Happiness takes place in the near future, where the release of a failed treatment drug "Next" has caused a worldwide pandemic known as the Lytta Virus, a.k.a. "mad person disease". Those infected by Lytta experience short bouts of insanity and bloodlust, before completely regressing into a zombie-like state. The South Korean Military and Police forces try to contain the spread of Lytta and Next through extensive investigation and authoritative quarantine measures, while civil rights groups protest against them, believing the infected are still capable of normal human interaction.
Plot
Yoon Sae-bom (Han Hyo-joo) encounters a trainee at the Special Operations Unit who is infected by mad person disease. In the struggle to subdue the trainee, she is scratched, leading her to meet Han Tae-seok (Jo Woo-jin) at a research facility. The facility houses many of the "patients" who are kept under observation in order to understand and cure the disease. It is revealed that the symptoms of mad person disease are first accompanied by unabated thirst, followed by the pupils turning white, and then thirst for human blood. The disease is not airborne, but spreads through scratches and bites, with Yoon Sae-bom seemingly immune to the disease. Some of those who contracted the disease are ultimately able to return to their former selves temporarily. Yoon Sae-bom makes a deal with Han Tae-seok which leads her to secure an apartment in a newly constructed building. However, in order to do so, she must be married, so she asks her high school friend Jung Yi-hyun (Park Hyung-sik), a former star baseball player but now a police detective, and he agrees to a contract marriage. The building is luxurious and highly stratified, with public rentals making up the first five floors, and those who own apartments for the upper ones. Class discrimination is evident where the upper floor resident Oh Yeon-ok (Bae Hae-sun) struggles to be the apartment representative while keeping everyone in check. Yoon Sae-bom meets many interesting and strange residents, forming a close attachment to her neighbor's young daughter.
Through Jung Yi-hyun's detective work, he encounters a diseased person who he believes became this way due to a failed pneumonia drug called Next, which had been widely circulated in order to promote attentiveness and strength. This assumption is later confirmed when a resident member who consumed the drug, secretly sold to her in the building's gym, ultimately becomes infected with the mad person disease and succumbs to the illness. This begins the outbreak in the building. In an effort to protect the residents in his building, Jung Yi-hyun and Yoon Sae-bom establish quarantine rules, while securing the building from the outside with the help of his captain, Kim Jung-guk (Lee Jun-hyeok). Jung Yi-hyun conflicts with building resident Oh Joo-hyung (Baek Hyun-jin), who seems to encourage destructive behavior in the building. The question of humanity and whether to view those infected with mad person disease as human beings forms a psychological battle for Sae-bom, Yi-hyun and Tae-seok.
Han Tae-seok initially tries to keep the mad person disease a secret, but with more cases progressing and people getting panicked, it is revealed to the public. With the increasing number of people getting infected, Han Tae-seok, along with his military team, struggles to determine whether to preserve these people or kill them off. Han Tae-seok orders the complete quarantine of the new building complex where Yoon Sae-bom and Jung Yi-hyun live, offering them a chance to leave the building before it becomes completely sealed off. However, they decline the offer. Yoon Sae-bom's blood contains antibodies that could hold the cure for the disease, which Han Tae-seok seeks to exploit. It is revealed that Han Tae-seok's pregnant wife was bitten by the president of the pharmaceutical company that supplied Next, and ultimately became infected with the disease. His search for the cure is in part motivated to find a cure for his wife and to save his unborn child.
A member of a Special Operation Unit police squad (KP-SOU) formerly known as KP-SWAT. She is decisive, determined, smart, and does not easily get rattled. She is excited to move into her new apartment, but as soon as she moves there she faces a crisis.
A smart and honest detective who, for a long time, has held romantic feelings for Sae-bom. They graduated from the same high school. He struggles to protect Sae-bom and other people.
Lee Seung-joon as Kim Dae-yoon, a brigadier general (ep. 12)
Production
Happiness is helmed by director Ahn Gil-ho and writer Han Sang-woon, who worked together on the 2019 OCN series, Watcher. Ahn Gil-ho has worked on numerous hits such as Record of Youth, Memories of the Alhambra and Stranger, while writer Han Sang-woon has also penned The Good Wife, the Korean remake of the 2016 American TV series.[25]
In the table above, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.
This series aired on a cable channel/pay TV which normally has a relatively smaller audience compared to free-to-air TV/public broadcasters (KBS, SBS, MBC and EBS).
Awards and nominations
Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination
^"Happiness". Viu Hong Kong. Retrieved 14 November 2021."Happiness". Viu Philippines. Retrieved 14 November 2021."Happiness". Viu Singapore. Retrieved 14 November 2021. "Happiness". Viu Indonesia. Retrieved 14 November 2021."Happiness". Viu Malaysia. Retrieved 14 November 2021."Happiness". Viu Thailand. Retrieved 14 November 2021."Happiness". Viu Myanmar. Retrieved 14 November 2021."Happiness". IQIYI. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
^Jung Eun-eun (July 15, 2021). "배우 차순배, 드라마 '해피니스' 목사 선우창으로 변신!" [Actor Cha Soon-bae transformed into Pastor Seon Woo-chang in the drama 'Happiness'!]. KBS (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
^Hyung Jung-min (July 19, 2021). "유지연, '해피니스' 출연 확정…조우진 아내 역" [Yoo Ji-yeon confirmed to appear in 'Happiness'... Jo Woo-jin's wife]. sportsworldi (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
^Lee Min-ji (July 23, 2021). "해피니스' 이주승 출연확정. 한효주x박형식과 호흡(공식)" [Lee Joo-seung confirmed for 'Happiness'. Han Hyo-joo x Park Hyung-sik and breathing (official)]. Newsen (in Korean). Retrieved July 23, 2021 – via Naver.
^Kang Young-cho (July 28, 2021). "[단독]한준우, tvN '해피니스' 캐스팅…한효주·박형식 만난다" [[Exclusive] Jun-woo Han, cast for tvN's 'Happiness'... Meet Han Hyo-joo and Park Hyung-sik]. Sports Seoul (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
^Hwang Mi-hyeon (July 28, 2021). "신스틸러' 강한샘, 드라마 '해피니스' 캐스팅…한효주와 호흡" ['Scene stealer' Kang Han Sam, cast for drama 'Happiness'... Breathing with Han Hyo-joo]. News1 (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
^Ha Ji-won (September 8, 2021). "배해선, '해피니스' 캐스팅…한효주·박형식과 호흡 [공식입장]" [Bae Hae-sun, cast for 'Happiness'... Breathing with Han Hyo-joo and Park Hyung-sik [official position]]. Xports News (in Korean). Retrieved September 8, 2021 – via Naver.
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