SBS dramas have won fans with character-driven stories and bold, clear-cut justice. "One Dollar Lawyer" flipped the script with the offbeat attorney Cheon Ji-hun (Namkoong Min), who takes cases for just 1,000 won and delivers jaw-dropping turnarounds. "The Judge from Hell" pushed the genre with a devil, Kang Bit-na (Park Shin-hye), inhabiting a judge’s body to punish criminals who slipped through the cracks. Each title spotlighted a definitive hero and widened the scope of the courtroom genre.
If "One Dollar Lawyer" showcased a heart-on-sleeve hero who upends trials with razor-sharp arguments, "The Judge from Hell" channeled real-world rage into cathartic payback. Same courtroom stage, two very different paths to justice. Picking up that baton next is "Phantom Lawyer" (written by Kim Ga-young and Kang Chul-gyu; directed by Shin Joong-hoon), premiering Friday, March 13.
"Phantom Lawyer" follows “possessed attorney” Shin I-rang (Yoo Yeon-seok), who grants closure to the unresolved grudges of the dead, and Han Na-hyun (Esom), a cold-blooded elite lawyer who stakes everything on winning. The hook? Another evolution of the SBS hero. Shin I-rang doesn’t choose his gift―he’s forced into it. He starts seeing spirits and hearing their unfair stories. Even the clients who bring him cases aren’t the living, but those who died with regrets.
Yoo Yeon-seok transforms into Shin I-rang, a lawyer who wavers in unpredictable situations but never backs down. He won’t turn away from clients with heartbreaking backstories―and he’ll also deliver laughs as a very human guy who freaks out when he suddenly starts seeing ghosts. The show teases wild, can’t-predict-it comedy when people of all ages get possessed, sparking chaos. And when it counts, Shin I-rang cuts to the core of each case with sharp insight and airtight logic, flipping even the toughest trials in an instant with sheer swagger.
Balancing sincerity and goofiness, comedy and charisma, this layered performance hints at the birth of another SBS-style hero. Fans can also look forward to the charged dynamic with Han Na-hyun. Unlike Shin I-rang, she coolly reads the board. Sometimes they’ll clash. Sometimes they’ll team up. Their chemistry is set to add real flavor to the character play.
The production team shared, “'Phantom Lawyer' blends SBS’s accumulated legal-genre know-how with a fantasy twist. Expect not just satisfying reversals, but also a warm message that gives voice to the wronged.” They added, “Yoo Yeon-seok’s ‘possessed lawyer’ Shin I-rang isn’t a flawless hero―he wavers, but ultimately can’t look away. Watching this differentiated hero come to life will be a draw in itself.”
SBS’s new Friday-Saturday drama "Phantom Lawyer" premieres Friday, March 13, at 9:50 p.m.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Sun-ae)
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