Nam Goong Min is back on KBS with new thriller The Husband, his first drama for the network in seven years, and episode 1 has finally aired into one of the toughest weekend slots in Korea.
The crime romance premiered July 4 on KBS2 as a 12 episode weekend series and rolls out on Disney Plus in select regions, with U.S. streaming starting July 9. With SBS hit Agent Kim Reactivated already soaring past 20 percent, the big question is whether Nam Goong Min The Husband pairing can hook enough viewers from its very first week.
Inside Nam Goong Min’s KBS Return With The Husband
The Husband (Korean title The Completion of Marriage) is a romantic crime thriller in KBS2’s revived Saturday Sunday 9:20 p.m. KST miniseries slot, which had been on pause since earlier this year. The drama runs for 12 episodes through August 9, written by Jung Jae Ha and directed by Kim Jung Hyun and Kim Min Tae, known for stylish genre work.
Nam plays Kang Tae Joo, a star neurosurgeon and director of a major hospital whose marriage is falling apart. After he bluntly asks his wife Go Se Yoon, the hospital chairwoman played by Lee Seol, for a divorce, she is kidnapped the very next day by academy head Noh Man Hee, a man who hides a ruthless criminal nature behind a gentle image.
As Tae Joo races to save her, he also becomes a prime suspect in what looks like a murder for hire plot, turning him into both fugitive and hunter. The director has stressed that despite its title this is not a warm family drama but a psychological crime story about distrust in marriage, saying the name reflects how “many things can happen” once two very different people marry. Nam shared that episode 1 moved at an “incredible pace,” and that the script immediately convinced him to take the role.
Did The Husband’s Premiere Hook Viewers?
According to Nielsen Korea, The Husband opened with a 4.4 percent nationwide rating for its first episode. On the same night, SBS rival Agent Kim Reactivated hit 21.6 percent for episode 4, becoming 2026’s most watched drama so far and setting up a clear weekend ratings showdown.
The number looks modest compared to Nam’s own KBS history, since workplace comedy Good Manager peaked at 18.4 percent. But for a darker than usual KBS weekend drama relaunching a time slot, it is a start that can still grow if word of mouth builds.
Early coverage points to a strong narrative hook. Stills from the premiere show Tae Joo and Se Yoon standing stiffly together at a hospital event, their emotional distance obvious even in front of cameras. An international review from Leisurebyte called episode 1 “a seriously wild premiere” that shifts quickly from chilly marital drama to full kidnapping thriller and leaves viewers with multiple mysteries to solve.
The ensemble is another draw. Kim Dae Myung’s Noh Man Hee gives the series a quietly menacing villain, while Lee Sang Hee plays Kim Kyung Ae, a kindly but unsettling woman tied to the kidnapping’s secrets. Park Byung Eun appears as former detective Lee Soo Hyung, who now runs a private investigation agency and digs into the case.
How To Watch The Husband In The U.S. And What Comes Next
In Korea, KBS2 will continue airing two episodes every weekend through August 9, with each installment running around 70 minutes. For international viewers, The Husband is part of Disney Plus’s 2026 K drama lineup, which is key for fans who follow Nam’s thrillers more on streaming than on live TV.
- Korean broadcast: KBS2, Saturdays and Sundays at 9:20 p.m. KST
- Premiere and finale window: July 4 to August 9, 2026
- Episode count: 12, airing two episodes per week
- U.S. streaming: Disney Plus from July 9, 2026, with availability varying by region
Episodes 2 to 4 will be crucial in showing whether the frantic cat and mouse between Tae Joo and Noh Man Hee, and the deeper secrets around Se Yoon and Kim Kyung Ae, can push ratings upward and help The Husband carve out its own fandom beside Agent Kim Reactivated.