No hopes on the genres. However I have hopes on the pairings. I hope they pair actors correctly in coming time. And there are some pairings I'd like to see, one of such is @solstices pairings mentioned in the Dramabeans AMA

There are some actors and actresses that were formerly taking leading roles or substantial supporting arcs in the 2010's but are now taking secondary or even tertiary roles currently. With the surge of dramas casting middle aged actors in 2022 I hope these actors get better character offers that allows them more screentime and more to do this year.

I would like to see a range of dramas:
1) Normal life without past childhood trauma with ensemble casts with stories just as interesting as the main leads so it feels like a community, found family. I didn’t watch Our Blues or My Liberation Notes but got the impression that they were community based dramas with multiple stories. Prison Playbook would be a good example of a group of people with their own stories alongside the lead.
2) Slice of life mixed with romance which can be slow paced like Dear my friends, I will come to you when the weather is fine, Twelve nights or Would you like a cup of coffee.
3) Slice of life with lighter moments alongside serious issues like Oh my baby, Jealousy Incarnate, The Package, Chief Kim.
4) Straight up rom com like What’s up with secretary Kim, Business Proposal, Mr Queen, Shooting Stars. They all had additional elements like trauma or the palace politics but on the whole were laugh out loud funny.

Only having a season two for series that deserve it, most kdramas don’t need more than one season to finish and complete their stories.

More comedies that are actual comedies like Welcome to Waikiki or Gaus Electronics

More fantasy kdramas, while yeah I have plenty of issues with Alchemy of Souls, it’s still making me crave more fantasy dramas

Lee Jae-Wook to be the lead in every single kdrama this year

Yoon Park to be the main lead in a drama

Dispatch crying because they couldn’t reveal their stalking of a celebrity couple in the 1st of January (oh wait that did happen)

Overall kdramas to be consistent from the beginning to the end since 2022 had a lot of disappointing endings

More Ajusshi and Ajumma romances

Far more Queer representation

Well written drama until the end!

No fantasy or Scifi theme that writers can't handle, world building is a difficult exercice and even famous writers failed (AoS for example...).

Not too much violence!

I miss rom-com, romance or slice of life without violence in it.
I want to swoon over a good romance, none of 2022 was completely satisfying. Lack of chemistry, not well written, bad tropes, etc.

No lawyer!

Let them rest a little bit.

More sageuks!

I really liked The Queen's Umbrella but Forbidden Mariage is really pushing the modern touch too much.

Hoping Jung Kyung Ho, Jeon Do Yeon's Crash Course in Romance and Gong Hyo Jin, Lee Min Ho's Ask the stars are genuinely wonderful dramas.

These are the only two shows I've been waiting for trusting in the PD, writer amd one actor in each. But it would be nice if we can have pleasant surprises like A Business Proposal which was unexpectedly fun.

I’m easy—an engaging story, and we’ll developed plot, crackling chemistry between actors —male and female, and and ending that I don't have to rewrite in my head and pretend it's cannon. Some pretty cinematography is nice too.

I just want butterflies. Give me butterflies.

Hoping for some mature romance, where the leads are adults and their relationship grows organically over the course of time. No meet cute or love at first sight or fated to be. While all this happens I definitely don’t want a murder mystery shoved in randomly. Lol.

Here’s to a wonderful drama watching year! Happy 2023 fellow beanies. Wishing you all good health and happiness.

1: Death to undeserved sequels. Hoping Arsedal 2 & Joseon Psychiatrist 2 both bomb so spectacularly and expensively that the entire industry learns an unforgettable lesson. Yah, fat chance, but I can dream can't I?

2: More shows that stick to what they are good at -- whatever that is -- without giving us too much tonal whiplash. Be like Mother, Signal, Gaus (except maybe episode 1), Queen In-Hyun's Man, etc.

3: Kim So-hyun.

I hope we see more comedies that stay comedies rather than riffing into something else.

Please also remember to put comedy into the romcoms.

I just want a drama from Park Jae-bum writer-nim. 🥺

1) I am liking the trend of shorter kdramas so I hope for more stories than can be wrapped up in less than 16 episodes to stick to that.
2) I'm hoping that perfectly decent kdramas land their endings well this year and not go off the rails in their final episodes, there were way too many disappointments in 2022.
3) I'm hoping to see Jisung on my screen sometime soon! I have a feeling he might not take a project this year, so I hope I'm proven wrong.

More fun ensembles! I like dramas giving chances for non-headlining actors to get their own stories and romances. Give me multiple pairings.

