2022 January Premieres

January is going to be slow, and I am more than ok with that. I spent the final couple weeks of 2021 finishing up a slew of dramas and it will be nice to take a breather and maybe watch some older dramas and movies. I do suspect there will be more dramas and movies announced towards the middle of the month.

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-Korean drama The Ghost Doctor starring Rain, Uee, and Kim Bum premieres on the 3rd. The drama follows a surgeon whose spirit possesses another doctor’s body. Viki will be subbing it.

-Korean movie The Policeman’s Lineage will be released on the 5th. Starring Jo Jin Woong and Choi Woo Shik, it follows the two as cops that take on a case that uncovers police corruption.

-Chinese horror film Someone in the Room premiers in theaters on the 7th about a woman who is assaulted while home alone.

-Also on the 7th is the MBC kdrama Tracer. A mystery drama starring Im Si Wan, a chief of taxation who gets entangled with a coworker’s corruption. It’ll be airing on the streaming platform Wavve and MBC, so maybe it’ll show up on Kocowa?

-Rounding out the 7th is the Japanese live-action movie based on the manga of the same name, Bungo Stray Dogs: Beast. A man vows revenge in order to rescue his sister.

-WOWOW premieres the Japanese miniseries, Dakara Korosenakatta on the 9th. After a reporter (Tamaki Hiroshi) is given a note by a murderer he must try to stop more deaths through articles.

-On the 10th is TV Tokyo’s Kon Katsu Tantei. A mystery/comedy about a detective who is not good with women.

-Korean action movie Special Cargo, starring Park So Dam will be in theaters starting on the 12th and folloes So Dam’s character as a driver who is tasked to deliver a child.

-Netflix’s next airing jdrama, The Journalist will start on the 13th. The thriller is about a journalist who investigates government corruption. Yonekura Ryoko stars.

-Probably one of my most anticipated dramas of the month, the SBS kdrama Through the Darkness begins on the 14th. Set in the ’90’s it follows a serial killer and the police trying to stop him.

-DCU is a jdrama about a group of divers created by the Coast Guard who find evidence of crime and murders. It starts on the 16th on TBS.

-Starring an amazing cast that includes Song Kang Ho, Lee Byung Hun, and Jeon Do Yeon to name a few, the action thriller Emergency Declaration premieres on the 22nd about a detective who receives word of a terrorist attack on an airplane. It looks like Viki may have picked it up - under rental I’m sure.

-Finally dropping on Netflix is the zombie drama All of Us Are Dead following high school students stuck in their school during an outbreak. It’ll be released on the 28th (I’m assuming it’ll drop all at once).

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December Premieres

A good amount of dramas premiered last month that are still airing and several projects got pushed to next year, but there’s still a good variety of dramas and movies coming out this month that I’m personally excited for.

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-The 2015 action comedy film Veteran is coming to Netflix on the 1st about a detective (Hwang Jung Min) who pursues a man on the run (Yoo Ah In). It did really well when it was released in theaters, it's the 5th all-time highest grossing film in history.

-Thai horror movie The Whole Truth will be available on the 2nd on Netflix. It is directed by Sid Wisit Sasanatieng who wrote the thriller Deep (also on Netflix). The movie follows two siblings who find a strange hole in the wall at their grandparent’s house.

-Thai drama 55:15 Never Too Late premieres on the 6th. The fantasy drama is about second chances, following five high school friends. It should be available subbed on GMMTV.

-Psychological thriller kdrama Artificial City premieres on the 8th from the Mystic Pop Up Bar director Jun Chang Geun. The drama looks like more of a makjang, and is about power struggle and greed of the wealth.

-Indian crime series Aranyak drops on Netflix on the 10th about two cops trying to figure out a puzzling murder.

-Netfix will drop the Vietnamese horror film The Guardian (Thien Than Ho Menh) on the 16th about a backup singer who is pushed to the front due to the sudden death of a pop star. The movie was released in theaters earlier this year.

