Black Out (TV series)

Black Out
Promotional poster
Hangul	백설공주에게 죽음을
Hanja	白雪公主에게 죽음을
Literal meaning	Snow White Must Die
Revised Romanization	Baekseolgongjuege jugeumeul
McCune–Reischauer	Paeksŏlgongjuege chukŭmŭl
Genre	Mystery Crime Thriller
Based on	Snow White Must Die [de] by Nele Neuhaus
Written by	Seo Joo-yeon
Directed by	Byun Young-joo
Starring	Byun Yo-han Ko Jun Go Bo-gyeol Kim Bo-ra
Music by	Jeon Se-jin[1]
Opening theme	"Title of Blackout" by Jeon Se-jin
Ending theme	"Forgotten Night" by Kim Ji-a
Country of origin	South Korea
Original language	Korean
No. of episodes	14
Production
Producers	Lee Jae-moon Kim Dong-rae
Production companies	Hidden Sequence RaemongRaein
Original release
Network	MBC TV
Release	August 16 (2024-08-16) – October 4, 2024 (2024-10-04)

Black Out (Korean: 백설공주에게 죽음을) is a 2024 South Korean television series written by Seo Joo-yeon, directed by Byun Young-joo, and starring Byun Yo-han, Ko Jun, Go Bo-gyeol, and Kim Bo-ra. Based on the German novel Snow White Must Die [de] by Nele Neuhaus, it depicts a series of incidents that occur in a closed-off village and the ugly nature of the hidden inner self of humans.^[2] It aired on MBC TV from August 16, to October 4, 2024, every Friday and Saturday at 21:50 (KST). It is also available for streaming on local OTT platforms, Wavve and Coupang Play.

Black Out was first premiered in the Rendez-Vous section of the 2024 Canneseries, where it received attention for its dense story, excellent directing, and solid acting skills.

The series revolves around a young man who was previously convicted of murder and sentenced to 10 years in prison after being framed as the culprit in a mysterious murder case in which the body was never found.

• Byun Yo-han as Go Jung-woo^[3]

A promising medical student who suddenly becomes a murderer after a murder case he can't even remember. He is arrested on charges of murdering two female students in the same class and serves 10 years in prison. After his release, he comes back to his hometown to get to the bottom of the murders to clear his name.

• Ko Jun as No Sang-cheol^[3]

A detective who is assigned to the case related to Jung-woo. He was an elite detective with a promising future who graduated at the top of his class from the police academy, but his life and career are ruined when his bride is brutally murdered on his wedding day, and he is demoted to a local police station.

• Go Bo-gyeol as Choi Na-gyeom^[3]

A top star and Jung-woo's high school classmate who has a crush on him for a long time. She devotedly supports Jung-woo for 10 years while he is in prison and dreams of a happy life after his release.

• Kim Bo-ra as Ha-seol^[3]

A medical student who takes a leave of absence from medical school and travels around the country on a scooter, where she coincidentally ends up working at a restaurant in Mucheon Village, where incident of strange events occurs.

• Kwon Hae-hyo as Hyun Gu-tak^[4]

Chief of Mucheon Police Station with over 30 years of criminal experience and Su-oh's father. He was the closest childhood friend of Jung-woo's father, but after his death, he took on the role of Jung-woo's guardian.

• Lee Ga-sub as Hyun Su-oh^[5] / Hyun Geon-oh^[6]

1. Hyun Su-oh: Gu-tak's autistic older twin son who likes to spend time alone in the greenhouse, where he thinks and draws. He was happiest when eating ice cream given by Ha-seol, began to change when Jung-woo returned.
2. Hyun Geon-oh: Gu-tak's younger twin son and Jung-woo's best friend. He looked just like Su-oh, but his behavior was completely different. After studying abroad in the United States, he was said to have been doing very well. He suddenly returned to the village. However, it is somewhat awkward to say that it is a successful young man who has been rumored to be.

• Bae Jong-ok as Ye Yeong-sil^[7]

A three-term member of the National Assembly from Mucheon City, who has a sharp and upright personality to the point of being elected at a young age. She is not satisfied with the present and endlessly develops her ambition to reach a higher peak.

• Kong Jeong-hwan [ko] as Park Hyeong-sik^[6]

Young-sil's husband who is ten years younger. He is a psychiatrist who is also the director of Mucheon Sarang Hospital and Su-oh's doctor. He looks like a model in a suit, but he's the epitome of noblesse oblige who contributes to society so that no woman is left out in this city.

• Kim Mi-kyung as Jung Geum-hee^[4]

Jung-woo's mother who is upright as bamboo and stays in the village as if she is taking on the sins of her son, and she completely endures the people's contempt and curses.

