The Perfect Lie

*The Perfect Lie*
The Perfect Lie
	Promotional poster
Hangul	라이어
Lit.	Liar
RR	Raieo
MR	Raiŏ
Genre	Psychological thriller; Mystery;
Based on	Liar; by Harry and Jack Williams
Written by	Baek Jae-young
Directed by	Jo Young-min
Starring	Yoo Yeon-seok; Seo Hyun-jin;
Music by	Kim Tae-seong
Country of origin	South Korea
Original language	Korean
No. of episodes	4
Production
Production companies	Kakao Entertainment; Zip Cinema; Cedar and Cypress;
Original release
Network	MBC TV
Release	October 30, 2026 –; present

The Perfect Lie (Korean: 라이어) is an ongoing South Korean psychological thriller television series written by Baek Jae-young, directed by Jo Young-min, and starring Yoo Yeon-seok and Seo Hyun-jin. It is an adaptation of the 2017 British drama Liar by Harry and Jack Williams. The series premiered on MBC TV on October 30, 2026, and airs every Friday and Saturday at 21:50 (KST). It is also available for streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.

Synopsis

The Perfect Lie follows the story of Kang Ji-seon, an elementary school teacher, and Min Jun-ho, a cardiac surgeon who raises his son alone.After an apparently perfect first encounter, the two begin giving completely opposing accounts of the same memory. As their stories collide, they engage in an intense search for the truth, where it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish between truth and lies.

Cast

Main

Yoo Yeon-seok as Min Jun-ho

A cardiac surgeon who raises his son as a single father.

Seo Hyun-jin as Kang Ji-seon

An elementary school librarian who becomes involved with Min Jun-ho.

Supporting

Ok Ja-yeon as Lee Hwa-young

Lieutenant from the Women and Youth Affairs Division.

Im Sung-jae as Park Seok-gu
Kim Ji-hyun as Kang Ji-eun

Kang Ji-seon's older sister.

Lee Chun-hee as Kim Hyung-soo

Production

Development

The series was first announced in late 2025 as a joint production between Kakao Entertainment and its subsidiary Zip Cinema. Director Jo Young-min was confirmed to lead the project. The script is written by Baek Jae-young.

Casting

In December 2025, it was confirmed that Yoo Yeon-seok and Seo Hyun-jin would reunite as lead actors eight years after their collaboration in Dr. Romantic.

Viewership

The Perfect Lie : South Korea viewers per episode (thousands)

Season		Episode number
Season		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
	1	N/A	N/A	414	N/A	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD

Source: Audience measurement performed nationwide by Nielsen Korea.

Average TV viewership ratings (nationwide)
Ep.	Original broadcast date	Average audience share (Nielsen Korea)
1	October 30, 2026	1.9% (26th)
2	October 31, 2026	1.9% (29th)
3	November 6, 2026	2.2% (21st)
4	November 7, 2026	2.4% (27th)
5	November 13, 2026
6	November 14, 2026
7	November 20, 2026
8	November 21, 2026
9	November 27, 2026
10	November 28, 2026
11	December 4, 2026
12	December 5, 2026
Average		—
In the table above, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings. N/A denotes ratings that were not published.

References

↑ Kim, Tae-seung (April 30, 2026). 조영민 감독 라이어에 합류합니다 [Director Jo Young-min joins Liar]. Kim Tae-seong & Monopole. Retrieved August 24, 2026.
1 2 3 Ed Waller (September 15, 2026). "Disney+ boards South Korean adaptation of UK drama Liar". C21Media. Retrieved September 15, 2026.
↑ Lee, Kyung-ho (July 13, 2026). [단독] 유연석 주연 '라이어', 10월 말 편성...서현진과 MBC 금토극 흥행 정조준 [[Exclusive] Yoo Yeon-seok's 'The Perfect Lie' Scheduled for Late October... Aiming for MBC Friday-Saturday Drama Hit with Seo Hyun-jin]. ize news (in Korean). Retrieved July 18, 2026 – via Naver.
1 2 3 Kang Da-yoon (July 3, 2025). "[Exclusive] Seo Hyun-jin and Yoo Yeon-seok reunite after 8 years... Starring in Liar". My Daily (in Korean). Nate. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
1 2 "Yoo Yeon-seok·Seo Hyun-jin to lead MBC's 2026 lineup in psychological thriller Liar". Single List (in Korean). December 4, 2025. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
1 2 3 4 Choi, Young-ju (December 11, 2025). '전우치'·'검은 수녀들' 만든 영화사 집, MBC 드라마 '라이어' 제작 [Film production company Jip, which produced 'Jeon Woo-chi' and 'The Nuns', is producing the MBC drama 'The Perfect Lie'.]. Nocutnews (in Korean). Retrieved July 18, 2026 – via Naver.
1 2 Jang Yu-jin (September 23, 2026). "The script reading for the drama Liar is revealed". MBC News (in Korean). Retrieved September 23, 2026.
1 2 3 4 Kang, Ju-hee (September 22, 2026). 유연석·서현진, 치열한 연기 격돌…‘라이어’ 10월 30일 첫방 [Yoo Yeon-seok and Seo Hyun-jin, fierce acting clash… ‘Liar’ premieres October 30]. edaily news (in Korean). Retrieved September 22, 2026 – via Naver.
1 2 Yoo, Soo-yeon (October 31, 2026). '라이어' 서현진, 유연석과 첫 데이트 후 오열→성폭행 신고..결국 체포 [★밤TV] ['Liar' Seo Hyun-jin sobs after first date with Yoo Yeon-seok, reports sexual assault... ends up being arrested [★Night TV]]. Starnewskorea (in Korean). Retrieved October 31, 2026.
↑ Xportsnews (September 24, 2026). "From Love Alarm to Start-Up, beloved K-drama pairings reunite years later". The Korea Times. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
1 2
Nielsen Korea ratings:
- "Ep. 3". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). November 6, 2026. Retrieved November 7, 2026.
↑ 라이어 시청률 [The Perfect Lie ratings]. Nielsen Korea (in Korean). Retrieved November 8, 2026 – via Daum.

