The Perfect Lie
| The Perfect Lie | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Hangul | 라이어 |
| Lit. | Liar |
| RR | Raieo |
| MR | Raiŏ |
| Genre | |
| Based on | |
| Written by | Baek Jae-young |
| Directed by | Jo Young-min |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Kim Tae-seong[1] |
| Country of origin | South Korea |
| Original language | Korean |
| No. of episodes | 4 |
| Production | |
| Production companies |
|
| Original release | |
| Network | MBC TV |
| Release | October 30, 2026 – present |
The Perfect Lie (Korean: 라이어) is an ongoing South Korean psychological thriller television series written by Baek Jae-young, directed by Jo Young-min, and starring Yoo Yeon-seok and Seo Hyun-jin. It is an adaptation of the 2017 British drama Liar by Harry and Jack Williams.[2] The series premiered on MBC TV on October 30, 2026, and airs every Friday and Saturday at 21:50 (KST).[3] It is also available for streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.[2]
Synopsis
[edit]The Perfect Lie follows the story of Kang Ji-seon, an elementary school teacher, and Min Jun-ho, a cardiac surgeon who raises his son alone.[4][5] After an apparently perfect first encounter, the two begin giving completely opposing accounts of the same memory.[4] As their stories collide, they engage in an intense search for the truth, where it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish between truth and lies.[4][5]
Cast
[edit]Main
[edit]- Yoo Yeon-seok as Min Jun-ho[6]
- A cardiac surgeon who raises his son as a single father.[7]
- Seo Hyun-jin as Kang Ji-seon[6]
- An elementary school librarian who becomes involved with Min Jun-ho.[7]
- Ok Ja-yeon as Lee Hwa-young[8]
- Lieutenant from the Women and Youth Affairs Division.[9]
Supporting
[edit]- People around Ji-seon
- Kim Ji-hyun as Kang Ji-eun[8]
- Anesthesiologist at Sangcheon University Hospital, Ji-seon's older sister.[9]
- Lee Chun-hee as Kim Hyung-soo[8]
- Kang Ji-eun's husband and Kang Ji-seon's brother-in-law.
- Oh Dong-min as Park Joong-hyun[10]
- Administrative staff at Sangcheon University Hospital, Ji-seon's former lover.
- People around Jun-ho
- Kang Ji-yong as Min Hyun-soo[11]
- A 5th grade elementary school student, son of Jun-ho and the deceased Eun-hye.
- Jung Ji-woo as Joo Eun-hye
- Jun-ho's deceased wife, Hyun-soo's mother.
- People involved in the case
- Im Sung-jae as Park Seok-gu[8]
- Lee Hwa-young's husband.
Production
[edit]Development
[edit]The series was first announced in late 2025 as a joint production between Kakao Entertainment and its subsidiary Zip Cinema.[2] Director Jo Young-min was confirmed to lead the project. The script is written by Baek Jae-young.[6]
Casting
[edit]In December 2025, it was confirmed that Yoo Yeon-seok and Seo Hyun-jin would reunite as lead actors eight years after their collaboration in Dr. Romantic.[6][12]
Viewership
[edit]| Season | Episode number | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | ||
| 1 | N/A | N/A | 414 | N/A | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | |
| Ep. | Original broadcast date | Average audience share (Nielsen Korea)[13][14] |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 30, 2026 | 1.9% (26th) |
| 2 | October 31, 2026 | 1.9% (29th) |
| 3 | November 6, 2026 | 2.2% (21st) |
| 4 | November 7, 2026 | 2.4% (27th) |
| 5 | November 13, 2026 | |
| 6 | November 14, 2026 | |
| 7 | November 20, 2026 | |
| 8 | November 21, 2026 | |
| 9 | November 27, 2026 | |
| 10 | November 28, 2026 | |
| 11 | December 4, 2026 | |
| 12 | December 5, 2026 | |
| Average | — | |
| ||
References
[edit]- ↑ Kim, Tae-seung (April 30, 2026). 조영민 감독 라이어에 합류합니다 [Director Jo Young-min joins Liar]. Kim Tae-seong & Monopole. Retrieved August 24, 2026.
- 1 2 3 Ed Waller (September 15, 2026). "Disney+ boards South Korean adaptation of UK drama Liar". C21Media. Retrieved September 15, 2026.
- ↑ Lee, Kyung-ho (July 13, 2026). [단독] 유연석 주연 '라이어', 10월 말 편성...서현진과 MBC 금토극 흥행 정조준 [[Exclusive] Yoo Yeon-seok's 'The Perfect Lie' Scheduled for Late October... Aiming for MBC Friday-Saturday Drama Hit with Seo Hyun-jin]. ize news (in Korean). Retrieved July 18, 2026 – via Naver.
- 1 2 3 Kang Da-yoon (July 3, 2025). "[Exclusive] Seo Hyun-jin and Yoo Yeon-seok reunite after 8 years... Starring in Liar". My Daily (in Korean). Nate. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
- 1 2 "Yoo Yeon-seok·Seo Hyun-jin to lead MBC's 2026 lineup in psychological thriller Liar". Single List (in Korean). December 4, 2025. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 Choi, Young-ju (December 11, 2025). '전우치'·'검은 수녀들' 만든 영화사 집, MBC 드라마 '라이어' 제작 [Film production company Jip, which produced 'Jeon Woo-chi' and 'The Nuns', is producing the MBC drama 'The Perfect Lie'.]. Nocutnews (in Korean). Retrieved July 18, 2026 – via Naver.
- 1 2 Jang Yu-jin (September 23, 2026). "The script reading for the drama Liar is revealed". MBC News (in Korean). Retrieved September 23, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 Kang, Ju-hee (September 22, 2026). 유연석·서현진, 치열한 연기 격돌... '라이어' 10월 30일 첫방 [Yoo Yeon-seok and Seo Hyun-jin, fierce acting clash… 'Liar' premieres October 30]. edaily news (in Korean). Retrieved September 22, 2026 – via Naver.
- 1 2 Yoo, Soo-yeon (October 31, 2026). '라이어' 서현진, 유연석과 첫 데이트 후 오열→성폭행 신고..결국 체포 [★밤TV] ['Liar' Seo Hyun-jin sobs after first date with Yoo Yeon-seok, reports sexual assault... ends up being arrested [★Night TV]]. Starnewskorea (in Korean). Retrieved October 31, 2026.
- ↑ Kim, Hye-young (November 7, 2026). '라이어' 유연석, 또다시 경찰행... 두 얼굴 드러냈다 ['Liar' Yoo Yeon-seok ends up in police custody once again... revealing his two faces]. iMBC (in Korean). Retrieved November 9, 2026.
- ↑ Lee, So-jeong (November 9, 2026). 1%대 시청률 탈피했다... 입소문 탔다는 MBC 금토극, 유연석의 소름 돋는 두 얼굴 ('라이어') [Breaking out of the 1% viewership range... MBC's Friday-Saturday drama gains buzz, featuring Yoo Yeon-seok's chilling dual persona ('Liar')]. TenAsia (in Korean). Retrieved November 9, 2026.
- ↑ Xportsnews (September 24, 2026). "From Love Alarm to Start-Up, beloved K-drama pairings reunite years later". The Korea Times. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
- 1 2 Nielsen Korea ratings:
- "Ep. 3". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). November 6, 2026. Retrieved November 7, 2026.
- ↑ 라이어 시청률 [The Perfect Lie ratings]. Nielsen Korea (in Korean). Retrieved November 8, 2026 – via Daum.
External links
[edit]- Official website (in Korean)
- The Perfect Lie at IMDb
- The Perfect Lie at HanCinema
