Hierarchy (TV series)

Hierarchy (하이라키) is a 2024 South Korean teen romance television series written by Chu Hye-mi, directed by Bae Hyeon-jin, and starring Roh Jeong-eui, Lee Chae-min, Kim Jae-won, Ji Hye-won, and Lee Won-jung. Set in Jooshin High School, which prides itself on providing the best high-quality education service in South Korea and where the top 0.01% of children gather. It was released on Netflix on June 7, 2024, and received generally negative reviews.

Synopsis
Founded by South Korea's top conglomerate, the Jooshin Group, Jooshin High School is a place where children are chosen from the moment they are born. At this prestigious private high school, an exciting story of love, friendship, revenge, and compassion unfolds among eighteen young people.

Main

 * Roh Jeong-eui as Jung Jae-i
 * The eldest daughter of the Jaeyul Group, a rival of Jooshin Group, and the queen of Jooshin High School.


 * Lee Chae-min as Kang Ha
 * A transfer student at Jooshin High School who keeps a secret behind his bright smile.


 * Kim Jae-won as Kim Ri-an
 * The number one high school student and successor to the Jooshin Group.


 * Ji Hye-won as Yoon He-ra
 * The youngest daughter of International Yoon, a leading Korean trading company, and the embodiment of jealousy.


 * Lee Won-jung as Lee Woo-jin
 * The second son of a family that has produced politicians for generations, and who has both good looks and kindness.

Supporting

 * Kim Tae-jung as Choi Yun-seok
 * The third son of the Army Chief of Staff. He is a rebel who lives and dies by loyalty and is the top fighter in the school.


 * Seo Bum-june as Nam Ju-won
 * The class president of Jooshin High School who is the Principal's son.


 * Kwon Eun-bin as Gil Ye-ji
 * A high class student at Jooshin High School.


 * Yoon Seok-ho (actor) as Tae-ho
 * A student at Jooshin High School with a past connection to Ha.


 * Seo Jun as Kim Seon-woo
 * A freshman at Jooshin High School who immediately catches the attention of the students and becomes a hot topic.


 * Kim Min-chul (actor) as Kang In-han
 * A calm and attentive student at Jooshin High School. He was ranked first in the country and entered the school as a scholar student but passed away in a sudden accident, leaving behind questions.

Development
Produced by Studio Dragon, the series was helmed by Bae Hyun-jin, who co-directed Start-Up (2020), Big Mouth (2022), Alchemy of Souls (2022–2023), and penned by Chu Hye-mi, who wrote About Time (2018).

Casting
Roh Jeong-eui, Lee Chae-min, Ji Hye-won, and Kim Tae-jeong were reportedly cast for the series in March 2023.

Roh, Lee, and Ji together with Kim Jae-won, and Lee Won-jung were confirmed to star in the series.

Filming
Filming took place in Seoul, Goyang, Incheon, Jecheon, Namhae-gun, Paju, Seocheon, Yangpyeong, Yangyang, and Yeongam, South Korea.

Original soundtrack
The soundtrack album was released on June 7, 2024, together with the release of the series.

Release
In May 2024, Netflix confirmed the release date of the series to be on June 7, 2024.

Critical response
Joel Keller of Decider wrote that the series "may be catnip for people who love elite school dramas", but "doesn't bring anything new to the genre". Sarah Musnicky of But Why Tho? rated it 4.5 out of 10 and wrote the series as "will likely fail to climb the ranks, missing a much-needed spark to make it memorable in a saturated Kdrama sphere". Jonathan Wilson of Ready Steady Cut gave it a 1.5/5 and described the series as "a lazy redo of every teen drama you've seen, though particularly Elite, as if we needed to see any more of that". Pierce Conran of South China Morning Post gave the series 2/5 and wrote that "simple stories alone are not an impediment to a show's value as entertainment" and "the substance of those stories and the charisma of their characters are what count and, on both counts, Hierarchy falls short". Bhavna Agarwal of India Today gave it a 3/5 and wrote that the series "had quite the potential", but sadly, "falls short of enough thrills to warrant a satisfying watch". Tanu I. Raj of NME gave a 2/5 and described that "despite a strong premise and intriguing trailers, this school drama about class inequality falls far short". Pallavi Keswani of The Hindu wrote that "rushed writing and hollow characters bring down the show".

Viewership
Hierarchy ranked second in Netflix's Global Top 10 TV (Non-English) category after three days of its release and was well received in 51 countries being topped in Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam while it listed in the Top 10 including South Korea, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, France, Nigeria, India, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. The following week, the series topped the chart with 48 million hours watched by 6.3 million viewers.