Premier Reminder: Undercover

 Undercover - False truth, hypocritical justice

In its third collaboration with BBC Studios, JTBC together with Story TV Productions have brought another production for South Korean audiences: Undercover, a political thriller drama based on the UK television series of the same name. 

Previously, JTBC had universal success with The World of The Married (2020), an adaptation of the hit BBC series Doctor Foster (2015). The channel has also bought the rights of another BBC series, The Split, which is yet to have an air date.

Undercover is a dark thriller drama that sheds light on corruption, power, betrayal, and miscarriages of justice.

Premise

Choi Yeon-soo is a human rights lawyer who gets elected to a high ranking office, as the Director of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials (CIO). She is ambitious, righteous, and has fought for justice ever since she dreamt of becoming a lawyer to protect people from injustice. By her side is her husband and a family man, Han Jung Hyun. 

Unbeknownst to Yeon-soo, Jung Hyun is a secret agent of NIS and has been living under a fake identity, and is “tasked” by the agency to stop her from being nominated. When she is elected to the post of Director, she is revealed shocking truths regarding her husband and corruption surrounding the organization, and is forced to encounter life changing events, threatening both her life and marriage. 

The story is told over different timelines of both leads, in the past and in the present, to reveal the fate of characters woven in an epic journey of power, betrayal, and injustice.

The Characters

The story primarily focuses on two characters and their battle to expose the truth hidden deep in the State. 

Kim Hyun Joo / Han Sun Hwa as Choi Yeon Soo
	Human rights lawyer, whose career has been nothing but fighting for justice for people. Passionate and always holding the torch of truth, she is a wife, a mother of two, and a career woman.  With her stellar record as a human rights lawyer, she gets nominated as the Director for a Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials (CIO). With this new role, her life she thought she once had is completely gone and she is exposed to truths and lies that put her marriage into abyss. "As soon as I read the script, the intertwined relationship between the characters really captured my interest, and I read it all at once. I wanted to greet the viewers with good projects and characters, and Choi Yeon Soo really caught my attention, and I was more attracted to her because she is close to the ideal figure we want. We would appreciate it if you would support us and look forward to the drama.”  - Hyun Joo on her role as  Yeon Soo.
Ji Jin Hee / Yeon Woo Jin as Han Jung Hyun
A former secret agent of NIS, living under a fake identity, is the husband of Yeon Soo and father of two children. He loves his wife but has been keeping the secret of his true identity since the first day of their fate together. When Yeon Soon is elected as CIO, his life changes as her new position poses a threat to his identity and those involved in something that happened in the past. He is called back for duty and is tasked to revoke his wife's nomination as CIO. However, keeping his wife safe is his utmost priority, and in order to put things back on track, he is going to protect his wife and children till his last breath. “I decided to star in this drama because I was touched by Han Jung Hyun, who sacrifices himself to protect his loved ones. I am also looking forward to reuniting with actress Kim Hyun Joo and working with her again. I’ll be back soon with a good drama and acting, so please show lots of interest for ‘Undercover.'”  - Jin Hee on his role as Jung hyun

Other characters:

Yeon Woo Jin and Han Sun Hwa played the young versions of Jung Hyun and Yeon Soo, respectively. The young actors who played Jung and Yeon's children are Yoo Seon-ho as Han Seung Goo, an autistic child, and his sister Han Seung-mi played by Lee Jae-in, a smart kid who resembles her mother in every way. 

Former NIS agent and senior of Jung Hyun is Do Yeong-geol, played by Jung Man-sik, who is now a leader of a special team at the Planning and Coordination Office. Ko Yoon-joo is an active undercover agent played by actress Han Go-eun. Both of them are tightly connected to Jung Hyun's story. 

Actor Heo Joon Ho plays Im Hyeong Rak, the head of NIS’s Planning and Coordination Office, he is a strategist who makes sure everything in the country goes as planned. Political reporter and best friend of  Yeon-soo since college is Min Sang-ah played by Kim Soo-jin.

Teasers and premier date

JTBC released the first teaser on March 5, 2021, following the poster drop. In the teaser, Yeon-soo's hearing is taking place for her nomination for CIO while Jung Hyun is chased by the police. The past and the present of these two characters are deeply connected - one is completely oblivious while the other is devastated to loose everything he built over the years to protect the person he loves the most. 

(Click the image above to watch the teaser, Video source: JTBC Drama on YouTube)

In a second teaser released on March 19, more tense scenes and revelations are shown. 

Yeon Soo: “Who are you?”  
Young Jung Hyun: “I’m Han Jung Hyun.”
Present Jung Hyun: “Yeon Soo, trust me. Please.”
Yeon Soo: “You’re lying. You’re not Han Jung Hyun. Who are you?!”

(Click the image above to watch the teaser, Video source: JTBC Drama on YouTube)

In a third teaser, released on April 1, a distraught Jung Hyun is desperate to save his wife from the evil coming with the job she is going to have. Secrets will be revealed but he is going to make sure nobody messes with his wife, even if her safety comes at the cost of his life, after all he owes her this much after keep her in the dark for so long.

(Click the image above to watch the teaser, Video source: JTBC Drama on YouTube)

Undercover will premier on April 23, 2021 at 11 p.m. KST / 2 p.m UTC in the Friday/Saturday time slot, succeeding another exceptional series, Beyond Evil. So make sure to mark your calendars for a thriller ride of right-weeks. 

^{Image credits: All image used here are released JTBC. All copyrights belongs to author, their use is not intended for any kind of profit.
Sources:  Soompi (1,  2,  3, 4, 5), JTBC (1, 2, 3, 4, 5), Naver (1), BBC (1), Variety (1), Deadline (1)}