Netflix’s Boyfriend on Demand premieres on March 6, 2026, and the hype is at an all-time high. BLACKPINK’s Jisoo leads the cast as Seo Mi-rae, a webtoon producer who escapes the chaos of real-world relationships by subscribing to a virtual reality app that lets her romance a curated lineup of simulated boyfriends — only to find herself caught between fantasy and a very real connection. It is equal parts romantic comedy, tech-era commentary, and full-blown fantasy indulgence.
If you have already read our complete guide to Boyfriend on Demand, you know just how layered this drama promises to be. But before you dive into episode one, there are five K-Dramas that will make the experience even richer — dramas that share its DNA in themes of technology, fantasy romance, parallel worlds, and the blurry line between the ideal and the real.
Here are the five essential watches, ranked not by quality but by how perfectly they prime you for what is coming on March 6.
| Drama | Year | Where to Watch | Connection to Boyfriend on Demand | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snowdrop | 2021–2022 | Disney+ | Jisoo’s acting debut — watch her range before her Netflix lead role | 16 |
| Are You Human Too? | 2018 | Viki, Prime Video | Seo Kang-joon plays an AI — directly mirrors the virtual boyfriend concept | 36 (35 min each) |
| Reply 1988 | 2015–2016 | Netflix, Viki | Seo In-guk connection; emotional intimacy and slow-burn romance | 20 |
| My Love from the Star | 2013–2014 | Netflix, Viki, Prime Video | Fantasy-reality romance hybrid; the genre blueprint Boyfriend on Demand builds on | 21 |
| W: Two Worlds | 2016 | Viki | Webtoon-meets-reality concept — nearly identical to Boyfriend on Demand’s premise | 16 |
1. Snowdrop (2021–2022) — Where It All Began for Jisoo
Disney+ 16 Episodes Historical Romance
Before Jisoo was a webtoon producer navigating virtual boyfriends on Netflix, she was Eun Yeong-ro — a bright-eyed university student in 1987 Seoul who harbors a fugitive she believes is her pen pal, only to discover he is a North Korean spy. Snowdrop was Jisoo’s acting debut, and it remains the essential starting point for any viewer heading into Boyfriend on Demand.
The drama aired on JTBC from December 2021 to January 2022 and generated enormous buzz — both critically and controversially — for its bold choice to set a romance against the backdrop of South Korea’s pro-democracy movement. Jisoo stars opposite Jung Hae-in, whose chemistry with her was frequently cited as the drama’s emotional backbone. Yoo In-na, who appears in Boyfriend on Demand as the “dating manager,” also plays a significant supporting role in Snowdrop, making it a genuine cast reunion to look forward to.
The drama is available in full on Disney+ globally. With 16 episodes at roughly one hour each, it is a solid weekend commitment — but one that will leave you far more invested in Jisoo’s Boyfriend on Demand performance than if you went in cold.
“Jisoo brings a sincerity to Yeong-ro that is genuinely disarming. There is nothing manufactured about her performance — it reads as instinctive.”
— Dramabeans, 2022
2. Are You Human Too? (2018) — The Virtual Boyfriend Blueprint
Viki Prime Video 36 Episodes AI Romance
If Boyfriend on Demand is the polished, Netflix-era evolution of the AI romance genre, Are You Human Too? is the drama that first proved Korean audiences would fall head over heels for a love interest who is not quite human. The series stars Seo Kang-joon — who appears in Boyfriend on Demand as one of the virtual boyfriends in Mi-rae’s subscription app — in a dual role as Nam Shin, a comatose heir, and Nam Shin III, the android built in his likeness.
The new K-drama Can This Love Be Translated? adds a fresh twist to the romance genre with its language-barrier premise.
The premise is deceptively simple: a former MMA fighter named Kang So-bong (Gong Seung-yeon) is hired to act as the android’s bodyguard and keep his true nature a secret. What follows is a slow, charming, and occasionally heartbreaking exploration of what it means to feel, to choose, and to love when one half of the equation was programmed to do exactly that.
Directed by Cha Young-hoon and available on Viki and Prime Video, the drama ran for 36 episodes in 2018 — shorter than a standard drama due to the 35-minute runtime per episode, which makes binge-watching it far more manageable than the episode count suggests.
“Seo Kang-joon’s performance as Nam Shin III is a masterclass in controlled expression — he conveys humanity through the smallest flickers of hesitation.”
— The Fangirl Verdict, 2018
3. Reply 1988 (2015–2016) — The Heart Behind the Humor
Netflix Viki 20 Episodes Slice of Life
On the surface, Reply 1988 looks like the odd one out on this list — it is set in a Seoul alleyway in the late 1980s, with no robots, no fantasy elements, and no virtual reality in sight. But this is arguably the most important drama on the list for understanding what makes Seo In-guk, the male lead of Boyfriend on Demand, so magnetic as a romantic partner.
The Reply series is the franchise that made Seo In-guk a household name in Korean drama. Reply 1988 — though it technically stars Go Kyung-pyo, Park Bo-gum, Ryu Jun-yeol, Lee Hyeri, and Kim Ji-hye as its core ensemble — belongs to the same creative world that shaped the kind of storytelling Seo In-guk thrives in: emotionally dense, unhurried, and deeply invested in the idea that real love is built over time and proximity, not grand declarations.