More royal inspector type/light historical-mystery dramas where they go around and solve mysteries/problems for people...after getting 2 of them in 2021 and none in 2022, I miss them. Palace stuff was kept to a minimum and the romance was more secondary/tertiary to the comedy. And they got to travel. Sageuk Queen of Mystery? Sageuk Sherlock Holmes?

I'm happy to see blue chip U.S. companies (Amazon, Disney, Netflix) pour money into the kdrama industry. But the splitting up the show to hang onto subscribers? That needs to die.

Good old-fashioned sageuks.

I would like to see shorter individual episodes. I have trouble with episodes that go over an hour both in attention and finding the time to watch. I really like good writing and engaging stories that take on challenging topics and give me complicated characters. I love politics historically and current, but would like to see more stories of how politics have impacted people outside of those pulling the strings. I like comedies, but often that humor doesn't translate well to me especially because so much of the humor is a kind of in joke (referencing other dramas that I may not have seen) or just culturally different. I would like more stories that revolve around any age but the 29/30 year old set, perhaps even some more 2nd chance love stories. Banish all stalkers, serial killers and the lawyers that represent them and their victims. I came to k-dramas because of the great storytelling, the abundance of really interesting characters. Not all my stories need to be love stories, but I do like them and love stories is not something that western dramas have embraced well. That is really what sets k-dramas apart, and I hope that is something they retain. I'm still finding some great k-dramas and this year there were quite a few that I liked. So, I am hopeful for the new year.

More lawyer shows:

Sageuks: Crown Prince Lawyer, Queen Maidservant Lawyer, Concubine Lawyer, Joseon Accountant Lawyer,

Fantasy: Reaper Lawyer, Alchemy of Lawsuits, Gaming Avatar of Law

Slice of life dramas: The modern Lawyer family (with husband wife and two child prodigy lawyers), Lawyer 1997, Lawyer Neighborhood.

Rom Coms: Love Lawyer Star Agent, I Married an Anti-Lawyer, A Lawyer Named Su.

for the love of God, no more rom-coms that involve a childhood trauma where the other lead (cue childhood connection trope) is a decisive participant in said trauma involving evil chaebols/assemblymen, and we have to sit through 2 episodes of noble idiocy and manufactured conflict.
Also, no murder in rom-coms.

I am desperate for a well-written coming-of-age story with or without a first love component. or a coming into one's self (at any age) story that is honest but not depressing, complex but not complicated.

I’d like more light shows.

I’d like good love stories that transcend time and space. I know I might sound like a hopeless romantic, but I think Cdrama do this so well I wonder if Kdramas can pull this off.

What I like about Kdramas are characters. Most of the time these characters are complex. This is why I think I’d like more coming-of-age dramas that have happy endings. 2521 has perfect ending imo, but having a sad ending made me reluctant to rewatch it. One heartbreak is enough for me, so it seems.

More simple dramas. By simple, I’m thinking of I am not a Robot simple. It’s simple, yet it’s so good. I’d love to have more like this.

I think the Cdrama New Life Begins has this simple, understated feelings to it which I loved. I’d like to also see if Kdramas can pull this off.

More Lee Min-ki, please. Like, wouldn't it be cool if he starred in a drama opposite Nana? That's something he's never done no matter what anyone says or shows you, and I think they would make a handsome pair.

the fiery priest 2!!! it's been 4 years!!!

To reiterate from another post. I hope in 2023 cops/crime/mystery writers get their mojo back. 2022 was not a good year for that genre imo. They can begin by finally giving us SIGNAL 2.

My hopes for 2023 is to see more middle aged actors in romance genres, more romance melodramas to be announced (although I know these dramas aren’t very popular) and to see lee soo hyuk as a lead 🤞🏼I hope that’s not too much to ask 😅

In 2021 there were 2 shows that I loved with my all heart, both of them very unexpectedly so. In 2022 there was only one like that and I somehow always knew it's gonna be good. So, to conclude my wishful thinking about the matter - I hope that shows I'm already looking forward to will turn out good (or, at least, watchable enough) and that some of the maaany shows I have no faith for currently will manage to surprise me in a good way. And please, PLEASE let there be MORE than just 1 great drama in the whole year again!

P.S. No more Disney+. At all. In any form. Especially in collab with my faves. Leave kdramas alone altogether, you greedy monster, and go back to sucking the last bits of life, joy and artistic freedom from western cinema like you've been doing for ages now. My eternal gratitude in advance^^

1. DEATH TO SECOND SEASONS!!

2. No more serial killers in non-crime/thrillers. Actually, just showcase a more diverse range of crimes even in the crime/thriller genres. You’d think 20% of the South Korean population were hardened serial killers by the way these people write their plots.

