Revenant (TV series)

Revenant^[4] (Korean: 악귀) is a 2023 South Korean television series written by Kim Eun-hee and starring Kim Tae-ri, Oh Jung-se, and Hong Kyung. It aired from June 23 to July 29, 2023, on SBS TV's Fridays and Saturdays at 22:00 (KST).^[5][6][7] It is also available for streaming on Disney+ in selected regions.^[8]

Revenant
Promotional poster
Hangul	악귀
Hanja	惡鬼
Lit.	Evil Spirit
RR	Akgwi
MR	Akkwi
Genre	Mystery[1] Thriller[1] Horror[2]
Developed by	Lee Ok-gyu (planning)[3]
Written by	Kim Eun-hee
Directed by	Lee Jung-rim[3] Kim Jae-hong[3]
Starring	Kim Tae-ri Oh Jung-se Hong Kyung
Music by	Movie Closer
Country of origin	South Korea
Original language	Korean
No. of episodes	12
Production
Executive producer	Lee Ok-gyu
Producers	Kim Eun-hye[3] Kwon Ryeong-ah[3] Ko Jin-hyeok[3]
Production companies	Studio S[3] B.A. Entertainment[3]
Original release
Network	SBS TV
Release	June 23 (2023-06-23) – July 29, 2023 (2023-07-29)

Synopsis

The series revolves around a young woman possessed by an entity and a professor of folklore who can see ghosts. Together they seek the truth behind mysterious suicides surrounding the city.

Cast

Main

• Kim Tae-ri as Gu San-yeong^[9]

A public prosecutor who has been preparing for the 9th-grade civil service exam. She gets entangled in mysterious deaths, after receiving her late father's belongings.

• Oh Jung-se as Yeom Hae-sang^[9]
  • Ham Sung-min as young Yeom Hae-sang^[10]

A folklore professor from a wealthy family. He has the ability to see spirits and gods.

• Hong Kyung as Lee Hong-sae^[9]

A lieutenant in the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Violent Crime Investigation Unit.

Supporting

• Kim Hae-sook as Na Byung-hee^[11]

Yeom Hae-sang's grandmother and CEO of Joonghyun Capital.

• Park Ji-young as Yoon Gyeong-moon^[12]

Gu San-yeong's mother.

• Kim Won-hae as Seo Mun-chun^[12]

Lee Hong-sae's partner.

• Yang Hye-ji as Baek Se-mi^[13]

Gu San-yeong's high school classmate who is preparing for the civil service exam.

• Lee Kyu-hoe as Kim Chi-won^[14]

Na Byung-hee's closest aide and vice president of Joonghyun Capital.

• Jin Seon-kyu as Gu Kang-mo^[15]

Gu San-yeong's father and a former folklore professor.

Others

• Ye Soo-jung as Kim Seok-ran^[12]

Gu San-yeong's paternal grandmother.

• Kim Shin-bi as Kim Woo-jin^[16]

Yeom Hae-sang's housemate.

• Lee Ji-won as Yoon-jeong^[17]

San-yeong's high school classmate.

Special appearances

• Kim Sung-kyu as voice phishing criminal^[18]
• Park Hyo-joo as Yeom Hae-sang's mother^[19]
• Lee Jae-won as Yeom Jae-woo, Hae-sang's father^[20]
• Oh Yeon-ah as Choi Man-wol^[21]
• Pyo Ye-jin as an influencer^[22]
• Moon Sook as Funeral attendee^[23]
• Cho Hyun-chul as Shaman^[24]
• Choi Gwi-hwa as Chun Il-man^[24]
• Kang Gil-woo as Yeom Seung-ok^[25]
• Park So-yi as Lee Mok-dan^[26]
• Shim Dal-gi as Lee Hyang-yi, Mok-dan's older sister, a demon who possessed San-yeong.^[27]
• Lee Yoo-jun (ko) as Jung Han-ki

A forensic scientist and retired member of the Seoul Cold Case Squad. Assists in reconstructing documents and briefly discusses with Seo Mun-chun about his deceased colleague Gye-chul from the Cold Case Squad (who was also played by Kim Won-hae).

Reception

Viewership

Revenant : South Korea viewers per episode (millions)

Season		Episode number												Average
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
	1	1.767	1.896	2.024	1.835	1.888	2.000	1.952	2.025	1.859	2.109	2.107	2.302	1.980

Source: Audience measurement performed nationwide by Nielsen Korea.^[28]

Average TV viewership ratings

Ep.	Original broadcast date	Average audience share
		Nielsen Korea[28]		TNmS[29]
		Nationwide	Seoul	Nationwide
1	June 23, 2023	9.9% (3rd)	10.8% (1st)	8.0% (4th)
2	June 24, 2023	10.0% (2nd)	10.8% (2nd)	N/A
3	June 30, 2023	11.0% (2nd)	11.9% (1st)	8.7% (4th)
4	July 1, 2023	10.0% (2nd)	10.8% (2nd)	8.4% (2nd)
5	July 7, 2023	10.8% (3rd)	12.2% (1st)	8.0% (4th)
6	July 8, 2023	9.5% (2nd)	10.2% (2nd)	7.9% (2nd)
7	July 14, 2023	10.6% (3rd)	11.0% (2nd)	9.1% (4th)
8	July 15, 2023	10.4% (2nd)	11.1% (2nd)	7.9% (2nd)
9	July 21, 2023	10.3% (2nd)	11.1% (2nd)	7.4% (6th)
10	July 22, 2023	10.9% (2nd)	12.0% (2nd)	8.5% (2nd)
11	July 28, 2023	10.3% (2nd)	10.8% (1st)	7.8% (3rd)
12	July 29, 2023	11.2% (2nd)	12.0% (2nd)	8.0% (2nd)
Average		10.4%	11.2%	—[a]
In the table above, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings. N/A denotes ratings that were not published.

Accolades

Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination

Award ceremony	Year	Category	Nominee / Work	Result	Ref.
Baeksang Arts Awards	2024	Best Drama	Revenant	Nominated	[30]
		Best Screenplay	Kim Eun-hee	Nominated
		Technical Award	Yang Ho-sam, Park Ji-won (Art direction)	Nominated
Korea Drama Awards	2023	Top Excellence Award, Actor	Oh Jung-se	Won	[31]
New York Festival TV & Film Awards	2024	Scifi/Fantasy/Horror	Revenant	Won[b]	[32]
SBS Drama Awards	2023	Grand Prize (Daesang)	Kim Tae-ri	Won	[33]
		Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries Genre/Action Drama	Hong Kyung	Won
		Best Supporting Performance in a Miniseries Genre/Action Drama	Kim Won-hae	Won
		Best New Actress	Yang Hye-ji	Won
		Best Young Actress	Park So-yi	Won
		Best Performance	Jin Seon-kyu	Won
		Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries Genre/Action Drama	Oh Jung-se	Nominated	[34]
		Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries Genre/Action Drama	Kim Tae-ri	Nominated
		Scene Stealer Award	Shim Dal-gi	Nominated	[35]
		Best Supporting Performance in a Miniseries Genre/Action Drama	Kim Hae-sook	Nominated	[36]
			Park Ji-young	Nominated
Seoul International Drama Awards	2024	Outstanding Korean Actress	Kim Tae-ri	Nominated	[37]
WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival	2024	Feature Made for Television/Cable	Revenant	Won[c]	[38]

Notes

1. Due to some ratings not recorded, the exact average rating is unknown.
2. Bronze Award
3. Gold Remi Award