The Manipulated

The Manipulated is a 2025 South Korean revenge action crime thriller television series written by, directed by Park Shin-woo and Kim Chang-ju, and starring Ji Chang-wook, Doh Kyung-soo, Kim Jong-soo, Jo Yoon-su, and Lee Kwang-soo. It depicts the story of an ordinary man whose life is abruptly shattered for being wrongly accused of a major crime, but returns to pursue a bloody vengeance after discovering it was a fabrication. The series premiered with 4 episodes on Disney+ as a Hulu original series on November 5, 2025, as the Star content hub was replaced by Hulu on October 8, 2025.

Synopsis

It follows an ordinary man, Park Tae-jung, whose life takes a drastic turn when he is wrongfully accused of a heinous crime and sent to prison. After discovering that everything was orchestrated by An Yo-han, he sets out on a path of revenge.

Cast and characters

Main

Ji Chang-wook as Park Tae-jung
Doh Kyung-soo as An Yo-han
Kim Jong-soo as No Yong-sik
Jo Yoon-su as No Eun-bi
Lee Kwang-soo as Baek Do-kyoung

Supporting

Guan Prison

Yang Dong-geun as Yeo Deok-su
Kim Jae-chul as Yang Chul-hwan
Eum Moon-suk as Do Gang-jae
Lee Jae-kyoon as Koo Ji-yong
Lee Seo-hwan as Park Han-hee

Others

Kim Joong-hee as Kim Sang-rak
Ahn Ji-ho as Park Tae-jin
Kwon Da-ham as Woo-jong
Kim Jung-heon as Jung-soo
Lee Suk-hyeong as Dae-hoon
Han Ji-hyo as Lee Sun-ah
Son Jong-hak as Baek Sang-man
Lim Hwa-young as So Hyun-jung
Lee Sung-woo as Hwang Il-guk
Lee Hyun-jin as Ching Li
Kim Min as Yoo Seon-gyu
Do Hyun-jin as Han-byeol

Special appearances

Pyo Ye-jin as Song Su-ji
Lee Jong-hyun as a sports car driver
Lee Jae-won as a prosecutor
Bae Na-ra as Woo Min-hyung
Jeong In-gi as Yo-han's nanny
Park Mi-hyun as Do-kyoung's mother

Production

Development

The series was developed by the film division of CJENM, It was produced by Studio Dragon and Simplex Films with a production budget of 35 billion won. It was written by, who also wrote the series Taxi Driver. It is based on the film Fabricated City, which Oh Sang-ho co-wrote. In November 2024, Disney+ announced official English name for the series.

Casting

On November 13, 2023, Ji Chang-wook and Doh Kyung-soo were confirmed to be cast in the roles of the main characters.
Jo Yoon-su announced her casting in series in September 2024. In October 2024, news outlets revealed that Pyo Ye-jin was cast as Ji Chang-wook's love interest. In November same year, Lee Kwang-soo's agency King Kong by Starship confirmed his appearance in series as Baek Do-kyung.

Release

The Manipulated was released with 4 episodes on November 5, 2025 on Disney+ under the Hulu on Disney+ label. Subsequently, 2 episodes per week would be released on every Wednesday, with the final 2 episodes on December 3.

Reception

The Manipulated achieved strong viewership, ranking first in South Korea for two consecutive weeks and placed within the worldwide Top 4 as of 17 November, according to FlixPatrol. It also topped KinoLights’ OTT Trend Rankings for the second week of November. The related film Fabricated City similarly experienced a resurgence, rising to No. 2 on several OTT platforms. It also recorded 1.14 million participants on Naver Open Talk, the highest engagement among entertainment programs.