The queens of Korean television are making their long-awaited return but not with crowns on their heads. Gong Hyo Jin comes back carrying a gun, Kim Hye Soo exposes the cracks behind a picture-perfect family, and Jung Eun Chae steps into the role of a tough detective squad leader tasked with keeping a wealthy heir-turned-cop in line.
From late July through early August, television and streaming platforms will premiere a series of female-led productions. Among them are MBC’s new Friday-Saturday drama A Bona Fide Killer, Coupang Play’s series The Affair Was Just the Beginning, and SBS’s Flex X Cop 2.
Gong Hyo Jin returns to MBC for the first time in 15 years with A Bona Fide Killer. For years, her name has been synonymous with romantic comedies, relatable characters, and effortless charm. Through beloved dramas such as Pasta, The Greatest Love, and When the Camellia Blooms, she built a reputation as an actress capable of turning ordinary women into unforgettable heroines.
This time, however, she takes on an entirely different challenge. A Bona Fide Killer follows a working mother with one of the most dangerous professions imaginable, struggling to balance her family life with her secret identity. Gong Hyo Jin plays Yoo Bo Na, a seemingly ordinary wife and mother who hides another life as a deadly assassin carrying out dangerous missions. The drama blends action and comedy as she navigates household responsibilities, parenting, and high-risk assignments.
Her return is particularly intriguing because it moves beyond the familiar “Gongvely” image that audiences have come to love. While her natural warmth and grounded performances remain her greatest strengths, this series layers those qualities with gunfights, action sequences, and the darker appeal of a reluctant antihero.
By portraying the everyday struggles of a working mother while embracing the fantasy of a professional assassin, the drama promises both laughter and adrenaline. Gong Hyo Jin’s realistic acting style may ultimately be what makes the show’s larger-than-life premise believable.
Kim Hye Soo will greet viewers through Coupang Play’s The Affair Was Just the Beginning, a title that immediately grabs attention. Yet despite its provocative name, the series is far more than a conventional adultery drama. It is a black comedy revolving around two neighboring couples—a famous influencer couple who built their brand on the image of a perfect family, and a doctor couple locked in a bitter divorce whose lives become entangled through a secret too dangerous to ignore.
Kim Hye Soo stars as Kyung Hee, the self-made CEO of an interior design company and a popular influencer. She has spent years presenting an ideal marriage and successful life to the public, only to see that carefully crafted image begin to unravel after becoming caught up in unexpected events involving her neighbors. The role will allow Kim Hye Soo to portray both the confidence of a successful woman and the growing anxiety that emerges as her perfectly controlled life falls apart.
One of Kim Hye Soo’s greatest strengths has always been her ability to dominate every genre she enters. She captivated audiences as a determined detective in Signal, an uncompromising judge in Juvenile Justice, and a powerful queen in Under the Queen’s Umbrella. This time, she steps into black comedy, where exaggerated situations collide with painfully realistic human desires. Her commanding screen presence is expected to drive the series with both humor and emotional intensity.
Jung Eun Chae joins the lineup with Flex X Cop 2, bringing a fresh dynamic to the hit crime series. While the first season gained popularity through the unconventional investigative style of wealthy third-generation chaebol-turned-detective Jin I Soo, played by Ahn Bo Hyun, the second season introduces Jung Eun Chae as Joo Hye Ra, the newly appointed leader of the Violent Crimes Unit. Joo Hye Ra is a seasoned detective and Jin I Soo’s direct superior. Her unwavering commitment to rules and investigative expertise stands in sharp contrast to Jin I Soo’s tendency to rely on wealth, influence, and unconventional methods. Their partnership and inevitable clashes are expected to become one of the defining elements of the new season.
Throughout her career, Jung Eun Chae has built a reputation for her elegant yet enigmatic screen presence, often portraying characters whose emotions remain difficult to read. From The Guest and Pachinko to Anna and Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born, she has consistently expanded her acting range. In Flex X Cop 2, that restrained charisma transforms into the commanding authority of a veteran police officer. Her composed performance is expected to create an engaging contrast with Ahn Bo Hyun’s more flamboyant and energetic character, resulting in a compelling new on-screen chemistry.
The Korean drama landscape has also evolved significantly in recent years, creating more opportunities for female actors to take center stage. In the past, actresses were often limited by age, appearance, or conventional character types. However, the rapid growth of streaming platforms, seasonal productions, and genre-driven storytelling has broadened the range of roles available.
Today, familiar identities such as mothers, wives, and career women are no longer confined to traditional narratives. Instead, they are reimagined as assassins, social media influencers, police commanders, and other complex protagonists capable of driving stories across action, crime, thriller, and comedy genres.
This latest wave of productions truly deserves to be described as the return of television’s queens. Gong Hyo Jin has long been celebrated as the queen of romantic comedy, while Kim Hye Soo has spent decades anchoring both genre dramas and historical series with unmatched authority. Jung Eun Chae, meanwhile, continues to surprise audiences by unveiling new facets of her talent with every project she takes on.
Although each actress returns in a completely different role, they share one common goal: not to repeat the images that made them famous, but to challenge themselves through unfamiliar genres and allow audiences to rediscover them from a fresh perspective. Rather than relying on past success, they are choosing to prove themselves once again one powerful performance at a time.
Sources: Daum