What you need to know about King Of Savvy, Disney+'s exclusive K-drama
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Disney+ has announced new upcoming shows to cater to Asians, including the director's cut of the Anita Mui biopic, Anita; true crime series Taiwan Crime Stories; and Chinese drama A Life Long Journey.
What's interesting for K-drama fans, however, is King Of Savvy, an eight-part series directed by Kang Yoon-sung (The Outlaws) that will star Choi Min-sik of Oldboy fame.
While Disney is a global entertainment giant, its streaming service Disney+, which was rolled out gradually to different parts of the world beginning in 2019, offers more opportunities to engage local audiences with content that truly appeals to them.
Korean dramas are hugely popular around Asia, being on a par with Hollywood films, and with that in mind, Disney+ has decided to invest in Korean shows, aside from other content made by local partners around Asia. Other recent Korean shows on Disney+ include Blackpink: The Movie and Outrun By Running Man.
Here's what you need to know about King Of Savvy:
It's the latest Disney+ Original K-drama announced by the streaming platform to go into production.
Last October, Disney+ had already announced several K-dramas coming to the streaming service – Rookie Cops, Grid, Kiss Sixth Sense and Moving.
Snowdrop, the latest drama from the JTBC broadcast network, has already premiered on Disney+, but Disney has already onboarded many older K-dramas.
King Of Savvy is the latest Disney+ Original drama under the platform's Star banner to be announced.
It was reported to have a budget of over 20 billion KRW (S$22.6 million), and will be produced by BA Entertainment, C-Jes Entertainment, and Arc Media.
It's expected to be released on Disney+ some time in 2022, and will be exclusive to the streamer.
It's about a casino mogul.
King Of Savvy, which was previously reported to be titled "Casino", should not be confused with the 2014 K-drama, High School King Of Savvy, which starred Lee Min-seok.
Disney+ describes King Of Savvy as such:
An Original under the Star banner, a South Korean series going into production is King Of Savvy, a riveting Korean drama about a casino king packed with crime and action. King Of Savvy is an exciting tent-pole project for Disney+ where the star of award-winning neo-noir action thriller Old Boy Choi Min-sik, one of the most successful and admired movie stars in Korea, meets the director of South Korean thriller The Outlaws, Kang Yoon-sung. It is a captivating story about survival, taking risks and getting back into the game.
It will mark Choi Min-sik's return to television after 26 years.
While Choi has remained active in the movie industry, King Of Savvy is Choi's first TV project in 26 years since he worked in MBC's 1997 drama Love And Separation.
The 59-year-old actor received critical acclaim for his role in the internationally feted 2003 film Oldboy. His recent movies include Forbidden Dream and Heaven: To The Land Of Happiness.
Choi Min-sik has been trying to work with Kang Yoon-sung for some time. The actor was previously scheduled to work with the director in the Korean remake of the movie The Intern, which is being produced by Warner Bros Korea. However, the remake project was suspended as Warner Bros halted its local productions in South Korea.
Squid Game stars Heo Sung-tae and Kim Joo-ryung are in talks to join the cast.
Choi is the only confirmed cast member so far but various other actors are reported to be in talks to star in King Of Savvy.
These actors include Lee Dong-hwi, Jo Jae-yoon, Heo Sung-tae and Kim Joo-ryung.
Heo Sung-tae and Kim Joo-ryung recently shot to fame for their roles in the wildly popular Squid Game. It'd be interesting to see them working together again!
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