K-drama The Devil Judge: slick and slimy dystopian courtroom drama is in session
- Ji Sung plays a dashing judge chosen as the main protagonist in a live courtroom show that nationally televises all its high-profile cases
- With style to burn, an engaging lead character and a cast of slick miscreants, the series is off to a promising start
The worlds of jurisprudence and high society collide in the deliciously overblown The Devil Judge, a new Korean drama that takes place in an alternate reality where the downtrodden are ruled over by a decadent and dastardly elite.
Not seen since Doctor John two years ago, Ji Sung returns to screens, cutting a fine figure with his chiselled features and courtroom robes in the title role. He plays Kang Yo-han, a dashing judge who has been chosen as the head jurist of a live courtroom show that will nationally televise all its high-profile tribunals.
The programme is backed by a coterie of slimy aristocrats, ranging from fat-cat bureaucrats like the cackling and oratory-prone President Heo Joong-se (Baek Hyun-jin) and the self-serving Justice Minister Cha Kyung-hee (Jang Young-nam), to members of the Social Responsibility Foundation such as the creepy Chairman Seo Jung-hak (Jung In-gyeom) and the mysterious and oleaginous lobbyist Jung Sun-ah (Kim Min-jung).
The show kicks off in a near-future dystopia after a devastating pandemic has swept through the land, a crisis that led to civil unrest and eventually the so-called “Gwanghwamun Riots”. After suppressing these protests, the government now leads the poverty-riddled society through empty promises and political theatre.
In cahoots with the beloved but clearly very shady Social Responsibility Foundation, the government seeks to offer an opium of the masses through their live court show. A handsome social media star, Yo-han, is the ideal choice to lead the bench and his penchant for theatre delivers strong ratings, but can this unpredictable judge be controlled by the powers that be?