Celebrity (South Korean TV series)

Celebrity is a 2023 South Korean thriller television series written by Kim Yi-young and directed by Kim Cheol-kyu, and starring Park Gyu-young, Kang Min-hyuk, Lee Chung-ah, Lee Dong-gun and Jun Hyo-seong. The series depicts the desires and mysteries surrounding people who become social media influencers, living as so-called celebrities, and the people who envy them. It was released on Netflix, on June 30, 2023.

Synopsis
Seo Ah-ri (Park Gyu-young) finds herself thrown into a life of fame, wealth, and desire as she explores the world of social media influencers. However, Ah-ri mentions how these influencers buy "followers", which tricks laypersons into believing that they are celebrities. As her reputation begins to tarnish during her rise and eventual fall, Ah-ri exposes the scandalous lives of the influencers, involving scams, harassment, drugs, and eventually murder.

Main

 * Park Gyu-young as Seo Ah-ri: a humble door-to-door make-up saleswoman who lives with her mother, who runs a dry-cleaning business. Ah-ri was once wealthy as her late father owned a factory; however, after his death and the company's bankruptcy, the family was left penniless. Her mother is obsessed with wealth and wants to return to her lavish lifestyle while Ah-ri's friend, Yoon Jeong-sun (Park Ye-ni), goes to great lengths to make her famous. One day, Ah-ri meets her childhood "friend" Oh Min-hye, who is an influencer and enjoys flaunting her riches. Min-hye invites Ah-ri, who she believes is still wealthy, to a celebrity party and introduces her to the Gabin Society influencer group.
 * Kang Min-hyuk as Han Jun-kyung: a wealthy and well-sought-after bachelor, is immediately attracted to Ah-ri when he first sees her and takes every opportunity to be with her. He eventually forms a romantic relationship with Ah-ri and uses his social status to help her.
 * Lee Chung-ah as Yoon Si-hyeon: She is the "big sister" of the Gabin Society and is not on any social media. She is kind-hearted and has a soft spot for Ah-ri. She is married to Tae-jeon, and was previously engaged to Jun-kyung.
 * Lee Dong-gun as Jin Tae-jeon: Si-hyeon's husband who is the CEO of the biggest law firm Taegang, despises Jun-kyung and goes to great lengths to destroy Ah-ri while hiding a dark secret of his own.
 * Jun Hyo-seong as Oh Min-hye: Ah-ri's high school classmate who is an influencer in social media. She is jealous of Ah-ri. She claims to come from a wealthy family but does not. She attaches significant importance to designer bags and runs her shopping mall. She is married to a man whom she constantly insults and berates; however, he enjoys the luxurious lifestyle that comes from being married to her. She also gets some followers and fame by depicting her relationship with her husband on social media as ideal and perfect. She and her husband run a Ponzi scheme to fund their lavish lifestyle.

Supporting
Gabin Society: Gabin Society is a content house for influencers whose members derive their sense of self-importance from their hierarchy of followers on Instagram. These members desire the fame that comes with being the most followed on social media, but they do not take responsibility for how they achieve it. They are willing to go to great lengths to protect their reputation and status, even if it means sacrificing others. Vanity and jealousy have corrupted these influencers, and others are ready to bring them down.


 * Jeong Yu-mi as Hwang Yu-ri
 * Han Jae-in as Jin Chae-hee: she comes from a wealthy family. She relies on her family status to leverage her social media presence and to get collaborations with brands. She is the sister of Tae-jeon. She abusively uses drugs.
 * Jung Wook-jin as Kwon Myeong-ho
 * Han Eu-ddeum as Angela: she marries a rich husband but does not allow her to spend his money lavishly. Therefore, she resorts to soliciting her body for the money.
 * Kim Si-hyun as Ji-na: she sells knock-off copies of designer brands and claims them to be real to her followers. She also flaunts these fake brands to claim that she comes from old money.
 * Jung Yoo-min as Han Yu-rang: she is Min-hye's lackey and married to plastic surgeon, Kim Min-chan, who engages in malpractice. Her relationship with her husband is very contested.
 * Kim Noh-jin as Lee Eun-Chae/Lee Seon-Young: The masseur working within the same spa that is sponsored by the Gabin Society. She is later revealed to be the identity behind _bbbfamous, who in reality, is a poor girl flaunting as a rich girl who is a severe anti-fan and wrote malicious comments on many influencers including Ah-ri.
 * Park Ye-ni as Yoon Jeong-sun
 * Han Eun-jung as Wang Ro-la
 * Nam Gi-ae as Lee Hyeon-ok
 * Seo Hyun-woo as Detective Jang Hyun-soo
 * Um Hyo-sup as Park Gyeong-bae
 * Choi Young-woo as Hwang Yong-tae

Special appearances

 * Jin So-yeon as Beanie mom (Ep. 1-2, 9)
 * Lee Jun-ho as cleaning crew staff (Ep. 12)
 * Lee Sang-yoon as celebrity (Ep. 2, 7)
 * David Lee McInnis as celebrity (Ep. 7)
 * Song Kyung-ah as a celebrity (Ep. 7)
 * Seol In-ah as Song Yeon-woo (Ep. 4)
 * Jung Yoo-jin as Choi Bom (Ep. 7–8)
 * Kim Hyun-jung as Kim Hyeon-jeong (Ep. 11)
 * Yuqi as Zhang Wei (Ep. 8–9)
 * Cha Hyun-seung and Oh Jin-taek as a celebrity (Ep. 1)
 * Hook! as a celebrity (Ep. 1, 3, 8)
 * Ssinnim, Calary Girl, Kiudesign, Risa Bae, Director Pi as a celebrity (Ep. 1, 3, 4)
 * Hong Ji-yoon as celebrity (Ep. 1, 7)
 * Jeong Hyuk as celebrity (Ep. 7)
 * Yoon Bo-ra as celebrity (Ep. 7)
 * Lee Hye-sung as celebrity (Ep. 1)
 * Nana as celebrity / Drag Queen (Ep. 1)
 * Park Jae-min
 * Nana Youngrong Kim
 * Glen Check
 * Teacher Ki Woo
 * Kim Jang-mi
 * Ginjo
 * Suna Gul
 * Choi Kwang-rok
 * Lee Hye-ju
 * Oh Young-joo
 * Yoon Hae-bin
 * ASMR Suna
 * Ahn Ye-won
 * Cho Min-ho
 * Cho Jong-tae

Casting
In May 2022, Celebrity confirmed production with ensemble casting of Park Gyu-young, Kang Min-hyuk, Lee Chung-ah, Lee Dong-gun and Jun Hyo-seong.

Filming
Filming began in December 2021.