-Amazon Prime jdrama No Activity: Honjitsu mo Ijou Nashi premiers (potentially drops all of its episodes?) on the 17th. It follows a former detective who joins up with a rookie to work an undercover drug case. No word if it will be accessible internationally on the platform, but if I had to guess: no.

-Starring Lee Dong Wook and Wi Ha Joon, the Korean drama Bad and Crazy premieres on iQIYI also on the 17th. It is about a superhero who decides to become a champion for justice against police corruption. The Uncanny Counter director/screenwriter team is working on it.

-Bulgasal: Immortal Souls will begin airing on Netflix on the 18th. The fantasy kdrama revolves around two characters, one a woman who remembers her past lives and keeps reincarnating and a man who used to be human. The screenwriters for The Guest (Seo Jae Won and Kwon So Ra) will be writing for the drama.

-While the upcoming kdrama Snowdrop is not a horror, thriller, or fantasy, it is worth mentioning on this list. The drama is set in 1987 and adapted from notes from a man who escaped a political prison camp in North Korea. It’ll kick off Disney Plus’s Asian content as the service’s first kdrama on the 18th.

-And finally as a Christmas Eve gift Netflix drops the long-awaited sci-fi/thriller, The Silent Sea about a team traveling to the moon who uncover a mystery at an abandoned space station. The drama stars the best of the best in Korean actors and I have been literally waiting years for this one.

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November Premieres

It feels like so long since I’ve just done a regular post that’s not a review! November has a lot of dramas premiering, and a lot that I’m personally excited for. It’s going to be a heavy watching month for me, especially with some other dramas that premiered during October.

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-The supernatural romance Thai drama Prajan See Daeng will be out today, the 1st, about a boy born cursed to turn into a tiger-man during the red moon, and his journey to try to find the only way he can break the curse.

-Not a new movie, but the 2020 Korean horror The Closet will be available on Shudder today. The film follows a widower who enlists the help of an exorcist to help him find his daughter after she goes missing.

-On the 3rd the cdrama Wisher premieres on iQIYI. The sci-fi thriller tells the story of a mysterious organization that creates an app that allows users to make a wish - if they do the assigned task. It is part of iQIYI’s Light On Series, iQIYI produced dramas that are in the suspense genre.

-Also coming out on the 3rd in celebration of Apple TV+ being available in South Korea is the sci-fi thriller Dr. Brain - the first original Korean drama on the platform. It’s director/writer is Kim Jee Woon, known for being the director of the movie I Saw the Devil. I have high hopes for this one.

-While Dead and Beautiful may not be a by-the-book definition of an Asian horror film, it does follow an almost entirely Asian cast and is partially set in Taipei. A group of friends bored with their socialite lives go out for the night…and end up vampires. It’s been making the rounds at film festivals but will be streaming on Shudder starting on the 4th.

-Another older movie, the 2014 Japanese movie The World of Kanako will drop on Shudder on the 5th. The movie follows a former detective who uncovers a secret about his teenage daughter.

-Kdrama Happiness begins on the 5th about a deadly virus that spreads throughout a city, and the apartment building that has been sealed off from it. It looks super interesting, and the team behind it is really good.

-The webdrama Find Me if You Can will premiere on the 9th about a four-way love…square? And a stalker who is obsessed with the main female lead. The drama will star almost the entirety of the kpop group ASTRO.

-Korean horror drama Hellbound drops all of its episodes on Netflix on the 19th. The drama is about people being able to hear predictions on how they’ll die and are able to see the death angel in front of them. Director/writer Yeon Sang Ho is known for Train to Busan. This is one of my top dramas this month.

-Taiwanese drama Light the Night will be streaming part one on Netflix on the 26th. Set in 1988 Taipei Red Light District about the lives, love, and struggles of the club madam, and their hostess ladies.

-On the 27th the kdrama One Ordinary Day premieres. The drama is about the murder of a woman, and the person in jail who might not be the culprit. It is a remake of the BBC series Criminal Justice.

