Disney+ Sets November Premiere for K-Drama "The Remarried Empress"

Disney+ has set a November 4 premiere for “The Remarried Empress,” a fantasy romance drama adapted from a Naver webtoon that has drawn nearly three billion views. The streamer released the first teaser trailer alongside the announcement, confirming the show will open with four episodes before shifting to a two-episode weekly schedule through a November 25 finale.

The series follows Empress Navier, played by Shin Min-a, whose marriage to Emperor Sovieshu, portrayed by Ju Ji-hoon, collapses after he falls for a servant named Rashta, played by Lee Se-young. Rather than beg to remain empress, Navier agrees to the divorce on her own terms, striking a deal to marry Prince Heinrey of a rival kingdom, played by Lee Jong-suk. Jo Soo-won, whose credits include “Pinocchio” and “I Can Hear Your Voice,” directs from a script by Yeo Ji-na and Hyun Choong-yeol.

In the teaser, Sovieshu tells Navier she will remain his only wife no matter what happens, a vow undercut moments later when he tells Rashta he missed her. The shift signals the political and emotional unraveling that drives the season.

Ahead of its streaming debut, the production will screen three episodes at the Busan International Film Festival in October, part of the festival’s On Screen section for high-profile series. Disney has treated the slot as a prestige launch rather than a routine promotional stop, pairing the show with a red-carpet rollout typically reserved for feature films.

The premiere lands amid a broader push by Disney+ into Korean-language programming. Executives have pointed to recent hits including “Perfect Crown,” which drew more than 43 million watch hours and became the platform’s biggest Korean series debut, and the reality format “Battle of Fates,” now being adapted into regional remakes. Company leadership has described Korean originals as central to closing the subscriber gap with Netflix internationally, betting that stories built for local audiences first can travel globally once they land.

“The Remarried Empress” arrives as one of the costlier entries in that strategy, with Disney positioning the series, and its established cast, as a test of whether webtoon-driven romance fantasy can match the global reach of Korean thrillers and crime dramas.