The Manipulated

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 : A man who lived an ordinary life but was falsely accused of committing a heinous crime, and was sentenced to life. • Doh Kyung-soo as An Yo-han : Tae-jung's benefactor in prison. • Jo Yoon-su as No Eun-bi : Yong-sik's daughter. • Lee Kwang-soo as Baek Do-kyoung : Yo-han's VIP client. Supporting Guan Prison • Yang Dong-geun as Yeo Deok-su : The most influential person in Guan Prison. • Kim Jae-chul as Yang Chul-hwan : A prison officer of Guan Prison. • Eum Moon-suk as Do Gang-jae : A fellow inmate in Guan Prison, and the fierce rival of Deok-su. • Lee Jae-kyoon as Koo Ji-yong : Tae-jung's cellmate in Guan Prison. • Lee Seo-hwan as Park Han-hee : The warden of Guan Prison. Others • Kim Joong-hee as Kim Sang-rak : A public defender of Kim Sang-rak Law Office. • Ahn Ji-ho as Park Tae-jin : Tae-jung's younger brother. • Kwon Da-ham as Woo-jong : Tae-jung's friend. • Kim Jung-heon as Jung-soo : Tae-jung's friend. • Lee Suk-hyeong as Dae-hoon : Tae-jung's friend. • Han Ji-hyo as Lee Sun-ah : Eun-bi's roommate. • Son Jong-hak as Baek Sang-man : Do-kyoung's father and a sitting member of the National Assembly. • Lim Hwa-young as So Hyun-jung : The boss of a hair salon, and the next manipulated target of Yo-han. • Lee Sung-woo as Hwang Il-guk : A corrupt detective of the Seoul Junggu Police Station. • Lee Hyun-jin as Ching Li : A Chinese killer working for Yo-han. • Kim Min as Yoo Seon-gyu : Do-kyoung's partner. • Do Hyun-jin as Han-byeol : Eun-bi's friend in Busan. Special appearances • Pyo Ye-jin as Song Su-ji : Tae-jung's girlfriend. • Lee Jong-hyun as a sports car driver • Lee Jae-won as a prosecutor • Bae Na-ra as Woo Min-hyung : A killer working for Yo-han. • 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, which also produced it with Studio Dragon and Simplex Films with a production budget of 35 billion won. It was written by , who also wrote the series Taxi Driver. 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. ==References==