No Date:

-There hasn’t been much movement or information on the kdrama Goosebumps after some casting news, so there might be a good chance this one won’t be out this month. It’s directed by Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum director Jung Bum Shik so I’m interested and hopeful it’ll appear.

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October Premieres

October seems like a fairly quiet month in comparison to previous months, which is a good thing so we can all focus on rewatching all of our Halloween favorites and just generally catch up on things. I personally have a lot of things going on in October, and while I will still be watching a lot I won’t be able to get to many new things. However, there is some great content heading to Shudder this month that I’m super excited for.

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TBA/No Date:

-The kdrama Crime Puzzle follows a criminal psychologist who is sent to prison for murdering a political candidate, who is met with a former lover who is a criminal profiler trying to figure out a murder that occurred at the prison he is in.

-Some of the Drama Special Season 12: TV Cinema will be premiering this month. Here is this list of the darker drama offerings for October:

• F20: A psychological thriller about two mothers, one whose son has schizophrenia.

• Landscape of Pain: A thriller that tells the story of three people who are caught up in a bizarre murder case.

Confirmed:

- On the 3rd the jdrama Solomon no Gisho premieres, an adaption of the 2016 Korean drama Solomon’s Perjury and previous Japanese movies from the same source.

-Remember You is a Thai drama remake of the kdrama Hello Monster that premiered back in August, but Netflix will be dropping the subbed episodes on the 5th.

-The Labyrinth finally has an official premiere date on the 6th.

-While V/H/S/94 is not necessarily an Asian horror film, it does feature Indonesian director, Timo Tjahjanto. It’ll be available for streaming on Shudder on the 6th.

-Based on a true story about an incident that happened to a band that went on a trip to Chuncheon, Fearsome premieres in Korean theaters Oct 7th. The teaser looks interesting and has a pretty good cast lineup.

-Taiwanese drama Danger Zone S2 will be airing starting on the 8th following the previous season. iQiyi had the English subs for season one, so I assume it’ll also sub this season.

-The Taiwanese movie, Detention, will be hitting select US theaters on the 8th. The 2019 horror film is based on the horror game with the same name. Set in 1962 during Taiwan's White Terror period the movie is about two students trapped in a high school. There is also a Netflix limited series that is also based on the game that was released end of last year.

-The Medium will be available on Shudder for streaming on the 14th. I’ve talked about this one before, and am super excited for it. I’m glad that Shudder was able to get rights.

-Rasen no Meikyu: DNA Kagaku Sosa follows Detective Genji Ando (Yasuda Ken) who’s wife has been killed by a serial killer, and the DNA expert that he reaches out to help with the investigation. The jdrama starts on the 15th.

-Also on the 15th, Netflix will drop all the episodes of a kdrama I’m personally excited for, My Name, starring Han So Hee who plays Ji Woo, a member of a crime ring who goes undercover as a police officer.

-The Japanese remake of the 1997 Canadian film by the same name, Cube, will premier on the 22nd. 6 people are locked in a mysterious cube-shaped room, if they don’t decipher the code they won’t get out of the cube. No word on International release yet, but I assume this is one of the films that will get one sooner than later.

-Jirisan/Cliffhanger, one of the most anticipated kdramas of the year is finally coming out this month. Starring Jun Ji Hyun and Joo Ji Hoon and written by Kingdom screenwriter, Kim Eun Hee, the action/thriller follows the mystery surrounding the mountain and the rangers trying to rescue the survivors and lost trekkers. It’ll be available Internationally on iQiyi on the 23rd.

-Rounding out the month on the 30th is the OCN drama, Chimera. A present-day case leads to evidence being uncovered that relates to a series of murders from 1984.

Want some more new dramas and movies to watch? Check out what happened in September.

