# Thirty-Nine (2022)

> Three best friends on the brink of turning forty lean on each other through love, loss and life's hardest turns.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/108386

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 12
- Episode runtime: 72 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: drama, romance
- Created by: Yu Young-ah, Kim Sang-ho
- Network: JTBC
- Cast: Son Ye-jin, Jeon Mi-do, Kim Ji-hyun, Yeon Woo-jin, Lee Mu-saeng, Lee Tae-hwan, An So-hee, Kang Mal-geum
- TMDB rating: 7.7/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15181094/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: none
- Tone: melancholic, warm, bittersweet, emotional

## What critics say

Audiences rated the miniseries positively for its portrayal of friendship and emotional honesty, though some viewers felt its stacked hardships turned into a competition of misery.

## Synopsis

Thirty-Nine (2022) is a South Korean miniseries created by Yu Young-ah and Kim Sang-ho for JTBC, a single-season run of twelve episodes. Cha Mi-jo (Son Ye-jin), Jeong Chan-young (Jeon Mi-do) and Jang Joo-hee (Kim Ji-hyun) are three best friends standing together as they approach forty, navigating careers, romance and loss in contemporary Seoul. Their engine is the bond itself: each woman has her own romantic and personal crossroads, and the group keeps returning to one another for support when life pulls them in different directions. Supporting characters including Yeon Woo-jin as Kim Sun-woo and Lee Tae-hwan as Park Hyun-joon widen the romantic web around the trio. Episodes run long, around seventy-two minutes each, giving room for lingering conversations, emotional confessions and quiet domestic scenes. The tone blends warmth and melancholy, with romance threaded through sorrow, and the drama asks what friendship can carry when time is running short. Viewers who enjoy Sex and the City's adult female friendships, Reply 1988's ensemble warmth or Friends' loyal group dynamic will find resonance here. Mature material and heavy emotional stakes make it a drama for adult viewers.

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