External links

[1] Kim, Tae-seung (April 30, 2026). 조영민 감독 라이어에 합류합니다 [Director Jo Young-min joins Liar]. Kim Tae-seong & Monopole. Retrieved August 24, 2026.

[C21PerfectLie2026-2] 1 2 3 Ed Waller (September 15, 2026). "Disney+ boards South Korean adaptation of UK drama Liar". C21Media. Retrieved September 15, 2026.

[3] Lee, Kyung-ho (July 13, 2026). [단독] 유연석 주연 '라이어', 10월 말 편성...서현진과 MBC 금토극 흥행 정조준 [[Exclusive] Yoo Yeon-seok's 'The Perfect Lie' Scheduled for Late October... Aiming for MBC Friday-Saturday Drama Hit with Seo Hyun-jin]. ize news (in Korean). Retrieved July 18, 2026 – via Naver.

[KangDaYoonMyDaily2025Liar-4] 1 2 3 Kang Da-yoon (July 3, 2025). "[Exclusive] Seo Hyun-jin and Yoo Yeon-seok reunite after 8 years... Starring in Liar". My Daily (in Korean). Nate. Retrieved December 4, 2025.

[SList2025Liar-5] 1 2 "Yoo Yeon-seok·Seo Hyun-jin to lead MBC's 2026 lineup in psychological thriller Liar". Single List (in Korean). December 4, 2025. Retrieved December 4, 2025.

[:0-6] 1 2 3 4 Choi, Young-ju (December 11, 2025). '전우치'·'검은 수녀들' 만든 영화사 집, MBC 드라마 '라이어' 제작 [Film production company Jip, which produced 'Jeon Woo-chi' and 'The Nuns', is producing the MBC drama 'The Perfect Lie'.]. Nocutnews (in Korean). Retrieved July 18, 2026 – via Naver.

[JangYuJinMBC2026LiarScriptReading-7] 1 2 Jang Yu-jin (September 23, 2026). "The script reading for the drama Liar is revealed". MBC News (in Korean). Retrieved September 23, 2026.

[:1-8] 1 2 3 4 Kang, Ju-hee (September 22, 2026). 유연석·서현진, 치열한 연기 격돌…‘라이어’ 10월 30일 첫방 [Yoo Yeon-seok and Seo Hyun-jin, fierce acting clash… ‘Liar’ premieres October 30]. edaily news (in Korean). Retrieved September 22, 2026 – via Naver.

[Supporting-9] 1 2 Yoo, Soo-yeon (October 31, 2026). '라이어' 서현진, 유연석과 첫 데이트 후 오열→성폭행 신고..결국 체포 [★밤TV] ['Liar' Seo Hyun-jin sobs after first date with Yoo Yeon-seok, reports sexual assault... ends up being arrested [★Night TV]]. Starnewskorea (in Korean). Retrieved October 31, 2026.

[XportsnewsKoreaTimes2026Liar-10] Xportsnews (September 24, 2026). "From Love Alarm to Start-Up, beloved K-drama pairings reunite years later". The Korea Times. Retrieved September 25, 2026.

[nielsen-11] 1 2 Nielsen Korea ratings:
"Ep. 3". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). November 6, 2026. Retrieved November 7, 2026.

[mwAa4] "Ep. 3". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). November 6, 2026. Retrieved November 7, 2026.

[12] 라이어 시청률 [The Perfect Lie ratings]. Nielsen Korea (in Korean). Retrieved November 8, 2026 – via Daum.

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