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September Premieres

I don’t how we are already in September, but here we are. Not everything on this list is guaranteed for International access There are also some dramas that are scheduled to premiere this month that I left off the list as they had very little information attached to them, and without fail more will be added later on. Hopefully, some of the ones that haven’t been picked up on major streaming platforms will end up showing up somewhere closer to the date they premiere. There’s only a handful of dramas that I’m personally really interested in - Hometown and Squid Game - but there are several that I might also add to my watch list for the month.

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-Danger Zone S1 will air every Friday starting September 3rd. The Taiwanese drama is about a serial murder case where the police and criminals were forced to work together to solve the case. English subs can be found on iQiyi.

-The Korean suspense-mystery drama, High Class, will premiere on September 6th. The drama follows the lives of the women who live in the top 0.1% of society. While the story does not seem like a drama that I would be into I love the posters they’ve been putting out.

-Show Me the Ghost the "self-exorcism comedy" movie will have its theatrical premiere on September 9th. Written and directed by Kim Eun Kyung (Death Bell) the comedy-horror follows best friends Hodu and Yeji who rent a haunted house.

-Also on the 9th is the cdrama Double Tap. Based on a real life incident around two people who work together to investigate a murder case from thirty years prior. It is produced by Tencent, so there is a possibility this will show up subbed on their platform/YouTube channel.

-While Kate isn’t an Asian release, the thriller does star notable Japanese musicians MIYAVI and BAND MAID. It’ll be released on Netflix on September 10th.

-On the Line (Korea) is the story about a man who loses everything to a voice phishing scheme, and his pursuit to take it down. It’ll premiere on the 15th in local theaters.

-Thriller series, Squid Game, will drop all of its episodes on September 17th on Netflix. Players of a mysterious survival game compete for the grand prize. Think Battle Royale or Alice In Borderland style.

-Also premiering on the 17th is the kdrama The Veil. Han Ji Hyuk (Namgoong Min) is a top agent in the NIS who uncovers a bigger threat as he tries to uncover the internal traitor that brought his downfall. No official word on who’s picked this up for North American English sub, but as it is a MBC drama I suspect it’ll show up on Kocowa and Viki.

-Another premiering on the 17th, the Japanese drama Shinigami San will air weekly. Gido Kennin (Tanaka Kei) is a detective in a mysterious division at the Tokyo Metro Police department who re-investigates cases that received not guilty verdicts.

-And finally on the 17th is the jdrama Bokura ga Koroshita, Saiai no Kimi. The thriller is about former classmates who reunite but find themselves locked in a building, leading to uncovered secrets and deaths.

-One of my top picks this month, the kdrama Hometown premieres on tvN on September 22nd. Set in a small town in 1999, it’s about an unsolved murder case where the one of the only clues is a tape containing a recording of the murderer and a bizarre sound.

-Thai drama, Bangkok Breaking, premiers on Netflix on the 23rd. It centers around Bangkok's road rescue services when a new employee uncovers a city-wide conspiracy. This looks to be airing on the Netflix, but the series is only six episodes long.

-The Japanese comedy-horror movie Yellow Dragon's Village will be making its International premiere at the Fantastic Festival 2021.

-Beyond the Inifinite 2 will also be making a US premiere at the festival as well.

Undated

-The Labyrinth is a Korean fantasy-horror about high school students trying to save their friends from evil spirits and is set to premiere sometime this month. Starring Chani (from the kpop group SF9), the fantasy horror is about high school students trying to save their friends from evil spirits at their school.

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Asian Crime, Thriller, Horror Premieres: August '21

Remember when I tried to do those individual posts on premiere days for dramas and movies? I liked them, but I didn’t really like keeping up with them. I had been incorporating them into my Random Asian News posts, but I thought that it really needed its own dedicated spot and so from now on I’ll try to do a monthly roundup of premieres. Not everything listed is something I’m interested in, nor will it be something that is accessible to everyone, but I still wanted to highlight some of the dramas and movies to look out for.

