10 hot new k-dramas coming out in September 2025

New month, new K-dramas!

September 2025 is serving up some of the most anticipated Korean dramas of the year with a mix of fresh storylines, powerful performances, and long-awaited releases. This month’s lineup promises something for everyone, whether you’re into heart-fluttering romances, high-stakes thrillers, or emotional family dramas.

With so many exciting premieres, September is shaping up to be one of the most unforgettable months for K-drama fans worldwide. Let’s dive into the exciting lineup and see which one will steal your heart.

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• Psychological Thriller

• Release date: September 5th, 2025

• Where to watch: Netflix and Viki

• Episodes: 8

• Main cast: Go Hyun-jung, Jang Dong-yoon, Cho Seong-ha, and Lee El

Queen Mantis is a dark and gripping thriller adapted from the acclaimed French series La Mante. The story follows a detective who, in a desperate bid to stop a brutal new killer, turns to the last person he ever wanted to face, his own mother, an imprisoned serial murderer. The latest crimes he has to solve bear an uncanny resemblance to her infamous killing style, forcing him to collaborate with the very woman he’s tried his entire life to erase from memory.

• Romance | Slice-of-life

• Release date: September 5th, 2025

• Where to watch: Viki and Viu

• Episodes: 12

• Main cast: Song Joong-ki, Chun Woo-hee, Lee Joo-myung, and Seo Ji-hoon

Sun Woo-hae (played by Song Joong-ki) was once a celebrated child actor whose bright career crumbled before he even reached adulthood. His first love, Seong Je-yeon (Chun Woo-hee), came from a wealthy family that lost everything during her childhood, forcing her to grow up fast. Together, Woo-hae and Je-yeon found comfort in each other, helping one another endure the hardships of their youth.

But as time passed, life pushed them in different directions, and the two eventually drifted apart. Ten years later, Woo-hae has built a quiet but content life as both a novelist and a florist, but that tranquillity is suddenly disrupted when fate brings him face to face with Je-yeon once again, now a determined and ambitious team leader at Feel Entertainment.

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• Crime | Comedy

• Release date: September 6th, 2025

• Where to watch: Amazon Prime

• Episodes: 12

• Main cast: Park Min-young, Park Hee-soon, and Joo Jong-hyuk

In the much-anticipated crime comedy K-drama Confidence Queen, Park Min-young takes centre stage as the leader of a dynamic troupe of charismatic con artists in a Korean remake of the popular Japanese series Confidence Man JP. The story follows Yun Yi-rang (Park Min-young), a brilliant and fearless woman who rises to become the ultimate con artist.

Together, Yi-rang, James (Park Hee-soon), and Myung Gu-ho (Joo Jong-hyuk) form a trio of highly skilled tricksters who specialise in targeting individuals consumed by greed. Their elaborate scams are not only clever but also laced with wit and creativity, making their schemes as entertaining as they are daring.

• Romance | Spy Thriller

• Release date: September 10th, 2025

• Where to watch: Disney+

• Episodes: 9

After a presidential candidate is shot during a mass for peaceful reunification in Seoul, diplomat Seo Mun-ju (Jun Ji-hyun) and special agent Baek San-ho (Kang Dong-won) are unexpectedly thrust together. As they begin to unravel the mystery behind the shocking attack, they uncover a vast and dangerous conspiracy with far-reaching implications for the Korean Peninsula.

Set in modern-day South Korea, the drama follows Seo Mun-ju, a brilliant diplomat and former ambassador to the United States, who is renowned for her sharp intellect and unyielding commitment to peace. Alongside her is Baek San-ho, a highly skilled international special agent whose experience in tackling global threats makes him the perfect partner for this perilous mission.