• Ahn Nae-sang as Ko Chang-soo^[4]

Jung-woo's father who considers his family to be the most important thing in life and will do anything for his son. He continued to run Mucheon Garden for his son who would return after paying for his sins 10 years later, but died of a cerebral hemorrhage.

• Lee Tae-gu [ko] as Yang Byeong-moo^[8]

A second-year detective who is quick-witted, friendly to his seniors, and well-versed in local affairs. He is Jung-woo's long-time friend who used to feel inferior to him when he was young, but now the relationship has reversed, and he takes care of Jung-woo with compassion.

• Lee Woo-je [ko] as Shin Min-su^[9]

A long-time childhood friend of Jung-woo and is sensitive, timid, and cries easily. He works as an emergency room nurse at Mucheon Sarang Hospital. He is also an optimistic person who always puts food first, and often makes mistakes in his speech.

• Jang Ha-eun [ko] as Sim Bo-young^[10]

Jung-woo's best friend in school days. She grew up in an unfortunate family environment, but has a bright and cheerful personality.

• Han So-eun as Park Da-eun^[11]

Jung-woo's girlfriend. She stole the hearts of all the boys in Mucheon as soon as she transferred from Seoul.

• Jo Jae-yoon as Sim Dong-min^[4]

Bo-young's father whose life falls apart due to her death. He is an alcoholic who commits violence whenever he drinks, and his symptoms worsened after his daughter's death, so he never puts down a bottle of alcohol every day and uses it to relieve stress by being violent to Geum-hee.

• Park Mi-hyun [ko] as Lee Jae-hee^[6]

Bo-young's mother who run away from her husband that become violent whenever he drank, but with the help of Geum-hee, she returned to the village.

• Cha Soon-bae [ko] as Yang Heung-soo^[6]

Byeong-moo's father who works as a cleaning team leader at Mucheon Sarang Hospital. He may seem timid and reserved, but he is a determined father who devoted himself to his son.

• Lee Doo-il [ko] as Shin Chu-ho^[6]

Minsu's father. He worked as a chef at Mucheon Garden, which was run by Jung-woo's family, but after the incident, he took over the restaurant and is now running it as a proper neighborhood restaurant.

• Lee Jung-eun [ko] as Kim Jung-sook^[6]

Min-su's mother. She prides herself on being a neighborhood insider, but she is completely unaware of important issues.

• Jang Won-young [ko] as Kim Hee-do^[6]

Gu-tak's right-hand man. He may not be overconfident in his experience now, but 10 years ago, he was a capable and passionate detective who was in charge of the Jung-woo case. He was promoted to the head of the criminal investigation department for his contribution in solving the case, and he is the epitome of an excellent second-in-command who perfectly serves his senior Goo-tak and controls his junior detectives.

Black Out was developed under the working title Snow White Must Die, which is based on the German novel of the same name [de] by Nele Neuhaus. Produced by Hidden Sequence and began the pre-production in 2021.^[12][13] It was reported that writer Seo Joo-yeon and director Lee Kyu-man would team up and that the series would be organized as a Wavve original.^[14] Production company RaemongRaein announced that the series is among the six works they planned to produce.^[15] Film director Byun Young-joo confirmed as the new director and also marked her small screen debut.^[16]

In 2022, Wavve confirmed that the series was part of their drama lineup.^[17]

In 2023, RaemongRaein confirmed that the series would broadcast in the second half of the year.^[18]

In 2021, it was reported that Byun Yo-han was cast for the main role of the series and this would be his first drama in three years since Mr. Sunshine in 2018.^[13] The next month, Go Bo-gyeol was cast for the female lead role.^[14] Kim Bo-ra and Ko Jun were reportedly cast in October and November, respectively.^[19][20]

In June 2024, Byun, Ko, Go, and Kim confirmed as the lead actors of the series.^[21]

Principal photography began in the second half of 2021 and concluded in June 2022.^[14][22]

Black Out was invited to the non-competitive section and had a world premiere in the Rendez-Vous section of the 2024 Canneseries.^[23] It also received attention from potential viewers around the world for its dense story, excellent directing, and solid acting skills.^[21]

MBC TV confirmed the broadcast date of the series to be on August 16, 2024, and airs every Friday and Saturday at 21:50 (KST).^[21][24] It is also available to stream on Wavve and Coupang Play.^[25]

Black Out : South Korea viewers per episode (thousands)

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

Season		Episode number														Average
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14
	1	484	N/A	748	658	726	752	873	1033	1042	980	1471	1351	1491	1395	0.929[A]

Source: Audience measurement performed nationwide by Nielsen Korea.^[26]

• Official website (in Korean)
• Production website at Hidden Sequence (in Korean)
• Production website at RaemongRaein (in English and Korean)
• Black Out at IMDb 
• Black Out at HanCinema