22 Anticipated Dramas for 2022
Last year I made a list of the dramas that I was excited for this year, and while a lot of that list didn’t end up airing because of various reasons, it was still fun to take some time to dive into the dramas that are expected to air for this coming year. I narrowed the dramas down to 22 picks. A lot have very little information on them, and I’m expecting like last year a lot will be pushed - in fact, some of the dramas on this list are from last year. While I tried to vary my picks, kdramas are really the only dramas that have the most information on what’s coming for the new year, and thus make up the majority of my list.
-All of Us Are Dead (Netflix: January)
horror/youth/sci-fi
High school students trapped in their school during a zombie outbreak. What more to love. No official date, but it is in Netflix’s coming soon section and by all accounts should start in January. King2Hearts director Lee Jae Gyoo and screenwriter Chung Sung Il (recently LUCA: The Beginning) are attached to the drama.
-Connect
mystery/horror
More of a hope that it will be out this year, than an actual knowledge, Connect will be the first kdrama Japanese director Takashi Miike (Audition) will work on. It's about a story of a man who has a part of his body stolen by organ hunters and becomes connected with the person who receives it. Jung Hae In and Go Kyung Pyo have been cast, and if I had to guess this might be making it’s way to Netflix (both were in the recent Netflix production, D.P.).
-Deep
horror/mystery/action
There’s is very little known about this but it is adapted from the webtoon by Towoo and Kim Tae Heon of the same name and follows the story that takes place when a long-lost family returns.
-Goosebumps (Daum Kakao TV)
thriller/horror
The drama will contain short stories of the horrors that are often encountered in everyday life and props. Minho from SHINee will be starring.
-Grid (Disney+)
thriller/sci-fi
Starring Seo Kang Joon and Kim Ah Joong, as well as a slew of other notable names, Grid will be Disney+'s next kdrama after Snowdrop. It follows a mysterious entity who saved humankindi n the past, but has reappeared to help a serial killer escape. This was Kang Joon’s last drama before enlisting. Lee Soo Yeon is the screenwriter and has worked on Stranger and Life, and I have hopes that this is going to be a good one.
-Heaven and Hell: Two Psychos
thriller/mystery/comedy
A remake of a Japanese drama that aired the beginning of 2021, the drama is the story when the souls of a detective and a murder suspect swap. No cast has confirmed nor production team - really stretching on picking this one - but I think it might have a chance to be a lot of fun.
-Island (tvN)
action/thriller/horror
A drama that was scheduled last year, but because of delays and casting changes it was pushed to this year. Filming has already started with Kim Nam Gil and Lee Da Hee as leads. It was slated as a ten episode two season drama, but it might drop all at once because of delays. Island follows Mi Ho who's father assigns her to work at high school in Jeju, where evil roams free.
-Minamdang: Case Note (KBS2: May)
mystery/comedy
Another comedy. I know, who am I? I don't know, this one just looks interesting, Go Jae Hyun is the director, and I really like his previous works. It's about a profiler (played by Seo In Guk) and a suspicious cafe.
-Monstrous (tvN)
thriller/horror/supernatural
The drama follows and archaeologist (Kyo Hwan) who searches supernatural phenomena for a magazine and YouTube channel. I know I’ve said this in the past, but this one sounds like an episode of The X-Files and I am very much here for it. The cast looks great with Koo Kyo Hwan, Shin Hyun Bin, Kwak Dong Yeon, and Nam Da Reum.
-Shoutai (WOWOW: Mar 12)
thriller/mystery
The first jdrama on the list. The drama follow Keiichi (Kamenashi Kazuya) who is arrested as a suspect in a murder case but escapes.
-Snow White Must Die
mystery/drama
Two detectives go in search of mysterious incidents that happen in a village.
-Somebody (Netflix)
thriller/mystery
Somebody focuses on a social media app that leads to murder. Kim Young Kwan stars.
-Superior Day (OCN)
thriller
Despite not much a summary, the drama seems perfect for me. It follows a guy who finds out his neighbor is a serial killer. Lee Won Keun is rumored to be playing the serial killer and I just can't wait. The director is the same from Tale of the Nine-Tailed.
-The Journalist (Netflix, Jan 13)
thriller/drama
One of the jdramas that will be airing on Netflix, The Journalist is about a journalist (Yonekura Ryoko) who pursues the truth about a government corruption scandal. One of the screenwriters, Yamada Yoshitatsu, worked previously on Million Yen Women.
-The Mansion
thriller/mystery
Ji Na (Im Ji Yeon) is on a search to find her missing sister. Residents at an apartment building may know the answer.
-The Murder’s Shopping List (tvN)
thriller/mystery
Lee Kwang Soo plays a supermarket cashier who observes things that happen in his neighborhood.
-The Police Station Next to Fire Station (thriller)
drama
The drama follows a joint operation between a fire department and police force. The drama kind of sounds like one you’d find on NBC, like Station 19.
-The Youngest Son of a Conglomerate (jTBC)
thriller/fantasy
The plot for this sounds incredible. After an employee is framed for embezzlement and murdered, he is reborn as their son to seek revenge. It's directed by W/I'm Not a Robot director Jeon Dae Yun and stars Song Joong Ki.
-Thirty-Nine (jTBC: February)
drama
The only non-thriller on the list, Thirty-Nine is about three friends who met in high school and are now in their late thirties. I love a good female friendship story and with Son Ye Jin, Jeon Mi Do, and Kim Ji Hyun this can only be great.
-Through the Darkness (Jan 14)
thriller/crime
Starring Kim Nam Gil and Kim So Jin the drama is about criminal profilers, which is an automatic add for Jessie.
-Urban Myths: Tooth Worms (Netflix)
thriller/horror
The second season of the short horror anthology Goedam that aired in 2020, this has already been to a film festival so it has to show up this year. This time the cast features mostly idols.
-When the Day Breaks (jTBC: February)
mystery/crime/drama
After a body is found in a suitcase, a former forensic pathologist is suspected of the murder. The drama is an adaption of a Chinese book The Long Night by Zi Jin Chen which is also 2020 cdrama. The cast looks great including Han Seok Kyu and Jung Yu Mi and Hye Ran.
What are you looking forward to this coming year in dramaland? Let me know!
Last year’s list can be found here.
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