I just started watching a Korean drama series called IRIS. It seems pretty decent. The reason I started watching it was because Kim Tae-hee is in it , but also because the trailer looked pretty good. The main character is played by Lee Byung-hun, who you might recognize from the movie Joint Security Area. There’s also T.O.P. from the boy band Big Bang who plays a rivalling assassin.

It’s about a (fictional) secret government organization in Korea that deals with anything that has to do with protecting the nation - assassinations and the like. So, it’s basically an action drama, but there’s also a love triangle there. I’ve only seen a few episodes, but the love story, so far, has quite a big focus (me like ).

Mostly it feels like the drama has high production value, but some scenes here and there look pretty cheap, like when they’re in a casino, which very obviously isn’t a casino. There’s one scene in episode 3 which I found a bit silly. It’s when T.O.P. goes to kill a man in a hotel room. It’s like the whole thing is stolen from the movie Léon (the Professional).

You can tell that it’s a new drama because they play 4Minute’s Hot Issue when they’re visiting a night club in episode 1

I heard that IRIS is supposedly being picked up for another season, but without Lee Byung-hun.