The first teasers for the upcoming pan-Asian thriller kiDnap GAME have arrived, giving audiences a tense look at a survival game that spans seven cities. The drama brings together Lee Joon Gi and Sakaguchi Kentaro as two men forced into a brutal contest where only one person can survive. The series is set to premiere on October 6 on Channel A in Korea and Fuji TV in Japan, with streaming available on Viu in select regions and Hami Video in Taiwan.
Seven Kidnappings, One Survivor, Ten Days
The teasers open with news reports showing that similar kidnapping cases are happening at the same time across Seoul, Tokyo, Taipei, Singapore, Bangkok, Naha, and Manila. The families of the victims then receive a single message that changes everything: “How far can you go for the person you love?”.
The rules of the game are simple and cruel. Each participant has 10 days to complete a mission and rescue their kidnapped loved one. But only one person can survive until the end. The participants must survive themselves before they can save anyone else, pushing every character to their absolute limits.
“Through the first teaser, we have opened the curtain on a brutal game spanning seven cities, where only one person survives. Please look forward to the desperate struggles of characters who find themselves at a crossroads of choices as they fight to save their loved ones within the limited time frame of just 10 days.”
— kiDnap GAME production team
The drama is a joint production involving creative teams from South Korea, Japan, and Hong Kong. It has already secured broadcast and streaming distribution across 18 regions worldwide, making it one of the most widely distributed Asian dramas of the year.
Lee Joon Gi And Sakaguchi Kentaro Lead The Cast
Lee Joon Gi plays Han Ki Joo, a retired doctor whose visually impaired daughter is kidnapped. Once a brilliant surgeon whose job was to save lives, Han Ki Joo now faces an extreme choice to protect his family and is pushed into deep anguish. Lee Joon Gi is known for hit dramas including Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo and Flower of Evil.
Sakaguchi Kentaro plays Niide Toshiro, a Tokyo detective with a strong sense of justice and cool, rational judgment. His wife is kidnapped in Tokyo, and he plunges into the heart of the massive game to save her. As the case unfolds, his convictions begin to waver.
The two men, along with five other participants from across Asia, find themselves locked in an intense psychological battle as they face life-or-death choices. The tension between Han Ki Joo and Niide Toshiro is a central focus of the story, with the production team describing their acting chemistry as delivering “a level of tension never seen before”.
A Pan-Asian Cast Brings The Story To Life
The cast extends far beyond the two leads, bringing together actors from multiple Asian countries. Ko Chia Yen (also known as Alice Ko), best known for the Taiwanese drama Someday or One Day, plays Christina, a housewife whose husband is abducted. Carrie Wong from Singapore plays a flight attendant, and Joel Torre from the Philippines is also part of the main cast. Stanley Yau of Hong Kong boy group Mirror rounds out the ensemble.
드라마 <키드냅 게임> 1차 티저
— 채널A (@ChannelA_joah) September 10, 2026
아시아 7개 도시를 뒤흔든⚠️
궁극의 서바이벌 게임이 시작된다!#사카구치켄타로 #이준기#채널A #화요드라마 #키드냅게임 🌹
10월 6일 [화] 첫 방송 I 매주 [화] 밤 10시 방송 pic.twitter.com/jqUkF84BAY
The production filmed across all seven cities featured in the story, giving the series a truly international scale. Lee Joon Gi described working with actors and staff from different countries as a meaningful experience. In an interview, he shared that he focused on embodying the role of a father with a daughter rather than playing up the doctor aspect of his character.
Sakaguchi Kentaro also spoke about the ambitious scope of the project. When he first heard the plan, he admitted he wondered, “Is this really possible?”. The production team has since confirmed that the series is Fuji TV’s highest-spec international co-production to date.
Release Date, Streaming Platforms, And Global Availability
kiDnap GAME will premiere on October 6, 2026, at 10 p.m. KST on Channel A in Korea and on Fuji TV in Japan. The drama will run for 11 episodes.
For global audiences, the series will be available on Viu as a Viu Original across markets in Asia, the Middle East, and South Africa. In Taiwan, it will stream exclusively on Hami Video and MOD starting the same day. The series will also air on the Hong Kong TV channel ViuTV.
The drama is directed by Yusuke Kato and produced by teams from Fuji TV, MakerVille, and SimStory. With distribution across 18 territories, kiDnap GAME is positioned as one of the most accessible Asian dramas of the fall season, available to viewers in the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, India, and across Southeast Asia through the Viu platform and regional partners.
Related:
Sakaguchi Kentaro Announces Marriage Ahead Of Premiere
In personal news that arrived just weeks before the drama’s premiere, Sakaguchi Kentaro announced on September 6 through his paid fan club website that he had married a non-celebrity woman he had been dating.
“Although this is a private matter, I have gotten married to a non-celebrity woman whom I have been dating. I would like to devote myself even more to my work as an actor.”
— Sakaguchi Kentaro
The announcement came as the actor prepares for one of the biggest international releases of his career. He plays a detective whose wife is kidnapped in the drama, a role that places him at the emotional center of the survival game alongside Lee Joon Gi.
The teasers have set the stage for a story built on impossible choices, family bonds, and the question of how far someone will go to save the people they love. With its pan-Asian cast, multi-city production, and a premise that pits its characters against each other in a deadly countdown, kiDnap GAME is set to be a major international television event this October.
Stay tuned to VvipTimes for more updates on the biggest international dramas and the stars who bring them to life.
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