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-The tvN kdrama The Road: Tragedy of One starring Jin Jin Hee, Yoon Se Ah, and Kim Hye Eun premieres August 4th. Adapted from the novel One Tragedy by Norizuki Rintaro it tells the story of the rich residents who live at Royal the Hill. Jin Jin Hee plays an investigator out to find the truth and secrets revolving the residents. It looks like VIKI has picked it up.

-August 9th is the premiere for the KBS kdrama, Police Academy. Labeled as a ‘coming-of-age comedy melodrama’, the drama is about a student and teacher (Kang Sun Ho and Yoo Dong Man) who meet in the Police University and join forces to investigate a case. It’ll be available on Kocowa and VIKI.

-The 2019 Japanese horror film, Howling Village, will make its North American release on Friday, August the 13th in select theaters and will be available on VOD August 17. Written and directed by Takashi Shimizu (Ju-On), it is the story of Kanadae, a psychologist whose brother goes missing and has to visit his last known location, the haunted site Howling Village to try to find him.

-The Japanese film, Welcome to Toei Slaughterhouse, premieres August 13th. This one is honestly a little harder to find information for, and will most likely be harder to find for the international audience but wanted to add it to the list in case it becomes available.

“The film follows Saki (Momotsuki), Mei (Kudo), and Kaho (Teramoto), the members of the budding idol group called Wish as they are set to appear in the sequel of Toei's hit movie, Yugami. Toei Movie Studios is a place where a lot of popular movies and dramas are filmed, but this studio also has an untold secret.” - source

-Remember You, the Thai remake of the Korean drama Hello Monster will premiere August 16th. It’s currently scheduled to air on Netflix Thailand, and then make its way internationally on the 1st of November.

-The Korean film Hostage: Missing Celebrity will be in Korean theaters August 18. The action-thriller is about the kidnapping of a top film star (Hwang Jung Min) and his attempts at escape. It was scheduled to be released in 2020, but was postponed because of COVID. It is based on the 2015 Chinese film, Saving Mr. Wu.

-Guimoon: The Lightless Door will make it’s theatrical premiere on the 18th. The Korean horror is the first Korean film to be simultaneously created in three different versions: 2D, Screen X, and 4DX. In 1990 a janitor at a training facility murders guests and commits suicide. Since the event, there have been strange occurances at the training facility which led to it being closed down. A psychic (Kim Kang Woo) goes to the center to look for answers.

-Mikkoku wa Utau, is a Japanese drama produced by WOWOW. Masaki Sara (Masahiro Matsuoka) is a detective whose colleague dies during an investigation. After he transfers to a new department h receives a mysterious letter that could help him solve the case of his dead colleague. It will premiere August 22nd.

-The Korean drama D.P. follows the private soldier Jun Ho (Jung Hae In) who becomes a member of the military defector arrest team. It premieres on August 27th on Netflix. It looks like all 6 episodes will drop at the same time.

-I’m Watching You is a Korean drama produced by TVING and follows a crime through the eyes of CCTV. No date besides a reports that it’ll air someime this month.

-The Hong Kong drama produced by ViuTV, Sometimes When We Touch, stars Kent Tsai, a college student who is a fan of the supernatural when an attempt at trying to get his crush to join a club gets out of hand. Think more teen romcom than scary. All the promo I could find on this one says that it’ll be out on the 7th, but MyDramaList has it as a question mark with their airing calendar says it has already started.

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Premiere: Taxi driver

There aren’t as many dramas coming out this month that I’m interested in (thankfully - I can’t do these massive dumps of dramas that I want to watch at once), but there are a few that look like they are going to be cool or at least look good enough to check out the first few episodes.

Taxi Driver is the first one.

Taxi Driver is also one of the dramas I listed in my 21 Anticipated Kdramas list. It was the first horror that I spotted that looked like it would be fairly dark and gritty, it stars Lee Je Hoon who I happen to love, and Esom who I also love. It just seems like a very me drama. You can look at more information for the drama here, but the drama’s premise is pretty simple: Kim Do Gi (Lee Je Hoon) is a taxi driver who takes revenge on behalf of victims who are unable to get justice.

