News bites: November 4, 2023

Rallying us for bumpkin victory, Coupang Play’s Boyhood (previously called Once Upon a Boyhood) released their first poster, with our proud hero Im Shi-wan (Summer Strike) giving his best darn war cry. Also starring Lee Sun-bin (Work Later, Drink Now 2), Lee Shi-woo (See You in My 19th Life), and Kang Hye-won (Seasons of Blossom), the action-comedy will be broadcasting on Fridays starting November 24. [Osen]

The first poster has dropped for tvN’s Maestra: Strings of Truth as well, showcasing our title’s conductor heroine Lee Young-ae (Inspector Koo). Based on the original French series Philharmonia from a few years back, the Korean remake co-stars Lee Moo-saeng (The Glory), Kim Young-jae (Numbers), and Hwang Boreumbyeol (The Secret Romantic Guesthouse). The mystery-thriller is slated to air on December 9 in the weekend slot. [Sports Donga]

Over on Wavve, preparations are underway for Weak Hero Class 2 and musical actor Bae Nara (Evilive) has reportedly been added to the main lineup, potentially joining Park Ji-hoon (Weak Hero Class 1) and Ryeoun (Twinkling Watermelon). Taking us back to a terrifying high school life, production for the crime-action’s second season is still in the early stages. [Star News]
Kim Joon-han (Anna) has been tapped to join Coupang Play’s new zombie series Influenza, which also has Park Jung-min (Hellbound) and Blackpink’s Jisoo (Snowdrop) still in talks. The fantasy is currently in the planning stages with production led by filmmaker Yoon Sung-hyun (Time to Hunt) along with writers Han Jin-won (Parasite) and Ji Ho-jin. [Newsen, Star News]

In the meantime, I’m already impatient for JTBC’s upcoming Welcome to Samdalri, which is sadly still weeks away. In a cute first poster, we get a glimpse of Ji Chang-wook (The Worst of Evil) and Shin Hye-sun (See You in My 19th Life) as literal besties from birth, but our pair won’t be realizing ~true love~ until the rom-com premieres on December 2. [MBC]
Also coming in December is TVING’s Death’s Game, with Seo In-gook (Cafe Minamdang) as our desolate hero who is featured in the latest stills. We’ll be following his story through the dark fantasy and will soon be offered a curious opportunity by death herself – played by Park So-dam (Record of Youth). On the production side, PD Ha Byung-hoon (18 Again, Go Back Spouses) is taking the lead in both writing and directing. [Newsen]