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• Romance | Melodrama

• Release date: September 12th, 2025

• Where to watch: Netflix

• Episodes: 15

• Main cast: Kim Go-eun, Park Ji-hyun, and Kim Gun-woo

From their teenage years to adulthood, two inseparable friends bound by both warmth and unspoken tension slowly drift apart, until fate reunites them when one is asked to stand by the other through her final days. Starring Kim Go-eun and Park Ji-hyun in the leading roles, this emotional drama promises to deliver a moving exploration of love, loss, and the bittersweet bonds of friendship that shape our lives.

• Rom-com | Slice-of-life

• Release date: September 13th, 2025

• Where to watch: Viki and Viu

• Episodes: 12

• Main cast: Kim Da-mi, Shin Ye-eun, and Heo Nam-jun

Set in the 1980s, Go Yeong-rye (Kim Da-mi) works as a bus attendant for Cheong-a Transportation, bravely enduring her daily struggles with motion sickness in order to support her mother. Despite her challenges, Yeong-rye’s kind heart and quiet courage shine through as she faithfully serves passengers aboard bus no. 100.

By her side is her closest companion, fellow bus attendant Seo Jong-hee (Shin Ye-eun), whose friendship brings warmth, laughter, and strength to Yeong-rye’s life. Yeong-rye longs to attend university, while Jong-hee yearns to escape her toxic family environment and carve out her own path. Their lives take an unexpected turn when they encounter Han Jae-pil (Heo Nam-jun), a wealthy and handsome young man.

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• Comedy | Mystery

• Release date: September 15th, 2025

• Where to watch: Viki and Viu

• Episodes: 12

• Main cast: Han Seok-kyu, Bae Hyeon-seong, and Lee Re

At first glance, chicken restaurant owner Mr. Shin (Han Seok-kyu) appears to live an unremarkable, everyday life, but his negotiation skills are unmatched. When fate brings him together with rookie judge Philip Cho (Bae Hyeon-seong) and spirited delivery rider Lee Si-on, the unlikely trio sets out on an unconventional quest for justice.

• Rom-com

• Release date: September 19th, 2025

• Network: To be announced

• Episodes: 12

• Main cast: Lee Sun-bin, Ra Mi-ran, Jo A-ram, and Kim Young-dae

Jung Da-hae (Lee Sun-bin) rises above a difficult, impoverished childhood to establish herself as a skilled professional on the public relations and marketing team at Marone Confectionery. There, she forges close friendships with Kang Eun-sang (Ra Mi-ran) from the sales department and Kim Ji-song (Jo A-ram) from the accounting team. All three women share the same struggle: working as contract employees while hoping to secure coveted full-time positions.

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• Thriller

• Release date: September 20th, 2025

• Where to watch: Prime Video, Viki

• Episodes: 12

• Main cast: Lee Young-ae, Kim Young-kwang, and Park Yong-woo

Driven by desperation to protect her family and cover the mounting medical expenses of her ailing husband, housewife Kang Eun-soo (Lee Young-ae) finds herself entangled in a perilous partnership with middle-school teacher Lee Gyeong (Kim Young-kwang). On the surface, Lee appears to be intelligent, charming, and approachable, the kind of man anyone would trust, but he is, in fact, a ruthless and calculating drug dealer, consumed by greed and devoid of empathy.

• Political | Melodrama

• Release date: September 24th, 2025

• Where to watch: To be announced

• Episodes: 12

• Main cast: Eugene, Ji Hyun-woo, and Lee Min-young

Hyun Min-cheol (Ji Hyun-woo), who grew up in an orphanage and endured years of hardship, defied all odds to rise to the highest office as Korea’s president-elect. Yet just sixty-seven days before his inauguration, he shocks his wife, Cha Soo-yeon (Eugene), by requesting a divorce.

Soo-yeon, however, has no intention of letting go, driven by her ambition to step into the role of first lady, she refuses to accept his decision. As the clock ticks down to Min-cheol’s swearing-in, their personal battle intensifies, unravelling into a high-stakes clash that exposes hidden political conspiracies, dangerous ambitions, and long-buried secrets that could shatter both their lives and the nation’s fragile future.

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