▲ From right: Actors Lee Ha-nee, Kim Nam-gil and Kim Sung-kyun pose for photos at the press conference for the new SBS Friday-Saturday drama "The Fiery Priest Season 2" held on Nov. 8, 2024, at SBS headquarters in Seoul. (Yonhap)

 

SEOUL, Nov. 8 (Yonhap) -- Kim Hae-il (played by Kim Nam-gil), the hero who fights crime as the head of the "Heavenly Gang" by night and serves as a priest by day, is making his return to television screens after five years. 

 

In the second season of SBS series "The Fiery Priest," Kim Nam-gil reprises his lead role. At a production press conference held at the SBS headquarters in Yangcheon, Seoul, Kim shared, "We are filming with the aim of capturing a lighter, more upbeat vibe than season 1."

 

Kim Nam-gil’s character, Kim Hae-il, is known for his passionate personality and fierce sense of justice. Though he left behind his past as a special agent to follow the path of a priest, his short-tempered nature means he can’t ignore injustice, resorting to scathing words and physical force to address it. In the new season, Kim Hae-il pursues a drug case in Busan, where he takes on a teaching position at a seminary while going all-in to take down one of Korea’s top drug cartels.

 

Reflecting on the changes since the last season, Kim said, “We wanted to reflect the changes in viewers’ tastes over the past five years. A good drama doesn’t always need a heavy message. We aimed to create something that viewers can enjoy more casually.”

 

▲ Actor Kim Nam-gil poses for photos at the press conference for the new SBS Friday-Saturday drama "The Fiery Priest Season 2" held on Nov. 8, 2024, at SBS headquarters in Seoul. (Yonhap)

 

Season 1 of The Fiery Priest, which concluded in 2019, struck a chord with audiences through its blend of social satire, comedy, and action, achieving a peak rating of 22.0%. Kim hinted at more bold comedic performances and refreshing action sequences this time, adding, “While the action in Season 1 was intense and emotionally charged, this season brings a sense of fun into the action. We tried to make the punishment of villains feel light-hearted and satisfying.”

 

Returning cast members include Kim Nam-gil, Lee Ha-nee, and Kim Sung-kyun, while singer-actor BIBI (Kim Hyung-seo) joins as Gu Ja-young, a fiery detective on Busan’s anti-drug team.

 

Lee Ha-nee, playing the dependable prosecutor Park Kyung-sun from Busan’s Southern District Prosecutors’ Office, shared, “Having already worked together once, the chemistry on set was explosive. The director even had to ask us to stick to the script because we naturally began improvising once filming started.”

 

Director Park Bo-ram, who also directed Season 1, emphasized, “This season, we’re focusing especially on comedy.” He added, “We retained the characters’ humorous traits and aimed to show more funny scenes when characters are paired together. In Season 1, we received a lot of positive feedback about the cast’s chemistry, so we’ve worked to amplify that strength.”

[ⓒ K-VIBE. 무단전재-재배포 금지]