Industry

Norwegian drama A Better Man took home the Grand Prize at the Seoul International Drama Awards 2026, leading a record-breaking edition that attracted 352 entries from 46 countries and regions. The series collected three honors in the International Competition, with Thomas Seeberg Torjussen named Best Screenwriter and Anders Baasmo winning Best Actor alongside the Grand Prize. A Better Man follows Tom, a middle-aged man who has built a reputation for spreading misogynistic hate online. After his identity is exposed, he goes into hiding disguised as a woman, setting the stage for a transformation that explores online hate, gender conflict, social isolation and the possibility of empathy and reconciliation. The SDA jury praised the series as being at the highest level in nearly every aspect, from writing and direction to performance, and described it as fully deserving of the Grand Prize. The drama previously won three awards at CANNESERIES 2025, including Best Series and Best Performance for Baasmo.

Apple TV's sci-fi drama Pluribus also emerged as a double winner, taking Best Miniseries while Vince Gilligan and Gordon Smith jointly received Best Director. Created by Gilligan, best known for Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, the series follows the world's unhappiest woman as she attempts to save humanity from a society in which everyone else has become happy. The drama's exploration of individuality, human connection and conformity has also earned recognition at the Primetime Emmy Awards, where Rhea Seehorn won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series and Gilligan received Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for the episode We Is Us.

Korean productions featured prominently in the International Competition, with My Royal Nemesis and The Dream Life of Mr. Kim both receiving Best Miniseries honors. My Royal Nemesis, which debuted at No. 1 on Netflix's Global Non-English TV chart, is a fantasy romantic comedy about a woman branded a villain during Korea's Joseon dynasty who awakens in modern-day Seoul and attempts to rewrite her fate. The Dream Life of Mr. Kim also earned Best Actor for Seung-ryong Ryu, who plays a longtime corporate employee rebuilding his life amid restructuring and generational change. His performance was recognized in a field that included 2026 Primetime Emmy nominee Charles Melton, Gary Oldman and Hiroki Hasegawa.
The K-Drama Competition added further recognition for Korean productions. SLL's The Dream Life of Mr. Kim and We Are All Trying Here were named Outstanding Korean Drama, while Kyo-hwan Koo received Outstanding Korean Actor for We Are All Trying Here. Ji-yeon Lim was named Outstanding Korean Actress for My Royal Nemesis. RIIZE's ANTON received the fan-voted Outstanding Korean Drama OST award for Close to Me, from Yumi's Cells 3, marking his first solo OST.

Other International Competition winners included Germany's Disclosure, which took Best TV Movie, and Taiwan's Had I Not Seen the Sun, which won Best Series. Greece's The Child also received Best Series, while Spain's Unfiltered was named Best Short Form. Czech TV movie Mom earned Elizaveta Maximová the Best Actress award. The SDA 2026 edition also recognized seven Outstanding Asian Stars selected through a global fan vote. The winners were NCT's JAEMIN and JISOO from South Korea, Yang Yang from China, Jin Akanishi from Japan, Paulo Avelino from the Philippines, Rebecca Patricia Armstrong from Thailand and Gladys Bay from Singapore.

The Seoul International Drama Awards 2026 ceremony is set to take place on October 8 at KBS Hall in Yeouido, with the event to air live on MBC and stream on the official Seoul International Drama Awards YouTube channel. A special Drama Festa celebrating the 70th anniversary of Korean drama will follow on October 9 and 10.