IU♥ Byun Woo Seok, Ji Sung, Shin Ha Kyun, Yoo Yeon Seok.."2026 MBC Acting Awards" is already fierce. [★FOCUS]

*This content was translated by AI.

MBC dramas only performed poorly overall in 2025. Undercover High School, where the grand prize winner Seo Kang-joon was the main character, had a highest viewership of 8.3% and the highest viewership of "Moon Flows on the River" with 6.8%, which won the most awards with six awards, left a not bad record in the current viewing environment, but none of the works made a big hit. This year's MBC drama did not exceed 10 percent of viewership.(hereinafter referred to as Nielsen Korea nationwide)

Even "Bani and Brothers" was virtually humiliated with a viewership of up to 1.5% and "Let's Go to the Moon" of up to 2.8%. In fact, the "2025 MBC Acting Awards" was a bit boring. However, in 2026, MBC will present a passionate and hot drama lineup. It is a combination of "not delicious" (which cannot be delicious) from the cast.

At the "2025 MBC Acting Awards," which was held on December 30, the main characters of MBC dramas to be aired in 2026 appeared as presenters. Lee Sung-kyung, Chae Jong-hyeop, IU, Byun Woo-seok, Shin Ha-kyun, and Heo Sung-tae appeared as presenters, raising expectations for viewers.

The opening of the MBC drama in 2026 will be held by "Judge Lee Han-young" (directed by Lee Jae-jin, Park Mi-yeon, and scripted by Kim Kwang-min), starring Ji-sung and Park Hee-soon. Judge Lee Han-young, which will premiere on January 2, is a return-to-justice drama in which Lee Han-young (Jisung), a deep-rooted judge who lived as a slave of a giant law firm and returned to 10 years ago, is a new choice and confronts the great evil symbolized by Kang Shin-jin (Park Hee-soon). Ji-sung and Park Hee-soon's acting skills show is expected, and it is based on Lee Hae-nal's popular web novel.

The next batter is "In Your Brilliant Season" (directed by Jung Sang-hee, Kim Young-jae, and scripted by Cho Sung-hee). It is an unpredictable romance in which "Chan" (played by Chae Jong-hyeop), a man who lives every day like an exciting summer vacation, and "Ran" (Lee Sung-kyung), a woman who locked herself in winter, meet like fate and wake up the frozen time.

IU and Byun Woo-seok's "21st Century Grand Prince Wife" (directed by Park Joon-hwa, Bae Hee-young, and scripted by Yoo Ah-in) erupted in cheers as soon as the first teaser was released at the "2025 MBC Acting Awards." The 21st century constitutional monarchy, set in Korea, is a romance of Sung Hee-joo (IU), a chaebol with everything but annoying because she is a commoner, and Ian Dae-gun (Byeon Woo-seok), a son of a king, but sad because he can't have anything. In addition to the meeting between IU and Byun Woo-seok, Park Joon-hwa of "Wedding" and "What's Wrong with Secretary Kim" directed the work, which received overwhelming support in the MBC drama script contest, and is considered the best anticipated work of 2026.

Shin Ha-gyun, Oh Jung-se, and Heo Sung-tae will work together to present salty action and comedy. "Fifies Professional" (directed by Han Dong-hwa, scripted by Jang Won-seop) is a story in which three men who look normal but fly a little bit are moved again by fate, and it is a salty action comedy of real professionals who have run 50% of their lives, even though they may have been run over by the world and their bodies are rusty. Director Han Dong-hwa, who directed "Bad Guys 2," "38th Fraud Band," "Navillera" and "Criminal Records," will direct.

Gong Hyo-jin's work transformed into a "working mom" also attracts attention. "The Killer of a Married Woman" (directed by Jongho Yoon, scripted by Kim Eun-hee), which will be introduced in the second half of the year, depicts the struggling work and life balance of a working mother with the most cutthroat job in the world. Yeoho-na (played by Gong Hyo-jin), a five-year-old housewife with a husband and four-year-old daughter and a killer of heinous criminals, returns to work after three years of parental leave and is in trouble with her familyIt is a life-oriented action drama that goes back and forth between difficult daily life and dangerous jobs. Jung Joon-won, who plays a husband who wants to reveal the secret of his killer wife, also adds strength. It is a work that has attracted attention for the dramatization of Super IP, which became a mega-hit with webtoons, and director Jongho Yoon of "Bounce With Sunjae" takes the megaphone.

"Liar" (directed by Cho Young-min, scripted by Baek Jae-young), in which Yoo Yeon-seok and Seo Hyun-jin reunited following "Dr. Romantic Doctor Kim Sa-bu," is a psychological thriller in which two men and women who make opposite claims over one memory clash fiercely toward the truth. Director Cho Young-min, who showed delicate directing skills with "Eunjung and Performance," will direct and make a fierce psychological drama into a well-made work.

The combination of Han Hyo-joo and Gong Myung is also unique. "Your Ground" (directed by Lee Sang-yeop, scripted by Hwang Hae-yeon) is a youth romance in which a baseball player (played by Gong Myung) who has stopped due to a single setback meets a lawyer-turned-agent (played by Han Hyo-joo) and resumes his journey to return to the ground. Lee Sang-yeop, the director of the "Yumi's Cells" series, will direct.

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*This content was translated by AI.