Period K-dramas usually arrive with a war, a throne, or a conspiracy. This one arrives with a wager between two people who are bored.
The Scandal lands on Netflix on 18 September with eight episodes, and the premise is closer to a chamber piece than a sweeping historical epic. Whether that works depends on how much you want from a costume drama beyond costumes.
The Scandal premieres on Netflix on 18 September 2026 — eight episodes.
Son Ye-jin, Ji Chang-wook and NANA lead a Joseon-set adaptation of Dangerous Liaisons.
It reworks the 2003 Korean film Untold Scandal, not the novel directly.
What it is
The Scandal is a Netflix original romantic drama set in the Joseon dynasty. It runs eight episodes and is directed by Jung Ji-woo, whose previous credit for Netflix was Somebody.
The source material has two layers. The immediate reference is Untold Scandal, the 2003 Korean film that moved a French story into Joseon Korea. That film in turn adapted Les Liaisons dangereuses, the 1782 epistolary novel by Choderlos de Laclos — the same book behind Dangerous Liaisons and Cruel Intentions.
So this is a remake of an adaptation. That matters for what to expect: the Joseon setting is not decoration added to a Korean original, it is a transposition that the 2003 film already worked out. The 2026 series is building on a version that proved the relocation works.
The three leads and what they play
| Actor | Character | Position in the story |
|---|---|---|
| Son Ye-jin | Lady Cho | A woman whose abilities exceed the limits of the women’s quarters |
| Ji Chang-wook | Cho Won | Described as the greatest playboy of Joseon |
| NANA | Hui-yeon | A widowed, chaste noblewoman drawn into their game |
The structure is a triangle, but not a romantic one in the usual sense. Lady Cho and Cho Won are the pair with history and understanding between them. They construct a bet. Hui-yeon is the person the bet is about.
That distinction is the whole engine of the original story. The two people who talk to each other most are not the two people falling in love. If the series keeps that shape, the tension comes from watching a scheme run rather than waiting for a couple to admit their feelings.
Why the casting is interesting
Son Ye-jin’s return to a series is the headline for most viewers. Her recent work has leaned toward warmth — Crash Landing on You and Thirty-Nine built characters the audience roots for. Lady Cho is not that. The role requires a person who orchestrates other people’s ruin and remains watchable.
Ji Chang-wook has played charming and dangerous separately. The Cho Won part needs both at once, and needs the charm to read as a tool rather than a personality.
NANA has the least visible role in the marketing and possibly the hardest one. Hui-yeon has to be genuinely virtuous rather than naive, or the story turns into a predator hunting a fool. The original works only if the target has real integrity to lose.
What eight episodes signals
Eight is short for a Korean series. The broadcast standard is sixteen, and Netflix Korean originals often run ten to twelve.
For this story, eight is probably correct. Les Liaisons dangereuses is a tight plot about a scheme that gets away from the schemers. Stretched to sixteen hours, the central bet would have to be padded with subplots that dilute it.
- Eight episodes suits a plot with a clear beginning and an inevitable end
- Period production is expensive per episode, which pushes counts down
- Netflix release patterns vary — check whether all eight drop at once or weekly
That last point is worth confirming before you plan a weekend around it. Netflix has used both full drops and weekly releases for Korean titles, and it often announces the pattern close to launch.
How it fits September’s lineup
September 2026 is dense for Korean releases, and the titles are not all on the same platform. That is the most common source of confusion right now.
| Title | Date | Platform | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made in Korea Season 2 | 9 September | Disney+ / Hulu | 6 episodes, two weekly |
| The Scandal | 18 September | Netflix | 8 episodes |
Made in Korea Season 2 is not on Netflix. It streams on Disney+ and Hulu, and several roundups have reported it incorrectly. If you are searching Netflix for Hyun Bin and finding nothing, that is why.
Four Hands Two Sonatas, Song Kang’s romance, also released in late August and sits in the same viewing window. Between these titles the month covers period romance, political noir and music romance, which is an unusually wide spread.
Who this will suit
The Scandal is likely to work for viewers who liked the machinery of a plan more than the sincerity of a couple. If the parts of a drama you replay are the confrontations rather than the confessions, this premise is built for that.
It should also suit anyone who has seen Dangerous Liaisons or Cruel Intentions and is curious how the same skeleton reads inside Joseon social rules. The constraints are tighter there than in pre-revolutionary France, which changes what a scheme can even attempt. A widowed noblewoman’s reputation in Joseon carried consequences that the French original handled differently.
It will suit you less if you want a period drama about power and state. There is no throne here. The stakes are private, and the damage is social rather than political.
What to watch for
Two things will decide whether this lands.
First, whether Lady Cho gets a motive that holds up. The original character acts partly from confinement — intelligence with nowhere to go. The Korean framing already points at this by describing her abilities as exceeding the women’s quarters. If the series follows that thread, the scheme becomes a symptom rather than a hobby.
Second, whether the ending commits. The source material does not let its schemers walk away, and adaptations that soften that tend to feel weightless. Eight episodes leaves no room to hedge.
In short
The Scandal releases on Netflix on 18 September 2026 in eight episodes, with Son Ye-jin, Ji Chang-wook and NANA leading a Joseon-set version of Dangerous Liaisons by way of the 2003 film Untold Scandal.
It is a chamber piece, not an epic. The appeal is a scheme unfolding between two people who understand each other too well, and the cost paid by a third. If that is the kind of period drama you want, this is the month’s clearest pick.
Frequently asked questions
When does The Scandal release?
18 September 2026 on Netflix. The series runs eight episodes. Netflix has used both full drops and weekly schedules for Korean titles, so check the listing for the release pattern.
Who is in the cast?
Son Ye-jin plays Lady Cho, Ji Chang-wook plays Cho Won, and NANA plays Hui-yeon. Jung Ji-woo, who directed Somebody, is the director.
Is this based on a book or a film?
Both, indirectly. It reworks the 2003 Korean film Untold Scandal, which itself adapted the 1782 French novel Les Liaisons dangereuses by Choderlos de Laclos — the same source as Dangerous Liaisons and Cruel Intentions.
Do I need to have seen Untold Scandal first?
No. This is a separate adaptation rather than a sequel. Knowing the earlier film may add interest in comparing choices, but the plot stands on its own.
Is Made in Korea Season 2 on Netflix too?
No. Made in Korea Season 2 streams on Disney+ and Hulu from 9 September, releasing six episodes with two per week. Several roundups have listed it as a Netflix title incorrectly.
Why only eight episodes?
The source plot is tight and self-contained, and period production costs more per episode. Sixteen episodes would require subplots that dilute the central scheme.
Now that the series has premiered, see how The Scandal is performing globally, plus its full cast and plot recap.
