Nominations for the 4th Blue Dragon Series Awards were recently revealed. This year's nominees are selected from original dramas and variety programs released on streaming platforms from June 1, 2024, to May 31, 2025.

Netflix's When Life Gives You Tangerines leads with six nominations, including Best Drama, Best Actor (Park Bo Gum), Best Actress (IU), Best Supporting Actor (Choi Dae Hoon), Best Supporting Actress (Yeom Hye Ran) and Best New Actor (Kang You Seok). Also competing for the Best Drama title are Coupang Play's Family Matters, TVING's Way Back Love and Netflix's Karma and The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call.

Park Bo Gum, Karma's Park Hae Soo, Squid Game 2's Lee Byung Hun, Dongjae, The Good or the Bastard's Lee Jun Hyuk and The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call's Ju Ji Hoon, will go head to head for the Best Actor award. For Best Actress, IU will be up against Hyper Knife's Park Eun Bin, The Trunk's Seo Hyun Jin, Friendly Rivalry's Lee Hye Ri and The Queen Who Crowns's Cha Joo Young.

Besides Choi Dae Hoon and Yeon Hye Ran, Park Byung Eun (Hyper Knife), Yoon Kyung Ho (The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call), Lee Kwang Soo (Karma), Lee Jun Young (Weak Hero Class 2), Gong Seung Yeon (Karma), Kim Guk Hee (Family Matters), Claudia Kim (Gyeongseong Creature 2), and Jung Eun Chae (Your Honor also in the races for Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress.

Best New Actor and Actress nominees include Family Matters's Lomon and Lee Su Hyun, The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call's Choo Young Woo and Ha Young, Gyeongseong Creature 2's Bae Hyeon Seong, Your Honor's Heo Nam Jun, Way Back Love's Kim Min Ha, The Queen Who Crowns's Lee Yi Dam, and Friendly Rivalry's Chung Su Bin.

The 3rd Blue Dragon Series Awards will take place on July 18 at the Incheon Paradise City Hotel.

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Taiwan's 36th Golden Melody Awards was held on June 18, 2025, in Taipei. Siri Lee won Album of the Year, Best Taiwanese Album and Best Female Taiwanese singer for Sui. Rapper Trout Fresh snagged Best Mandarin Album and Best Male Mandarin Singer for Good Sound with Attitudes and Waa Wei was crowned Best Female Mandarin Singer for the second time with her album Ordeal by Pearls.

Energy's viral hit "Friday Night" danced away with Song of the Year. Veteran duo Power Station was named Best Vocal Group for the second time after last winning the prize in 2005. Trash won Best Band for the first time, and rapper someshiit was selected as Best Newcomer.

Late Hong Kong singer-songwriter Khalil Fong was awarded Best Composer for "Twenty Three." His final album The Dreamer was also recognized with the Jury Award.

Sunset Rollercoaster and Korean band Hyukoh's collaboration album AAA received three accolades: Best Vocal Recording Album, Best Album Design and Best Music Video for the Antenna. Giyu Tjuljaviya received the Best Lyricist award for his song "Son of Nanhui." Best Album Producer and Best Single Producer awards went, respectively, to Lin Chih Jen for Giyu Tjuljaviy's The Wind That Found Me and Deja Fu for Abus Tanapima's BUNUN.

In other non-Mandarin language categories, Chen Yi Heng won Best Male Taiwanese Singer for the album Guan Tou Ta. Huang Zi Xuan took both Best Hakka Album and Best Hakka Singer for New Soul. Best Indigenous Language Singer went to Kumu Basaw for Qrasun, and Best Indigenous Language Allbum to Sauljaljui's VAIVAIK. Sauljaljui also won the Best Arranger award along with producer Vikung Ruljadeng for the song Dipin Kari Tang.

Producer Weng Xiao Liang and late singer Ma Chao Chun were honored with Special Contribution Awards.

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Kamishiraishi Moka co-stars with three Japanese boy band idols – Naniwa Danshi's Takahashi Kyohei, INI's Kimura Masaya and FANTASTICS' Nakajima Sota – for the upcoming film adaptation of Momose Wataru's manga Romantic Killer. The fantasy teen romantic comedy is directed by Hanabusa Tsutomu, who is known for manga adaptations like No Longer Heroine, Kakegurui and Tokyo Revengers.

