Nam Goong Min is making his long-awaited return to KBS with the new crime thriller The Husband, which will premiere on July 4 at 9:20 pm KST. The drama comes as competition in the weekend K-drama schedule gets stronger, particularly against hit SBS series Agent Kim Reactivated.
The new Saturday-Sunday KBS2 drama follows neurosurgeon Kang Tae Joo, played by Nam Goong Min, whose life falls apart after his wife is kidnapped shortly before their divorce.
While searching for her, he also becomes the prime suspect in a murder-for-hire case.
The series marks Nam Goong Min’s first KBS drama in seven years since Doctor Prisoner. It also reunites him with the network behind his 2017 hit Good Manager, which reached a peak national rating of 18.4%, AllKPop reported.
Interest in the drama has grown rapidly as it also signals the return of KBS2’s weekend miniseries after a hiatus that began earlier this year. KBS hopes the new thriller can revive the network’s weekend momentum.
Nam Goong Min jokes about the rivalry
However, the timing creates a head-to-head matchup with So Ji Sub’s Agent Kim Reactivated, which has already surpassed 15% domestic ratings and peaked at 18.1%. During the presentation of the production in Seoul, Nam Goong Min joked about the rivalry.
“My KBS representative drama was ‘Agent Kim Reactivated,’ and now So Ji Sub stars in ‘Agent Kim Reactivated.’ It seems like her title surpasses mine, so I felt a little bittersweet,” he said, laughing.
Director Kim Jung Hyun explained that the title reflects the unpredictable nature of marriage. According to The Chosun, she shared, “Marriage brings together two completely different people and a lot can happen during this process.”
“The first episode unfolded at an incredible pace and I immediately knew that this was the project I wanted to make,” said Nam Goong Min. He also expressed confidence in the project, saying that he immediately connected with the script.
The supporting cast includes Lee Seol, Kim Dae Myung, and Lee Sang Hee. Lee Seol plays Go Se Yoon, the kidnapped wife at the center of the mystery, while Kim Dae Myung plays the man connected to her disappearance.
