Action? Check. Noir? Check. Woo Do-hwan teaming up with Lee Sang-yi to take down bad guys through some underground fighting? Check, check, and check! Netflix’s Bloodhounds already looks like it’s off to a promising start, if its first teaser is any indication of what’s in store. (And I’m so excited for this pairing!)
Woo Do-hwan (Joseon Attorney) stars as Kim Gun-woo, a champion boxer with an unusually strong left hook. His unconventional fighting style piques the curiosity of his sporting rival Hong Woo-jin, played by Lee Sang-yi (Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha). Over a meal of samgyupsal, Woo-jin asks Gun-woo if he only trained his left arm. The answer? Of course not; his right arm is stronger — it’s just that he can defeat his opponents easily even with his non-dominant hand. That prompts Woo-jin to call Gun-woo a show-off, ha.
Unfortunately, Gun-woo’s promising career is cut short when his mother’s debt compels him to leave the boxing ring in favor of the moneylending scene. That’s where he meets Park Sung-woong (Unlock the Boss) as the loan shark Kim Myung-gil, who has no qualms threatening the weak to get his way. He’s plenty vicious himself, but true to his roots, Gun-woo won’t go down without a fight.
Underestimating Gun-woo may prove to be Myung-gil’s worst mistake, because he certainly isn’t a mere small fry, and he isn’t alone either. Backing him up is Heo Joon-ho (Missing: The Other Side 2) as Boss Choi, a benevolent ex-moneylender who now helps out people in need. That includes our hero, who gets hired as a bodyguard. Joining hands with Woo-jin, Gun-woo punches his way through his underground enemies, one vicious brawl at a time.
Gun-woo and Woo-jin certainly have their work cut out for them — Myung-gil is out for blood, and he isn’t above resorting to knives, crossbows, and even arson. Still, two is better than one, and our boys’ adorable “Fighting!” fist pump certainly has me optimistic about their friendship and their future.
Written and directed by Kim Joo-hwan (The Divine Fury), Bloodhounds is based on a webtoon of the same name. The drama is slated to premiere on June 9.