It is based on a webtoon, and I have yet to read it nor do I know if there are any changes between the two. It’ll be interesting to see. I always say I will watch the webtoons, but I have yet to read Sweet Home yet so I’m not promising anything.

I’ve talked about not being able to keep up with airing dramas and I’m finding it hard to concentrate on watching dramas these days, so I don’t know that I’m going to keep it up for the run of the show. I will, at the very least, be checking out the first two episodes to see what it’s all about and get a sense. Never say never, but if you don’t hear me talking about it I probably didn’t drop it - I’ve just muted everything to hopefully not spoil myself until I get around to watching it.

Taxi Driver will air on Fridays and Saturdays on SBS. Currently, Kocowa and Viki will be subbing it in North America.

Let me know in the comments if you’ll be watching it!

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Premiere: Joseon Exorcist

Today the everybody-is-calling-it-a-zombie-drama-despite-there-being-no-zombies (zombies gotta be dead, kids) SBS sageuk, Joseon Exorcist, premiered.

Viki is subbing it (0% at 1:30), so hopefully it’ll be up soon…ish. I just got my first round of the vaccine and have some things to do later so I doubt I’ll be able to get to this one till at least tomorrow, probably more like end of week.

You know me, I’ll eventually get to any horror stuff, but generally don’t focus on sageuks so we’ll see if this sticks. I also still have a lot of leftover from last month/earlier this month so time is limited.

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Premiere: Mouse

Today the crime/thriller drama from tvN, Mouse, premiers!

I don’t know much about the drama purposefully to avoid any unintentional spoilers, but psychopaths? Serial killers? I’m so, so very into it. And it stars Lee Seung Gi! (Rest of the cast can be found here.) The previews have been creepy with that little kid, and even the press conference has got me excited:

Through their press conference today, tvN #Mouse says that the first ep is rated 19+ as there will be scene that might have disturbing parts to be as real as possible and to show the psychopath's true nature.

It's premiering tonight! https://t.co/qnbsxnb3Y6 #KoreanUpdates RZ pic.twitter.com/IYffLZT3o5

— KoreanUpdates! (@KoreanUpdates) March 3, 2021

Mouse airs Wednesdays and Thursdays and it’s going to be a long one (20 episodes). Viki has it in their coming soon section, so hopefully it shows up subbed soon (it’s at 0% as off posting this and I’m dying).

Who’s also excited?

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Premiere: Sisyphus the Myth

*Yes I did post this earlier and am reposting now. Listen. I did that thing where it was 10 at night and thought that the post needed to go up and forgot to check if the dates had changed even though I knew that it probably would as I was in the middle of prepping for a Certified Noona’s episode about a HOLIDAY THAT I KNEW WOULD EFFECT THINGS. I’m stupid. But the drama does start today. Promise.

I usually tend to not look too much into dramas that are about to air. Partly because one of my magic tricks is that I can generally figure out if something is for me or not pretty easily and without much information (don’t try to question it, I have almost a perfect record with this), and I really hate spoilers for dramas that the spoilers are what make the drama exciting. Considering the types of dramas that fall into that category are my main genres, I just make it a habit to focus on avoiding things that could potentially be spoilers to save my viewing of it when it does come out.

I have no clue what Sisyphus is about. I know some things, but it kind of doesn’t make sense even knowing it.

What I do know is that it’s looking like it might end up being one of the top dramas this year with some great actors on board (Jo Seung Woo and Park Shin Hye). And a trifecta of my top genres. Sci-Fi. Fantasy. Mystery. It’s one of those instances that I don’t need to know if I should watch the first episodes are not, it’s that I will be even knowing nothing.

Sisyphus airs on JTBC Wednesdays and Thursdays and subs can be found on Netflix here.

Jo Seung Woo and Park Shin Hye aren’t the only top actors on the list. Find the rest of the cast here.

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