Portraits of Delusion: Suzy and Kim Seon-ho Reunite Four Years After Start-Up for Disney+'s New Period Mystery

Some reunions are just casting news. This one comes with actual history attached: Suzy and Kim Seon-ho haven't shared a screen since Start-Up in 2020, one of the era-defining hits of that year, and the four-year gap between projects has only sharpened fan anticipation for what they'd do together next. What they're doing next, it turns out, is a 1935 gothic mystery about a painter obsessed with a vampire — about as far from a startup-world rom-com as two actors can travel together.

🎬 Quick Facts

International streaming	Confirmed — Disney+ exclusive, worldwide release
Release window	Second half of 2026 — confirmed by Disney+, exact premiere date not yet announced
Lead cast	Bae Suzy, Kim Seon-ho, Kim Young-kwang
Director	Han Jae-rim
Source material	Webtoon "Delusion" by Hongjacga
Setting	1935 Gyeongseong (colonial-era Seoul) and 19th-century Shanghai

Atmospheric night view of a historic Korean building, evoking a period mystery drama setting — Photo via Unsplash

The Plot: A Painter Obsessed With a Vampire, Across Two Cities and Two Eras

Portraits of Delusion is set in 1935 Gyeongseong — colonial-era Seoul — as well as in 19th-century Shanghai, following a painter named Yun Yi-ho who becomes increasingly obsessed with a mysterious female vampire named Song Jeong-hwa. That dual-timeline, dual-city structure is unusual for a Korean historical drama, which more often stays anchored to a single setting, and it suggests the show is building toward some kind of reincarnation or generational-echo storyline connecting the two eras rather than treating the historical setting as pure backdrop. Horror-fantasy period dramas are a relatively underused genre combination in mainstream K-drama, which makes Portraits of Delusion one of the more distinctive entries in Disney+'s 2026 slate rather than a variation on an already-crowded format.

Suzy and Kim Seon-ho: Why This Reunion Carries Real Weight

Start-Up wasn't just a hit — it was the kind of project that cemented both actors' status as bankable international leads, and the on-screen chemistry between Suzy and Kim Seon-ho was widely credited as one of the show's strongest assets. Four years is a meaningful gap in an industry that often re-pairs successful duos quickly to capitalize on existing fan goodwill, and the fact that both actors instead built out separate, distinct bodies of work in between makes this reunion read less like a repeat and more like two actors returning to each other from stronger, more established positions. Suzy has continued building a diverse filmography across film and television since Start-Up, while Kim Seon-ho has done the same, including headlining Netflix's War of Y and other high-profile projects. Kim Young-kwang, rounding out the confirmed lead cast, adds another well-established name to a project that's clearly being built around star power as much as genre novelty.

Director Han Jae-rim's Involvement Signals a Serious Production

Han Jae-rim is a respected film director, and his involvement in a television project of this scale is itself a signal of how much weight Disney+ is putting behind Portraits of Delusion. Directors who move between film and television bring a different visual and pacing sensibility than television-first directors typically do, which tends to show up most clearly in period productions where atmosphere and composition matter as much as plot mechanics — exactly the kind of show where a gothic, dual-timeline vampire mystery needs a steady directorial hand to keep tonally coherent rather than tipping into either camp or straightforward horror.

What's Confirmed and What Isn't — Read the Release Window Carefully

Disney+ has confirmed Portraits of Delusion for its second-half-2026 lineup, and production has reportedly been underway for some time. What hasn't been announced is an actual premiere date. Some entertainment coverage has speculated about timing based on production schedules, but nothing beyond "second half of 2026" has been officially locked by Disney+ as of this writing. Given that this sits in the same release window as The Remarried Empress, another major Disney+ Korean fantasy title without a confirmed date yet, it's worth watching both announcements together — Disney+ is clearly building toward a significant back half of the year for Korean content, and firmer dates for both are likely to follow as marketing ramps up.

Where Portraits of Delusion Fits This Year

If period dramas with a genre twist are your thing, Portraits of Delusion joins a summer and fall slate that's been unusually rich for ambitious, high-concept Korean television — for a broader sense of what's worth watching in the meantime, our list of the best K-dramas to binge this summer rounds up currently available titles while you wait for a firm premiere date here.

FAQ

Is this Suzy and Kim Seon-ho's first project together since Start-Up?
Yes — this marks their first on-screen reunion since Start-Up premiered in 2020.

What is Portraits of Delusion based on?
It's adapted from the webtoon "Delusion" by Hongjacga.

When does Portraits of Delusion release?
Disney+ has confirmed a second-half-2026 release window worldwide, but no specific premiere date has been announced yet.

Is Portraits of Delusion a horror show?
It's best described as a horror-fantasy period mystery — it centers on a vampire character and gothic atmosphere but is being marketed primarily as a romantic mystery drama rather than straightforward horror.

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