Defendant

Park Jung-Woo is a prosecutor at Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office. One day, he wakes up and finds himself in locked up at the police station. He has temporary amnesia. Park Jung-Woo is falsely accused and is sentenced to death. He must struggle to prove his innocence.

Defendant (2017) is a South Korean legal thriller created for SBS, a single-season run of eighteen one-hour episodes. Ji Sung plays prosecutor Park Jung-Woo, who wakes in a police cell with temporary amnesia, unable to remember how he got there, and is sentenced to death for a crime he is accused of committing. Uhm Ki-joon plays Cha Sun-Ho and Cha Min-Ho, a figure whose double identity drives much of the intrigue, while Kwon Yu-ri, Oh Chang-seok, and Uhm Hyun-kyung round out a cast of colleagues and rivals inside the prosecution office. The engine of the series is a man who must reconstruct his own recent past while every piece of evidence and every trusted ally seems arranged against him. Each episode tightens the vise through interrogations, courtroom maneuvering, and buried files, while a larger power struggle inside Seoul's legal establishment slowly surfaces. Told as one continuous serialized story rather than standalone cases, it builds a suspense that rewards close attention. Set in contemporary Seoul, its tone is tense, paranoid, and emotionally heavy, with moments of bromance and loyalty cutting through the dread. Fans of The Fugitive, The Night Of, and Suits will find resonance in its wrongfully accused hero and institutional betrayal.

Reviews broadly regard the series as a gripping legal and suspense thriller with a strong lead performance, though aggregate critical reception is limited.

• The Fugitivewrongfully accused protagonist, legal stakes, suspense driven by a hidden conspiracy
• Justice (2017)korean legal thriller with a prosecutor drawn into a murder frame and high-stakes courtroom tension
• Suitsserialized legal conspiracy drama with an innocent man fighting a corrupt system
• The Night Ofserialized crime drama built on institutional corruption and a protagonist fighting to clear his name

Release Date

2017-01-23

Episode runtime

60 min

Rating

8.0 / 10 (40)

What is Defendant about?

A framed Seoul prosecutor with amnesia must fight a death sentence and prove his innocence.

What is Defendant like to watch?

Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Defendant as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.

Is Defendant violent?

Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Defendant as moderate.

What did critics think of Defendant?

Reviews broadly regard the series as a gripping legal and suspense thriller with a strong lead performance, though aggregate critical reception is limited.

Which shows are like Defendant?

Shows with a similar feel include The Fugitive, Justice (2017), Suits, and The Night Of.

How long is Defendant?

Defendant: 1 season, 18 episodes.

Is Defendant still running?

No, Defendant has ended.

Where can I watch Defendant?

In United States, Defendant streams on Netflix, Rakuten Viki, OnDemandKorea, Netflix Standard with Ads, Kocowa Amazon Channel.