News bites: January 2, 2024

With the new year upon us, MBC’s Knight Flower will soon be taking us to Joseon days and the latest poster has our masked heroine Honey Lee (One the Woman) stumbling into leading man Lee Jong-won (The Golden Spoon). Premiering next week on January 12, the comedy-sageuk also stars Kim Sang-joong (The Banker) and Lee Ki-woo (Miraculous Brothers). [MBC]

LG’s U+ Mobile TV dropped the first poster for Branding in Sungsoo-dong, showcasing our body-swapped leads Kim Ji-eun (Longing for You) and Park Solomon (a.k.a. Lomon) (Revenge of Others). Directed by PD Jung Heon-soo (Twelve Nights) with Choi Sun-mi and Jeon Sun-young writing, the office romance will be fluttering our hearts starting February 5. [MBC]

Park Shin-hye (Sisyphus) and Kim Jae-young (Love in Contract) have confirmed casting for SBS’s new crime fantasy The Judge From Hell, which is currently being planned to broadcast this year. Production for the series has filmmaker Park Jin-pyo (Brave Citizen, Love Forecast) at the helm with scripts by Jo Yi-soo. [Sports Donga]
In the meantime, SBS is also preparing for the continuation of 7 Escape: War for Survival, which has our titular seven characters Reborn in the second season’s new title. As seen in the recent special teaser, the makjang games have only just begun, bringing back our ensemble cast with Eom Ki-joon (Little Women), Hwang Jung-eum (Men Are Men), Lee Joon (Red Heart), and Lee Yubi (Yumi’s Cells 2) among others. [Osen]

A new poster has come out for Disney+’s upcoming A Shop for Killers as well, assembling a suspicious group of six led by Lee Dong-wook (Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938) and Kim Hye-joon (Connect). With PD Lee Kwon (Rescue Me) both writing and directing, together with PD Noh Kyu-yub and writer Ji Ho-jin, the action drama will be opening its doors on January 17. [Sports Kyunghyang]
On tvN, the promos continue for the sageuk romance Captivating the King, where we spend some time with a moody Jo Jung-seok (Hospital Playlist 2) and Shin Se-kyung (Arthdal Chronicles: The Sword of Aramun) in the latest batch of stills. The historical fiction premieres on January 21, taking over the weekend slot following Maestra: Strings of Truth. [News1]