December brings action, thrills, romance to TV

A diverse array of genre series, ranging from blockbuster action and mystery thriller to romance, are set to finish off the year on the small screen.

Netflix is rolling out two much-anticipated titles, “Sweet Home 2” and “Gyeongseong Creature,” in December.

The apocalyptic action series, “Sweet Home,” is returning with its second season, three years after its debut. It follows a troubled teen, Cha Hyun-soo (Song Kang), fighting for survival with his apartment neighbors amid a chaotic phenomenon where humans turn into savage monsters.

Season 2, which will hit the platform on Dec. 1, will pick up on the story after Cha and other neighbors leave the apartment. They face new challenges in the outside world, filled with fears of attack from monsters and another mysterious threat.

The new season, led by director Lee Eung-bok, who helmed the previous season and the hit series “Mr. Sunshine” (2018), promises intensified action and suspense.

The action series “Gyeongseong Creature,” scheduled to premiere the first seven episodes on Dec. 22, taking viewers to the grim colonial era of 1945. The series revolves around a businessman man, Jang Tae-sang (Park Seo-joon), and a woman, Yoon Chaeok (Han So-hee), who finds missing people for a living. When they face monsters born of human greed, they come to ask themselves what humanity is. Part 2 of the season will debut on Jan. 5.

Directed by Jung Dong-woon, whose previous work includes the 2019 sports series “Hot Stove League,” this 10-part series blends historical context with thrilling action.

Actor Ji Chang-wook, who recently played a tough undercover cop in the Disney+ original series “The Worst of Evil,” is taking on a feel-good romantic comedy series “Welcome to Samdal-ri.”

This new JTBC series, which will start airing on Dec. 2, follows two childhood friends and former couple, a weather forecaster Jo Yong-pil (Ji), and a photographer Jo Sam-dal (Shin Haesun). The two have been in each other’s lives since birth, growing up together in Jeju, until Jo left the island to pursue his dream eight years ago. When Jo returns home after hitting a major obstacle in his career, the former couple reunite for another romance.

The popular director Cha Younghoon, who led hit romance series, including “Uncontrollably Fond” (2016) and “When the Camellia Blooms” (2019), helmed the series.

Channel tvN will premiere mystery thriller “Maestra: Strings of Truth,” marking actress Lee Young-ae’s return to the small screen after the 2021 crime action series “Inspector Koo.”

The adaptation of the French series “Philharmonia,” which will debut on Dec. 9, will revolve around a legendary conductor, Cha Se-um (Lee Young-ae), who is globally acclaimed for her charismatic but delicate interpretation of the music. About 20 years after leaving Korea, she takes a position at the Hangang Philharmonic and returns home, where she faces the secret she has been hiding for years.

The series is led by filmmaker Kim Jeong-kwon, who previously led Netflix’s romance series “Love to Hate You” (2023).

The local streaming platform Tving is debuting a star-studded fantasy series “Death’s Game” on Dec. 15.

Based on the webcomic of the same name, the 8-part series is about an outof-luck man Choi Yi-jea (Seo In-guk) who has been unemployed for seven years. After a series of setbacks, he falls into a pit of desperation and despair and decides to commit suicide.

When he takes his own life, he meets Death (Park So-dam) at hell’s gate and is given the punishment of experiencing 12 lives and deaths in different bodies — played by actors such as Lee Jaewook, Go Yoon-jung, Choi Si-won and Lee Do-hyun. To avoid damnation, he must survive in one of those lives.

The series, blending fantasy with existential themes, is scripted and directed by Ha Byung-hoon who previously led the romance series “Go Back Couple” (2017).