3. Romcoms that are actually good. Possibly even with… *gasp* couples that have actual crackling chemistry and heart-fluttering moments. I should not have to migrate to cdramas for what kdramas are most famous for.

4. Fantasy/sci-fi dramas that aren’t awful. Or at least make them fun à la Alchemy of Souls.

5. LGBT representation that’s actually good. Maybe let us fall in love or not be tragic victims for once? Fruit for thought.

6. Junho on my screen. And no, he definitely doesn’t have an upcoming drama costarring YoonA. He would never agree to such a boring project! Yup, he’s all free for 2023. *sobs*

Two of my favorite dramas were Black Dog, about a new teacher and a school, and Misaeng, about an intern at a big company. I would love another show that lets the viewer enter Korean society in that way. I don't mind a little bit of mystery, a little bit of childhood history, a little bit of romance, but as much as I love me some Dickensian coincidences, I would like a plot that doesn't rely on them. I also like things better when all problems aren't solved by either kissing or food. I mean, I believe all problems are actually solved by either kissing or food, but this is meant to be fiction.

My hope? Let me think. I suppose I hope K-dramas to be a bit more escapist and a bit less grinding misery. You know, what were expected 'Summer Strike' to be, as opposed to what we actually got.

1. More romcoms. And for romcoms, I mean ROMANCE and COMEDY, those shows don't need more genres.

2. And I would also like more dramas about cute married couples.
I would enjoy a Flower of Evil part 2. Where we go to past and watch our leads in their dating-stage and their first years as a married couple (I mean everything before what happened in season 1). Or Trolley but without all the pain and tears.
Something like Go Back Couple, Matrimonial Chaos or The Miracle We Met would be great too.

3. Medical dramas like Good Doctor or Doc Kim or D-Day (but with romance this time).

4. Cute high school dramas. Something Live On or Sassy, Go Go.

5. Depressing or cute slife of life dramas. Something like My Ahjussi, Misaeng, Run On, Melo is my Nature, A Peom A Day, or A Piece of Your Mind.

6. More melodramas. I'm waiting for the next Come and Hug Me, Flower of Evil or Just Between Lovers.

7. Cute family dramas. No toxic characters controling everything, or 3 amnesias, please. Something like Be My Dream Family, Five Children, Smile, You or My Husband Got a Family.

Bonus: I hope my favorite actors and actresses have projects for this year. I know Tae Hee unnie and Chae Won unnie are done with their military service (lol) but there are other actors that I have no idea where are they hiding.

An epic romance. Intense, sexy chemistry between the leads!

Dramas that have satisfying finales.

Dramas that don't end in cliffhangers hoping for a second season.

Another thing is I actually dislike when dramas drop all their episodes at once. I feel more behind on watching them because I can only manage 1-2 episodes at a time. I like when we have time to discuss and dissect weekly episodes before diving into the next ones.
I feel like I need to avoid spoilers even more too.

Same wish as last year: put in equal or more effort into our female leads' character arcs. It's depressing how underdeveloped out female leads' stories remain. Depressing still that our writers are mostly female. It's 2023 ya'll. Let's step it up.

Series about:
1) a lesbian romance with a happy ending
2) single women enjoying their life (not miserable because they're single)
3) strong female friendships, supporting each other, having fun and projects together

Not really an type of drama, but I want Disney+ to release its kdramas worldwide!

My hope for 2023 is to not drop so many drama middle way 😅😅😅...
And still waiting for my dream partners to be cast together...
And hardcore, tear-jerker ending!

Lots of subtle dramas with funny and intelligent detectives but not rated 18+. And maybe a few really well done dystopian or sci-fi dramas, too.

With a ton of dramas coming up in different platforms, I only have an interest on a few. I hope they release a rom-com kdrama with a simple storyline. I miss the old school kdramas.

Looking for a squee-worthy enemies to lovers trope, work place setting, 12 episodes. Thank you.

Also, Go Yoon-jung with Lee Jae-wook or Lee Do-hyun in modern setting, please.

I only want one thing: that k-dramas keep being as Korean as possible. 2022 has been my first year watching k-dramas and I love them as they are. I run away from Western productions because I don't like them anymore (with exceptions, of course). Fortunately, if k-dramas start being more like any western series, I still have lots of old dramas to watch and enjoy, even though I'm late to the party...