tvN’s upcoming action-fantasy thriller L.U.C.A.: The Beginning has released the first still cuts of lead star Kim Rae-won.

L.U.C.A.: The Beginning is inspired by Charles Darwin’s proposal that present-day humans share a common ancestor, hence the abbreviation L.U.C.A., which stands for Last Universal Common Ancestor.

The series will follow Ji Oh (Kim Rae-won, Black Knight: The Man Who Guards Me), a seemingly emotionless man who hides a dark secret and has no clue about his identity. He goes on a search to figure out who he is and what his special power holds and finds himself chased by mysterious figures. As he runs for his life, he meets homicide detective Goo Reum (Lee Da-hee, Search: WWW), the only person who remembers him.

The photos show Ji Oh in what seems to be his ordinary life—on the run, wounded, armed, and guarded. He continuously struggles to unravel the truth about his existence and his power to change things. In the images, his eyes reflect defeat and loneliness, as if to show his exhaustion over what his life has become.

Kim Rae-won, who is exploring various genres in television projects, shared, “I participated [in the drama] without hesitation [because I’ll be working with] director Kim Hong-sun (The Voice) and writer Chun Sung-il (Your Honor). [The drama] is a new challenge for me, [and it is] meaningful because it is a genre that I’m doing for the first time. I’m looking forward to seeing how the viewers will react.”

In response to being in character, the actor disclosed, “I talked a lot with PD Kim and tried to find out more [about my] character Ji Oh. It wasn’t an easy task, and I still don’t know the answer [about who] Ji Oh is. But I think that’s what makes the drama more exciting.”

L.U.C.A.: The Beginning is scheduled to premiere on February 1 at 9 p.m. as a Monday-Tuesday drama.

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