First Lady: Release date news, cast, time, streaming details, and more about the new K-drama

The K-drama First Lady started on September 24, 2025, on MBN. At first it looks like another story about politics, but then it leans into something closer, more fragile: the cracks inside a marriage. The idea is framed like a countdown, 67 days until inauguration, yet the pressure begins before the clock even matters. Wins feel unstable, victory never feels safe.

What makes it different is how the show mixes public life with private tension. Usually political dramas show battles in parliaments or rallies. Here the arguments spill out at home, in small rooms, in the silence between two people. The closer they move to power, the more their private conflict echoes everywhere, until it no longer feels private at all.

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First Lady plot and themes

Hyun Min Cheol, played by Ji Hyun Woo, grew up in an orphanage and climbed steadily to become president-elect. His story could be read as triumph, a classic tale of resilience. But the drama twists that idea by placing his wife at the center of his success. Cha Soo Yeon, portrayed by Eugene, has her own ambitions. She supported his career, shaped his public path, and now she expects recognition.

It happens just days before the inauguration. Min Cheol asks for a divorce and suddenly the ground shifts. Everything they built feels unstable, ready to collapse. Something that should have stayed private slips into the open, and once it does, it turns into a political storm. Soo Yeon will not let go, she holds on to the role she carved out for herself. The story circles back to that choice again and again, with ambition clashing against resentment, secrets pushing through the cracks, the image of success breaking faster than expected.

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The teaser

The teaser aired by MBN set the tone sharply. It opens with the couple smiling on stage, celebrating electoral victory, but the smiles vanish almost immediately. One moment dominates the preview: Soo Yeon’s line, What I want is half of everything that that person obtained because of me. The words sound like a demand, not affection, and summarize the imbalance between them.

The trailer ends with a shocking image of Soo Yeon in a car accident, stepping out covered in blood. That scene created strong buzz, reinforcing the sense of danger and unpredictability that has remained around the show since its launch.

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Cast

The production relies on a strong cast. Eugene plays Cha Soo Yeon with intensity, Ji Hyun Woo embodies Min Cheol’s restraint, while Lee Min Young, Han Soo A, Shin So Yool, Kim Gi Bang, and Oh Seung Eun complete the lineup.

Casting matters here because each role feeds the tension. The leads face off in scenes that feel like duels, while the supporting characters surround them, adding pressure and showing how politics is never just about two people.

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Episodes and narrative

So far, three episodes have aired, and episode 4 is scheduled for today, October 2. Each runs close to 70 minutes, with 12 planned in total. Broadcast happens on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 10:20 p.m. KST.

Early episodes highlight contrasts: public unity against private hostility. Sharp conversations, tense silences, and hints of outsiders interfering show how little space remains for intimacy once ambition takes over.

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Streaming

First Lady is listed on Netflix in some regions and also on Viki, though access varies by territory. This international reach allows audiences outside South Korea to follow the story almost in sync with domestic viewers, keeping the suspense alive across markets.

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Final notes

At its center, First Lady is not about victory already achieved but about victory threatened from within. The presidency is framed not as stability but as a fragile state, vulnerable to secrets and ambition.

The premiere confirmed what the teaser suggested: a drama of tension and unpredictability. With most of the season still ahead, the countdown continues. Each week pushes the story closer to breaking point, and the open question is whether power will endure or collapse under personal conflict.