Kamishiraishi Moka plays Hoshino Anzum, a high school girl who has absolutely no interest in romance when she's got a cat and video games. One day, wizard Riri shows up with the goal of making Anzu fall in love. The magical world where Riri lives is powered by the "love energy" created when people fall in love, but declining love energy is causing chaos in the magical world. Riri casts a spell to make Anzu fall in love within a month, and soon handsome boys appear one after another to create "romantic traps" for her.

Takahashi Kyohei plays Kazuki Tsukasa, a cool transfer student with a dark side. Kimura Masaya plays Hayami Junta, the ace of the baseball team and Anzu's childhood friend. Nakajima Sota plays Koganei Hijiri, a princely rich kid who is a bit condescending. The film will have triple theme songs performed by Naniwa Danshi, INI and FANTASTICS.

Romantic Killer is slated for release in Japan on December 12.

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Japanese BL drama At 25:00, in Akasaka starring Niihara Taisuke and Komagine Kiita will return with a second season this year. The series will be helmed by directors Yasukawa Yuka (Jack Frost), Funabiki Shinju (My Personal Weatherman) and Haga Takashi (Orokamono), with screenwriters Aotsuka Miho and Aso Kumiko.

Based on the manga 25-ji Akasaka de by Natsuno Hiroko, the first season of the series was co-produced by GagaOOLala and TV Tokyo and released in spring 2024. Set in the entertainment industry, the love story revolves around actors Shirasaki Yuki (Niihara Taisuke) and Hayami Asami (Komagine Kiita) whose relationship heats up on and off the set as they appear in a BL drama.

Picking up the story in Season 2, Shirasaki and and Hayami have officially become a couple, and work is also going well for both of them. Even with their busy schedules, they still make time for each other. However, during preparations for a special drama, an incident occurs that causes turmoil in their relationship. Season 2 also covers the popular "Stage Play Arc" of the manga.

At 25:00, in Akasaka Season 2 will air on TV Tokyo and other platforms in October 2025.

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The third and final season of the sensational Netflix series Squid Game is set to be released on June 27. The Korean survival thriller drama returns with a new season half a year after the second season.

Lee Jung Jae continues to lead the series in the role of Player 456 Gi Hun, who will face off against the Front Man – portrayed by Lee Byung Hun – disguised as Player 001 in Season 2. Players from the last season, portrayed by actors including Im Si Wan, Kang Ha Neul, Park Sung Hoon, Yang Dong Geun, Kang Ae Sim, Jo Yu Ri, Lee David and Roh Jae Won, continue to participate in the game. Wi Ha Jun and Park Gyu Young reprise, respectively, as police detective Hwang Jun Ho and soldier No Eul who defected from North Korea.

The Squid Game finale is again produced by showrunner Hwang Dong Hyuk.

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Japanese Netflix musical drama series Glass Heart starring popular actor Satoh Takeru will premiere globally on July 31, 2025. Satoh Takeru not only headlines the production as an enigmatic band frontman, but he also serves as co-executive producer of the series.

Based on Wakagi Mio's best-selling light novel, Glass Heart is co-directed by Kakimoto Kensaku (Parasite in Love) and Goto Kotaro (The Naked Director), with Okada Mari (The Anthem of the Heart) as the lead screenwriter. The drama's all-star cast includes Miyazaki Yu, Suda Masaki, Machida Keita, Shison Jun, Takaishi Akari, Yamada Takayuki, Karata Erika, Takehara Pistol, YOU, Fujiki Naohito and Reini.

Miyazaki Yu plays college student and aspiring drummer Saijo Akano who suddenly gets kicked out of her band. Unexpectedly, she gets scouted to join a new band by loner musical genius Fujitani Naoki, portrayed by Satoh Takeru. Together with hardworking guitarist Takaoka Sho (Machida Keita) and music-obsessed pianist Sakamoto Kazushi (Shison Jun), they form the band TENBLANK and embark on a roller-coaster journey through the music industry.

Suda Masaki, who has built a successful music career on top of acting, plays Shinzaki Toya, the lead singer of the rival band OVER CHROME. Noda Yojiro of RADWIMPS wrote several of TENBLANK's songs in Glass Heart.

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Namkoong Min (My Dearest) and Jeon Yeo Been (Be Melodramatic) depict a love that cannot be delayed in the upcoming SBS and Disney+ drama Our Movie. The slice-of-life Korean melodrama is directed by Lee Jung Heum (Inspector Koo).

