The Heirs

After a chance encounter in LA, two teens from different social backgrounds reunite at an exclusive high school attended by Korea's über rich.

The Heirs (2013) is a South Korean school romance series created by Kim Eun-sook for SBS, a k-drama that became a defining teen melodrama of its time. Park Shin-hye plays Cha Eun-sang, a determined girl from a modest background who finds herself among Korea's ultra-rich students at an exclusive high school, while Lee Min-ho plays Kim Tan, the polished heir whose icy manner hides a more complicated heart. Kim Woo-bin, as the wealthy Choe Yeong-do, and Kim Ji-won, as Yu Rachel, round out a shifting web of rivalries, friendships and crushes. The engine of the show is simple and sticky: Eun-sang wants to belong and to protect her dignity, but every social move she makes is tangled up with money, pride and the hierarchy of the school. Each episode is built from classroom skirmishes, rooftop confrontations, cohabitation awkwardness and the quiet pull of romance that keeps pulling against class lines. The single season runs twenty episodes as one continuing story, with an arc that moves steadily toward its emotional payoff. Its tone is glossy and breezy, with comic exaggeration, sleek fashion and sincere longing sitting side by side. Fans of Boys Over Flowers, Gossip Girl and Kimi ni Todoke will find resonance in its mix of privilege, youthful yearning and melodrama.

Audiences broadly embraced the glossy romance and the chemistry of its young leads, though the series is seen as a light, formulaic teen drama.

• Boys Over Flowersshared k-drama romance, rich poor class gap, high school setting
• Gossip Girlshared teen romance, elite school social hierarchy, glossy youth melodrama
• Kimi ni Todokeshared youthful romantic drama, class divide, love triangle tension

Created by

Kim Eun-sook

Release Date

2013-10-09

Episode runtime

58 min

Rating

7.5 / 10 (682)

What is The Heirs about?

Two teens from opposite social worlds are thrown together at an elite Seoul high school where Korea's wealthiest students rule the halls.

What is The Heirs like to watch?

Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Heirs as brisk, its intensity as mild and its storytelling as easy to follow.

Is The Heirs violent?

Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in The Heirs as mild.

What did critics think of The Heirs?

Audiences broadly embraced the glossy romance and the chemistry of its young leads, though the series is seen as a light, formulaic teen drama.

Which shows are like The Heirs?

Shows with a similar feel include Boys Over Flowers, Gossip Girl, and Kimi ni Todoke.

How long is The Heirs?

The Heirs: 1 season, 20 episodes.

Is The Heirs still running?

No, The Heirs has ended.

Where can I watch The Heirs?

In United States, The Heirs streams on Netflix, Rakuten Viki, Netflix Standard with Ads, Kocowa, WeTV.