Behind the scenes of Nine Puzzles, the latest Disney+ K-drama thriller — from meals to famous cameos

Making Nine Puzzles exposed a complex and unpredictable production process, complete with late-night casting calls, food-related side effects, and visual choices that merged noir and surreal.

Filming a psychological K-drama about childhood trauma and serial murders is complicated enough. Add a star-studded cast, surreal visuals, and a tightly wound production schedule, and you get Nine Puzzles, a series as chaotic behind the scenes as it seems calculated on screen.

The reality behind the scenes can be as complex, and at times more so, than what viewers see on screen. From star-studded cameos to on-set weight gain, here’s how the thriller’s chaos unfolded off-camera.

Nine Puzzles: Unconventional on screen and behind it

Shown in front of the camera is a cold, methodical mystery built on fragments of memory and grief. Behind the scenes? Snack crises, fashion debates, and a director dialing every big name in his contact list like he was casting a heist movie. There was comfort food, beanie controversy, and a production team trying to balance emotional weight with absurdist flair.

And while the story’s structure may be rigid, its creation was anything but. On set, the lines between careful planning and creative chaos blurred constantly, giving way to unexpected choices, improvised details, and an atmosphere where spontaneity shaped just as much as the script did.

The final result might feel like a polished, clinical thriller, but according to those who lived it, making Nine Puzzles was anything but tidy. From star-studded cameos to on-set weight gain, here’s how the chaos took shape.

A director on the phone, calling in favors

Director Yoon Jong-bin had a vision: a crime thriller with surreal flair and unforgettable faces. What he didn’t have was a fully booked cast. So he started calling in favors—not from agents, but from friends. Former collaborators, dinner guests, anyone who’d pick up the phone.

"Each episode has its own central character, and if actors without a strong on-screen gravitas take on those roles, viewers might quickly forget them since their screen time is short. So, we needed actors with substantial on-screen gravitas and strong acting skills, but the roles themselves aren't large. I found myself in trouble, because I needed so many people for the cast. I mobilized all my personal connections. Practically everyone with whom I've built connections in my 20-year-long career appears, and it was a really tough [casting work]."

That’s how Nine Puzzles ended up with a cameo list that looks like someone looted the Blue Dragon Awards.

"To create unforgettable characters, I pulled strings and had meals with acquaintances to ask if they would be interested in making an appearance."

The Worst of Evil's Park Sung-woong shows up as a shady informant. Reborn Rich star Lee Sung-min appears as a coroner whose quiet demeanor leaves plenty unsaid. Veteran Hwang Jung-min took on the role of a reclusive billionaire, and Under the Queen’s Umbrella actor Ji Jin-hee joined the lineup thanks to the director’s long-standing industry ties.

The cameos aren’t just decoration. They’re mood pieces, each one sharp-edged and slightly out of place—just like the puzzle pieces left behind by the show’s killer.

When the real mystery was the snack table

As intense as Nine Puzzles looks on screen, what happened between takes was, at times, closer to a food sitcom. The cast and crew developed what looked like "a snack crisis”—an ongoing battle between comfort and control.

Son Suk-ku admitted to gaining about 5kg throughout filming:

"I gained weight during filming. At some point the snacks were replaced with healthier options like walnuts. I guess I’m like a goldfish—I eat whatever’s there,” he joked. [...] "One day, the snack table on set was replaced with healthy food. If you watch the drama, you'll see that I gain weight in the middle and then lose it. Please keep an eye out for that," he teased.

Meanwhile, Kim Da-mi recalled bingeing on jajangmyeon between heavy scenes. She said that eating together after intense scenes helped them decompress, and that shared meals were one of the warmest parts of the experience.

"Yes, I had to tell the staff to control the catering because I saw them gaining weight…I got them to reduce sugary food on set. One day, they came in, and it was suddenly a table of healthy food instead!," reflected the director.

It seems that, behind the scenes, food was a character in its own right.

Characters built from clothes and impulse

The chaos extended into costume design. Kim Da-mi’s character, profiler E-na, displays even custom nail art.

"The role of E-na felt fresh. I wanted to portray a childlike aspect of her, as if she's stuck in the past," she added. "She might seem selfish, but I wanted to show her as a vulnerable character with pain hidden inside," said Kim Da-mi. [...] She wears the necktie very often—a very important part of her outfit—and wears a lot of colours too. I wanted to show that she’s like a private detective who’s on her own with her own sense of her style. It’s a little cartoonish and unique in that way."

Son Suk-ku’s detective, Han Saem, became instantly recognizable thanks to his beanie—a choice he brought from his real-life wardrobe.

“I wear beanies often in real life, but it’s an unusual accessory for a detective. The director even double-checked if it would violate dress code regulations. It’s a unique choice that actually helped my performance, so I kept wearing it throughout.”

Yoon Jong-bin agreed. The beanie stayed. And it's easy to understand its purpose when you watch the drama: his character thus does not stand out that much. Purpose accomplished!

Yoon Jong-bin further commented on the drama's intense visual style by saying:

“After reading the script, I wondered whether something like this could happen in real life, or whether such characters could actually exist. From a realism perspective, those doubts are valid. So I felt the tone needed to be elevated to a world that straddles the line between reality and unreality — a more cartoon-like world. It was important to convey early on through the art direction, costumes and sets that this world is somewhat removed from reality.”

Those small, offbeat choices gave the characters an odd specificity that matched the show’s dreamlike tone. Even when the world of Nine Puzzles gets bleak, there’s always something slightly weird hanging in the frame—a hat, a stare, a pair of glittery nails—disrupting the realism just enough.

Final thoughts

While the finished product feels sharp and restrained, the path to get there was anything but. From last-minute casting calls to snacks turned healthy turned back to snacks again, Nine Puzzles was held together by instinct, improvisation, and a lot of off-camera laughter.

The chaos didn’t just survive the editing room—it shaped the show. And somehow, all that imbalance made the world on screen feel even more uncanny.

So while Nine Puzzles asks its characters to piece together a cold-blooded mystery, the real puzzle might’ve been getting the thing made. It took late-night calls, costume quirks, and more noodles than anyone wants to admit—but somehow, the chaos clicked.

The first six episodes are now streaming on Hulu (in the US) and on Disney+(worldwide), and the rest are on the way.

Whether you’re in it for the plot twists or just curious to spot the beanie in action—or weight gained—, one thing’s clear: this thriller wasn’t built in silence. It was built between bites and phone calls.