Our Movie stars Namkoong Min as film director Lee Jae Ha who has chosen "melodrama" for his second film after a five-year hiatus. However, he doesn't believe in love. The emotionless director casts Lee Da Eum (played by Jeon Yeo Been) – an aspiring actress with a rare and incurable disease – as the heroine of his movie. Seo Hyun Woo (The Fiery Priest 2) and Lee Seol (D.P. 2) also take part in the drama as filmmaker Boo Seung Won and top actress Chae Seo Young, respectively.

Our Movie is slated to air its first episode on June 13.

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Netflix's upcoming Korean drama Mercy For None, led by So Ji Sub in his first mini-series since 2022's Doctor Lawyer, is scheduled to premiere on June 6. Based on the webtoon Gwangjang, the noir thriller also includes the starry cast of Heo Joon Ho (Bloodhounds), Gong Myung (Be Melodramatic) and Choo Young Woo (The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call), Ahn Gil Kang (Tale of the Nine Tailed), Lee Beom Soo (Triangle) and Jo Han Chul (Queen Woo), with special appearances by Cha Seung Won (Our Blues) and Lee Joon Hyuk (Love Scout).

So Ji Sub leads the drama as gangster Nam Ki Jun who cut his own Achilles tendon in order to leave the underworld. He returns 11 years later after the sudden death of his younger brother Nam Ki Seok (played by Lee Joon Hyuk). Ki Jun takes a brutal and ruthless path to avenge his brother, who was the second-in-command of a gang. Heo Joon Ho portrays gang boss Lee Joo Woon, while Choo Young Woo plays prosecutor Lee Geum Son who is the son of Lee Joo Woon. Gong Myung takes the role of Koo Jun Mo, the heir to the Bongsan Gang that Ki Jun was in before.

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Following the sensational Netflix drama When Life Gives You Tangerines, Park Bo Gum swiftly returns with the new series Good Boy. He partners up with Kim So Hyun (My Lovely Liar), Lee Sang Yi (Bloodhounds), Heo Sung Tae (Big Bet) and Tae Won Seok (The Tale of Lady Ok) as athletes-turned-cops in the JTBC action comedy drama co-starring Oh Jung Se (When The Stars Gossip).

Directed by Sim Na Yeon (Beyond Evil) and written by Lee Dae Il (Life on Mars), the 16-episode Korean series follows a ragtag team of police officers who were former national sports heroes. Park Bo Gum leads as Olympic boxing gold medalist Yoon Dong Ju who stepped away from the ring after an incident. Kim So Hyun plays Olympic shooting gold medalist Ji Han Na who now aims a pistol at brutal criminals. Lee Sang Yi, Heo Sung Tae and Tae Won Seok play former fencing, wrestling and discus throw medalists, respectively. Oh Jung Se takes on the villain role of Min Joo Young, a civil servant at the Korea Customs Service who hides his true character behind a mask.

Good Boy will air its first episode on May 31.

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Fuji TV's Kyojo series starring Kimura Takuya as a police academy instructor will culminate with a feature film production announced for 2026. Screenwriter Kimizuka Ryoichi, who created the TV dramas, and director Nakae Isaamu will continue to helm the film, which is the fourth work of the Kyojo series.

Based on Nagaoka Hiroki's same-titled novel, Fuji TV's Kyojo series started in 2020 with a two-episode drama special set at a police academy with Kimura Takuya as strict and fearsome police instructor Kazama Kimika. It was followed by the drama special sequel Kyojo 2 in 2021, and then the prequel serial drama Kazama Kimichika - Kyojo 0 in 2023.

The title and additional cast members of the Kyojo film have not been revealed yet.

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Kanehara Hitomi's 2022 novel Meets the World has been adapted into a film starring Sugisaki Hana. The Japanese film exploring love and living is directed by Matsui Daigo, who is known for Just Remembering and Remain in Twilight. This is Kanehara's first work since Snakes and Earrings to get a film adaptation.

Kanehara's Shibata Renzaburo Prize-winning novel revolves around lonely 27-year-old Yukari, who pours all her love into her anthropomorphized yakiniku manga, but she has trouble loving herself. Seeing her peers leave the otaku world one after another to start a family, she feels anxious and begins looking for a husband herself. After a disastrous blind date, she ends up drunk on a street in Kabukicho and gets saved by a club hostess named Rai. This encounter opens a new door for both Yukari and Rai.

Meets the World will be released in Japan on October 24, 2025.

