,” will be rolling out a new series, “Demon,” (literal translation) starring actors Kim Tae-ri and Oh Jung-se. The series' network, SBS, announced Wednesday that the two actors have been confirmed to play the leads in the series. The occult mystery thriller series will follow the story of a woman who is possessed by a demon and a man who chases after the truth behind deaths that are related to five sacred objects. Kim Tae-ri will play the woman, Ku San-young, who has been studying for a national exam to become a public servant for years. After she receives a belonging from her late father, she gets entangled in the mysterious deaths around her and finds herself turning into a different person. Oh will play Yeom Hae-sang, a professor of folklore who has the ability to see spirits and godSep 22, 2022By Lee Gyu-lee
Jimmy Kimmel signs 3-year extension for ABC late-night show Jimmy Kimmel appears at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards in in Los Angeles, Sept. 12. AP-YonhapJimmy Kimmel celebrated his 20th anniversary as ABC's late-night host early, signing a three-year contract extension for ``Jimmy Kimmel Live!''“After two decades at ABC, I am now looking forward to three years of what they call 'quiet quitting,'” Kimmel quipped in a statement Tuesday.His show debuted in January 2003, and the new deal means he will remain with it into the 2025-26 season ― giving him a generous window to make comedic hay out of politicians, who are favorite monologue targets, and the 2024 presidential election.Among network late-night hosts, Kimmel, CBS' Stephen Colbert and James Corden and NBC's Seth Meyers wade regularly into political humor, with Kimmel amping up the focus during the Donald Trump years inside and outside of the White House.Kimmel's decision contrasts with changes in late-night programming. Conan O'Brien wrapped his show in 2021, Corden announced that he's leaving ``The Late Late Show'' next year for other opportunities, and TBS said that ``Full FSep 21, 2022
INTERVIEW Park Hae-soo on creating his character in 'Narco-Saints,' 'Squid Game' success Park Hae-soo plays the role of Choi Chang-ho in Netflix's new crime thriller series "Narco-Saints." Courtesy of NetflixPark plays undercover NIS agent in new Netflix seriesBy Lee Gyu-leeActor Park Hae-soo, who rose to prominence in Korea through the 2017 tvN series “Prison Playbook,” found global stardom last year with his role in Netflix's biggest hit series “Squid Game.” Taking on several of the platform's original series and films since then, the actor has recently played a National Intelligence Service (NIS) agent named Choi Chang-ho, who goes undercover as a businessman in the new crime thriller series “Narco-Saints.”“When I first got the script, it felt like a movie with a long saga. I got curious how they would bring it to life, and how they would depict (the story),” Park told The Korea Times in an interview held at a cafe in central Seoul, Tuesday. “Choi is a character that can show two different sides, which drew my interest.”Park Hae-soo / Courtesy of NetflixLed by filmmaker Yoon Jong-bin, who is known for the 201Sep 21, 2022By Lee Gyu-lee
'Narco-Saints' tops weekly viewership chart for non-English series on Netflix This image provided by Netflix highlights that "Narco-Saints" placed No. 1 on Netflix's weekly top 10 chart for non-English TV shows for the week of Sept. 12-18. YonhapNetflix's new Korean series "Narco-Saints" has risen to the top of the streamer's latest weekly viewership chart for non-English TV shows in its second week.The undercover crime thriller, released on Sept. 9, marked 62.7 million hours of viewing for the week of Sept. 12-18 to lead the official top 10 list for non-English TV programs available on the service, according to Netflix on Wednesday.It gained four notches from fifth place a week earlier, ending the seven-week-long reign by the smash-hit Korean legal drama "Extraordinary Attorney Woo."The six-part series about a businessman who takes undercover missions to capture a drug kingpin in a South American country is the ninth Korean-language show that has topped the weekly chart for the category, including the global sensation "Squid Game" (2021) and "All of Us Are Dead" (2022).The series made the top 10 on the most-watched non-English TV show table in 82 countries ovSep 21, 2022
Park Min-young to offer another rom-com with 'Love in Contract' From left, actor Go Kyung-pyo, director Nam Sung-woo, actors Park Min-young and Kim Jae-young pose during an online press conference of tvN's new series, “Love in Contract,” Monday. Courtesy of tvNNew tvN series to show love triangle between contract marriage master, clientsBy Lee Gyu-lee Actress Park Min-young is set to present her second romantic comedy series this year since “Forecasting Love and Weather” in February, taking the lead in tvN's new series, “Love in Contract.”“My previous series, 'Forecasting Love and Weather,' was a workplace genre so I had very long lines and was under stress. That's when I came across this series' script and felt, 'I want to have fun and just enjoy filming.' I'm happy to be back on the set with such an environment,” the actress said during an online press conference for the series, Monday. “The concept (of the series) was really unique and I kept thinking about (the character) even when I was reviewing other projects. So I took it, feeling, 'I need to do this. It's mine,'” she said.Led bySep 20, 2022By Lee Gyu-lee
Lee Jong-suk, Lim Yoon-a attract viewers with thriller series 'Big Mouth' Actor Lee Jong-suk plays lawyer Park Chang-ho in MBC's crime thriller series “Big Mouth,” which ended Saturday. Courtesy of MBCBy Lee Gyu-leeActor Lee Jong-suk has made a successful return to the small screen after over three years with the MBC crime thriller series “Big Mouth,” teaming up with actress Lim Yoon-a and reuniting with director Oh Choong-hwan, who directed him in the 2017 romance series "While You Were Sleeping." The 16-part series, which ended Saturday, follows struggling lawyer Park Chang-ho (Lee), who has a 10 percent win rate for cases. Known for his nickname “Big Mouth,” he gets caught up in a murder case and mistaken for a notorious mastermind and con artist known as Big Mouse. Caught in a dark, corrupt world, he tries to reveal the truth behind a huge conspiracy to save his family and his wife, Go Mi-ho (Lim).The series, which kicked off on July 29 with a 6.2 percent viewership rating, garnered popularity soon after its premiere with unexpected twists and the mystery of who Big Mouse really is. The ratings soon climbed, peaking Sep 19, 2022By Lee Gyu-lee
Emmy-winning Lee Jung-jae returns home to hero's welcome Actor Lee Jung-jae, who won the Best Actor Award at the 74th Emmy Awards for the Netflix Korean series 'Squid Game', is greeted by fans as he returns to Incheon International Airport Terminal 2, Sunday. YonhapWith the shining Emmy statuette in hand, "Squid Game" star Lee Jung-jae received a hero's welcome home Sunday.Lee arrived at Incheon International Airport with dozens of fans celebrating his historic honor at America's most prestigious awards for TV programming.At the 74th edition of the Primetime Emmy Awards held Monday, Lee won outstanding lead actor in a drama series for his performance in the global phenomenon "Squid Game," becoming the first non-English-speaking actor winning the category.Lee's Emmy victory was widely predicted, as he has won best actor prizes at major award shows, including the Critics Choice Awards and the Screen Actors Guild Awards."I had talks with many people and discussed ways to help Korean content gain access to global viewers," he told reporters. "I will do my best to promote Korean content and join overseas productions to make quality content."AftSep 18, 2022