With 20 episodes and a runtime that stretches well past the typical hour mark, Reply 1988 is a commitment. It aired on tvN from November 2015 to January 2016 and became the highest-rated cable drama in Korean television history at the time, with its finale drawing an 18.8% nationwide viewership share. It is currently streaming on both Netflix and Viki.
“Reply 1988 does not just make you nostalgic for a time you may never have lived through. It makes you ache for the kind of neighborhood intimacy that modern life has quietly eroded.”
— Viki community review, 2016
4. My Love from the Star (2013–2014) — The Fantasy Romance That Changed Everything
Netflix Viki Prime Video 21 Episodes Fantasy Romance
No list of essential K-Dramas for fantasy romance fans is complete without My Love from the Star. Starring Kim Soo-hyun and Jun Ji-hyun, this 21-episode SBS drama redefined what Korean romantic fantasy could look like on a global stage — and it remains one of the most internationally beloved K-Dramas ever produced.
The premise: Do Min-joon is an alien who arrived on Earth during the Joseon Dynasty in 1609 and has spent four centuries trying to keep his distance from humanity, only to find himself hopelessly entangled with Cheon Song-yi, a top Hallyu actress who is both infuriating and irresistible. The drama aired from December 2013 to February 2014 and sparked a phenomenon in mainland China that is still cited as a turning point for Korean content in the region.
What makes it endure beyond the novelty of its premise is the way it handles the tension between a being who is fundamentally not of this world and a woman who is relentlessly, exhaustingly human. The comedy is sharp, the romantic payoffs are extraordinary, and the emotional undertow is real.
It is available on Netflix, Viki, and Prime Video, with subtitles in dozens of languages. If you have somehow not seen it yet, this is the week to fix that.
“Jun Ji-hyun’s Cheon Song-yi is one of the great comic performances in Korean drama history — outrageous, insecure, and utterly human.”
— MyDramaList community, 2014
5. W: Two Worlds (2016) — The Webtoon Mirror of Boyfriend on Demand
Viki 16 Episodes Fantasy Thriller
Save this one for last on your pre-premiere watch list. W: Two Worlds is the drama that comes closest to Boyfriend on Demand in terms of sheer conceptual DNA — and watching it the week before March 6 will make the premiere feel like the most satisfying sequel you never expected.
Starring Lee Jong-suk and Han Hyo-joo, W aired on MBC in July 2016 and became an immediate cultural event. The premise: Oh Yeon-joo is a cardiothoracic surgeon whose father is the creator of a massively popular webtoon called “W.” When her father mysteriously disappears mid-chapter, she goes to investigate — and is physically pulled through his monitor and into the world of the webtoon, landing on a rooftop next to its bloodied main character, Kang Cheol. She saves his life. He becomes obsessed with finding out why his story keeps getting interrupted. The line between creator, creation, and reader begins to dissolve.
W ran for 16 episodes, achieved an 11.63% nationwide rating — topping its timeslot for its entire run — and won Drama of the Year at the 35th MBC Drama Awards, with Lee Jong-suk taking home the Daesang. It remains one of the most structurally inventive dramas Korean television has ever produced.
“W is the kind of drama that makes you rethink every narrative convention you have accepted as given. It is storytelling that is genuinely in love with the act of storytelling.”
— TV Tropes community analysis, 2016The year’s most intense K-drama thriller might be Mad Concrete Dreams — read our full review.
Looking for your next binge? Our Climax review covers why this drama has everyone talking.
Everything Lines Up for March 6
What makes this particular five-drama lineup so satisfying is that it is not arbitrary. Each entry connects to Boyfriend on Demand through a specific, traceable thread:
- Snowdrop — Jisoo’s acting range, the Yoo In-na connection
- Are You Human Too? — Seo Kang-joon’s AI role, the virtual partner concept
- Reply 1988 — Seo In-guk’s emotional register, slow-burn intimacy
- My Love from the Star — The fantasy-romance genre template
- W: Two Worlds — The webtoon-meets-reality premise, almost beat for beat
Together, they cover every thematic corner of what Boyfriend on Demand is promising: a drama that knows its genre history, respects its audience’s intelligence, and is genuinely trying to do something new within a well-loved tradition. The cast alone — Jisoo, Seo In-guk, Seo Kang-joon, Lee Jae-wook, Ong Seong-wu, and more — is a signal that this production is pulling from the full depth of Korean drama’s current talent pool.
If you are a long-time K-Drama fan, these five titles are probably already in your watch history. In that case, a rewatch before March 6 is well worth the time — especially W: Two Worlds and Are You Human Too?, which will land completely differently once you have seen Boyfriend on Demand’s premise in full.
And if any of these are new to you, you now have a ready-made pre-premiere schedule: two weeks, five dramas, and a premiere night that will hit considerably harder for everything that came before it.
Already counting down to March 6? Read our complete guide to Boyfriend on Demand — cast breakdowns, plot details, trailer analysis, and everything you need to know before the premiere.