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Hamabe Minami and Snow Man's Meguro Ren are starring in the live-action film adaptation of Nagatsuki Amane's novel Hodonaku, Owakare desu. The novel about funeral planners was written by Amane over the course of two years while grieving the loss of her husband. Miki Takahiro, who is known for films like Even if This Love Disappears from the World Tonight amd The Door Into Summer, directs the human drama about the meaning and importance of deathcare.

Hamabe Minami plays college student Shimizu Misora who begins interning at a funeral home after she fails to find a job. Meguro Ren plays her mentor Urushibara Reiji, a strict funeral planner who is committed to arranging the best funerals for the deceased. Though discouraged by Urushibara's strict ways at first, Shimizu comes to admire his thoughtfulness for the departed and the bereaved, and she is inspired to follow in his footsteps and become a funeral planner.

Principal photography for Hodonaku, Owakare desu was completed from mid-February to late March 2025. The film is expected to be released in Japan in February 2026.

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Bae Doona (Broker) makes her return to the silver screen in the Korean romantic disaster comedy Virus, which was filmed before the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on a novel by Lee Ji Min, the drama co-stars Kim Yoon Seok (Escape From Mogadishu), Jang Ki Ha (Smugglers) and Son Suk Ku (The Roundup) as three differnent men in the protagonist's life.

Bae Doona leads the film as translator Take Seon, who is running out of energy, motivation and love cells in her daily life. Her world changes after a chaotic blind date with researcher Soo Pil (played by Son Suk Ku) – she laughs for no reason, she takes new interest in dressing up, and even the annoying daily group texts from her classmate Yeon Woo (played by Jang Ki Ha) sound lovely now. However, her life turns upside down again after she realizes she has contracted a virus with 100% fatality rate, and Lee Kyun (played by Kim Yoon Seok) is the only researcher who can cure her.

Virus is scheduled for release in Korean cinemas on May 7.

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Kang Ha Neul and Go Min Si cook up love in the new Korean drama series Tastefully Yours created by Han Jun Hee (D.P.) and directed by Park Dan Hee (Weak Hero Class 1). The cast of the kitchen romcom also includes Kim Shin Rok (Moving), Yoo Su Bin (D.P. 2) and Yoo Yeon Seok (When the Phone Rings) in a special appearance.

Tastefully Yours follows the growth and romance of the two leading characters. Kang Ha Neul takes the role of Han Beom Woo, a chaebol heir running a fine dining restaurant. He is known as a "recipe hunter" for taking over small businesses and merging them into his company. Go Min Si stars as chef Mo Yeon Ju who runs a one-table restaurant in Jeonju, driven only by her passion for taste and food.

Tastefully Yours is scheduled to premiere on ENA on May 12.

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China's 20th Huabiao Film Awards was held in Qingdao on April 27, 2025. Zhang Yi and Kara Wai were crowned Best Actor and Best Actress for their performances in Dai Mo's crime drama Endless Journey and Han Yan's drama Love Never Ends, respectively, and Frant Gwo won Best Director for The Wandering Earth 2.

All three of the above films were named top ten Outstanding Feature Films along with Chen Kaige's comedy-drama Article 20, fantasy adventure Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms, war drama The Volunteers: To the War, action drama Home Coming, comedy Johnny Keep Walking! and animated epic Chang An. Dong Run's Johnny Keep Walking! also won Best Screenplay. Period espionage thriller Hidden Blade was recognized for Best Cinematography, and Endless Journey picked up another prize for Best Music.

In the themed film categories, Best Rural Theme Film went to biopic Beyond the Clouds, Children's Theme Film to The Little Horsewhip, and Ethnic Minority Theme Film to legendary Tibetan director Pema Tseden's final work Snow Leopard. Zhang Chiyu's sci-fi comedy Moon Man garnered the Young Filmmaker Creation Award. Record-breaking animation Ne Zha 2 was specially presented with a Special Contribution Award.

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The 43rd Hong Kong Film Awards was held in Hong Kong on April 27, 2025. Soi Cheang's action thriller Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In swept nine awards including Best Film, Best Director for Soi Cheang, Best Action Choreography and a slew of technical prizes for Cinematography, Editing, Art Direction, Costume & Makeup Design, Sound Design and Visual Effects.

Anselm Chan's record-breaking blockbuster The Last Dance, which had led in nominations, went home with five awards including Best Screenplay, Best Actress for first-time winner Michelle Wai, Best Supporting Actor for Tommy Chu, Best Original Film Score and Best Original Film Song.

