Lee Je-hoon faced mixed reactions as a disbarred lawyer in new drama remake amid Signal 2’s indefinite delay

According to a report from Ilgan Sports on February 10, Lee Je-hoon has confirmed his appearance as the male lead in the upcoming SBS drama There’s a Chance (working title), quickly gaining attention as one of the network’s most anticipated legal series.

There’s a Chance is a Korean adaptation of the 2018 Asahi television drama Legal V: The Former Lawyer Takanashi Shoko. The story centers on a disbarred lawyer who, after losing his license, becomes entangled in a series of new legal cases outside the traditional legal system. Lee Je-hoon will take on the role of the disgraced former lawyer, marking another significant gender transformation in his career.

The drama will be directed by Kwon Da-som, who previously co-directed My Demon, with the script co-written by Jung Jin-young and Kim Eui-chan. Production is managed by Studio S in collaboration with Artist Studio.

However, even before its airing, the series began to attract attention and criticism for its decision to gender-swap the main character from the original Japanese work. A post on the online community TheQoo, which garnered over 71,000 views and hundreds of comments, criticized the remake for abandoning what made the original work distinctive. Many commentators noted that expectations were high for a strong female protagonist and expressed regret over the gender swap.

Comments on theqoo:

• This drama was fun mainly for two things: watching the high-end fashion of the female lead and enjoying the “railway bento enthusiast” angle. How will they change the situation now? Lee Je-hoon is good at comedy, but still.
• If it goes like Hush, it will be a flop. Oh, that’s why it’s a remake of the Japanese drama.
• Why do they keep spending money to buy Japanese originals? Aside from the settings and everything, it’s boring and I don’t watch it. Are there really no more writers left? This is exactly why the drama industry is failing. The industry is seriously stagnant.
• “Han-nam Republic” (a sarcastic and derogatory expression criticizing the male-centered society)
• It seems like a country desperately trying to coddle men.

Actress Ha-young also confirmed her appearance and will star alongside Lee Je-hoon. With her recent global recognition through Netflix’s The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call, where she played Cheon Jang-mi, expectations are growing for her on-screen dynamic with Lee Je-hoon. She is also scheduled to appear in the upcoming Netflix series Our Sticky Love alongside Jung Hae-in.

Lee Je-hoon’s casting further strengthens SBS’s drama lineup for 2026. Earlier this year, he met viewers through Taxi Driver 3, which recorded a peak viewership of 14.2% and enjoyed strong popularity from audiences. Following the success of the series, Lee Je-hoon once again won the Grand Prize at the SBS Drama Awards, adding to his previous win for Taxi Driver 2.

He recently completed filming Second Signal, the long-awaited sequel to Signal. However, the drama’s broadcast was postponed indefinitely due to past personal disputes involving co-lead actor Cho Jin-woong, who has since retired from the entertainment industry. As a result, Second Signal was also excluded from the 2026 tvN drama lineup officially announced by CJ ENM.

Sources: Daum, theqoo

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