No Way Out: The Roulette
No Way Out: The Roulette is a 2024 South Korean mystery thriller television series written by Lee Soo-jin, co-directed by Choi Kook-hee and Lee Hoo-bin, and starring Cho Jin-woong, Yoo Jae-myung, Kim Mu-yeol, Yum Jung-ah, Sung Yoo-bin, Greg Hsu, Lee Kwang-soo, and Kim Sung-cheol. The series is about an open murder contract with a bounty of 20 billion won on the life of a rare heinous criminal and the fierce battle between those who want to kill and those who want to survive. It was released on U+ Mobile TV from July 31, to August 21, 2024. It is also available for streaming on Disney+ in selected regions.
Synopsis
No Way Out: The Roulette is about a police officer who is forced to protect a criminal in an ironic situation, a murderer released from prison after 13 years with a bounty on his head, a lawyer who becomes a criminal's legal representative in order to succeed, a mayor who uses criminals to save her political life, a son who lives with the stigma of being the child of a murderer, a killer who comes to Korea for pay, and a mysterious figure who puts a bounty on a criminal.Cast and characters
Main
- Cho Jin-woong as Baek Joong-sik
- Yoo Jae-myung as Kim Guk-ho
- Kim Mu-yeol as Lee Sang-bong
- Yum Jung-ah as Ahn Myung-ja
- Sung Yoo-bin as Seo Dong-ha
- Greg Hsu as Mr. Smile
- Lee Kwang-soo as Yoon Chang-jae
- Kim Sung-cheol as Sung Joon-woo
Supporting
- Choi Myung-bin as Baek So-mi
- Son Yeo-eun as Ye-eun
- Oh Woo-ri as Park Eun-jeong
- Park Hyung-soo as Koo Seok-hwan
Production
Development
Director Choi Kook-hee, who directed Default and Life Is Beautiful, and writer Lee Soo-jin, who wrote The Devil's Deal, team up for the series. This is Choi small screen directorial debut. It was developed under the working title Open Murder Contract. Studio X+U and Twin Film managed the production. They began to crank-in in October 2023.Casting
In May 2023, Lee Sun-kyun was first offered for the lead role but later informed the production team of his intention to voluntarily leave the series because of his drug allegations.In July 2023, Yoo Jae-myung, Kim Mu-yeol, and Lee Kwang-soo were reportedly cast for the series.
In August 2023, Lee Sun-kyun, Yoo Jae-myung, Kim Mu-yeol, and Lee Kwang-soo were officially confirmed to appear on the series. On the same month, Yum Jung-ah was reportedly offered to appear for the series.
In September 2023, Taiwanese actor Greg Hsu was reportedly cast for the series and this would make his first Korean drama appearance.
In October 2023, Cho Jin-woong was reportedly cast to replace Lee Sun-kyun's role due to Lee undergoing investigations over drug use allegations. A day later, Kim Sung-cheol was reportedly cast for the series.
Cho, Yoo, Kim M., Yum, Sung, Hsu, Lee, and Kim S. completed the main cast lineup of the series.