Sean Lau won Best Actor for Papa, marking his third time taking the prize after My Name is Fame and Overheard 3. Philip Yung's Papa also snagged Best Supporting Actress for Jo Koo and Best New Performer for Dylan So. Best New Director went to Robin Lee for the documentary Four Trails.

Professional Achievement Awards were presented to voice actors Jiang Xiaoliang and Han Dongqing. Filmmakers Tsui Hark and Nansun Shi were honored with the Lifetime Achievement Awards.

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The Light in Your Eyes director Kim Seok Yoon, as well as screenwriters Lee Nam Gyu and Kim Soo Jin, collaborate with veteran actress Kim Hye Ja again for the Korean fantasy human romcom Heavenly Ever After! Kim Hye Ja leads the JTBC drama with Son Suk Ku, who previously worked with director Kim in My Liberation Notes.

Heavenly Ever After stars Kim Hye Ja as Lee Hae Sook who arrives in heaven at the age of 80 and reunites with her husband Ko Nak Joon (played by Son Suk Ku), who turns back into a young man in his thirties. The drama depicts the beginning of her second journey after the end of her life. Besides the leads, Han Ji Min (The Light in Your Eyes), Lee Jung Eun (The Light in Your Eyes), Cheon Ho Jin (My Liberation Notes) and Ryu Deok Hwan (Nobody Knows) also co-star in the series.

Heavenly Ever After is set to premiere on JTBC on April 19.

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Shadow and Bone's Jessie Mei Li, The Brothers Sun's Justin Chien and award-winning actress Karena Lam are among the cast of the upcoming Hong Kong-set drama series The Season, as announced in a press conference at Hong Kong FILMART on March 19. Hong Kong multimedia company PCCW Media will produce the six-episode series with SK Global Entertainment, the production house of Crazy Rich Asians, Thai Cave Rescue and Delhi Crime.

Screenwriter Yalun Tu, whose previous works include NCIS: Hawaii and Wu Assassins, helms the series with lead director Marialy Rivas. Set in Hong Kong, the show follows a group of friends gathering for summer fun during the boating season, only to get pulled into a spiral of deception and power struggles.

The ensemble cast of The Season also includes Yvonne Chapman (Avatar: The Last Airbender), Celina Jade (Wolf Warrior 2), Toby Stephens (Percy Jackson and The Olympians), Koki (Tornado), Lee Jae Yoon (Physical 100 S2), MIRROR's Anson Lo (Ossan's Love Hong Kong), COLLAR's Marf Yau (Blossoms Under Somewhere), Lyman Heung, Thor Lok and Mishy Lee.

The Season will be distributed on PCCW's global streaming platform Viu.

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Korean medical drama Hospital Playlist's spinoff Resident Playbook is scheduled to premiere on tvN and Netflix on April 12. Hospital Playlist director Shin Won Ho and screenwriter Lee Woo Jung take part as creators for the spinoff series.

Directed by Lee Min Soo (Heartbeat) and written by Kim Song Hee (Hospital Playlist 1), Resident Playbook captures the unpredictable, challenging yet heartwarming stories of first-year resident doctors in the obstetrics and gynecology department of Jongno Yulje Medical Center. Moving breakout star Go Youn Jung leads the medical human drama alongside Shin Si A (The Witch: Part 2. The Other One), Kang You Seok (When Life Gives You Tangerines), Han Ye Ji and Jung Joon Won (VIP).

Resident Playbook will air on Saturday and Sunday, taking over the timeslot occupied by The Potato Lab.

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Yagi Yusei from My Beautiful Man and former Hinatazaka46 member Saito Kyoko are starring in the Japanese remake of the 2017 Korean TV drama Suspicious Partner. Titled Ayashi Partner ~Destiny Lovers~, the Japanese series will premiere on MBS and TBS on April 29.

Blending romantic comedy and suspense elements, the original Korean series starred Ji Chang Wook and Nam Ji Hyun as a prosecutor and a trainee prosecutor who team up to chase a killer, falling in love along the way. In the Japanese remake, Yagi Yusei plays cool prosecutor Tateishi Haruto whose life changes after he meets legal trainee Miyashita Sakura, portrayed by Saito Kyoko.

Ayashi Partner is written by Masaiki Yosuke (Anime Supremacy) and directed by Yasukawa Yuka (My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999) and Yoshimura Keisuke.

Text / Sanwei