The Last Empress TV Series Details:
| Also known as | An Empress’ Dignity |
| Hangul | 황후의 품격 |
| Hanja | 皇后의 品格 |
| Literal meaning | Empress’s Dignity |
| Revised Romanization | Hwanghuui Pumgyeok |
| Country | South Korea |
| Language | Korean |
| Genre | Mystery, Thriller, Action, Romance, Comedy |
| Season | 1 |
| Episodes | 52 |
| Release date | November 21, 2018 – February 21, 2019 |
| Running time | 35 minutes |
| Starring | Jang Na-ra Choi Jin-hyuk Shin Sung-rok Lee Elijah Shin Eun-kyung |
| Created by | Park Young-soo (SBS Drama Operations Team) |
| Directed by | Joo Dong-min |
| Written by | Kim Soon-ok |
| Produced by | Lee Hee-soo |
| Executive producer | Kim Young-min |
| Production location | South Korea |
| Production Company | SM Life Design Group |
| Distributor | SBS TV |
The Last Empress TV Series Cast & Character:
- Main
- Jang Na-ra as Oh Sunny
- Tae Hang-ho (Ep 1–6) and Choi Jin-hyuk as Na Wang-sik / Chun Woo-bin
- Shin Sung-rok as Emperor Lee Hyuk
- Lee Elijah as Min Yoo-ra
- Shin Eun-kyung as Empress Dowager Kang
- Supporting
- Imperial Household
- Oh Seung-yoon as Crown Prince Lee Yoon / Vincent Lee
- Yoon So-yi as Seo Kang-hee
- Oh Ah-rin as Ah-ri
- Park Won-sook as Grand Empress Dowager Jo
- Lee Hee-jin as Princess So-jin
- Shin Go-eun as Late Empress So-hyeon
- Sunny’s Family
- Yoon Da-hoon as Oh Geum-mo
- Stephanie Lee as Oh Hel-ro
- Lee Ji-ha as Shin Eun-soo
- Others
- Kim Myung-soo as Byun Baek-ho
- Yoon Joo-man as Ma Pil-joo
- Hwang Young-hee as Baek Do-hee
- Ha Do-kwon as Imperial head guard Joo
- Lee Soo-ryun as Choi Yoon-mi
- Kim Min-ok as Hong So-mae
- Choi Ja-hye as Ha Jeong-dan
- Oh Han-kyul as Na Dong-sik
- Kim Yoon-ji as Hyun-joo
- Go Se-won as Prime minister
- Yoo Gun as Kang Joo-seung
- Kim Jin-geun as Incumbent prime minister
- Special appearances
- Park Chan-min as News anchor (Ep 1)
- Yoon Jong-hoon as Terrorist who tried to kill the Emperor
- Park Gyu-ri as Suicidal woman (Ep 13)
- Song Jae-hee as Father of Lee Hyuk and Lee Yoon (Ep 14 & 19)
- Jo Dong-hyuk as Detective in Grand Empress Dowager’s murder (Ep 17–20)
- Park Doo-shik as Team lead Hong’s son
- Son Chang-min as Goo Pil-mo, chief neurosurgeon at Daehan Imperial University Hospital (Ep 23–24)
- Kim Da-som as court lady Yang Dal-hee (Ep 28)
- Dong Hyun-bae as the detective (Ep 41–42)
- Ahn Nae-sang as Chief detective in Lee Yoon’s assault (Ep 41–42)
- Jeon Soo-kyeong as Empress Eun (Ep 46–48)
- Kim Soo-mi as Sa Goon Ja/former chief Kim (Ep 47)
Storyline:
The Last Empress is set in an alternate universe, in which Korea is a constitutional monarchy in 2018, Oh Sunny is a bright and vivacious musical actress who marries the Emperor of the Korean Empire. She becomes involved in the palace power struggle and a mysterious murder that sets off events that threaten the monarchy itself, while searching for true love and happiness. She teams up with Na Wang Shik who works as a bodyguard for the imperial family in order to uncover the crimes of the Imperial family. Na Wang Shik started working in the palace to take revenge on the person responsible for his mother’s death.
About The Last Empress TV Series:
The Last Empress (Korean: 황후의 품격; Hwanghuui Pumgyeok) is a South Korean television series starring Jang Na-ra, Choi Jin-hyuk, Shin Sung-rok, Lee Elijah, and Shin Eun-kyung.
The first script reading for the drama was held on September 6, 2018, at the SBS Ilsan Production Center with the attendance of cast and crew.
Kim Jung-tae was originally cast for the role of Ma Pil-joo. He decided to resign after being diagnosed with liver cancer and was replaced by Yoon Joo-man.
On November 19, 2018, Choi Jin-hyuk suffered an injury while filming an action scene that required 30 stitches on his forehead.
While filming on December 18, 2018, Shin Sung-rok fractured his toe and underwent surgery the following day. He resumed filming activities the day after his surgery.
Due to a scheduling conflict, Choi Jin-hyuk was not able to participate filming the 4-episode extension. He completed filming until episode 48 as originally planned.
On February 25, 2019, the production released an epilogue featuring Jang Na-ra and Shin Sung-rok on Naver TV and SBS NOW YouTube channel.
It aired on SBS Wednesdays and Thursdays at the 22:00 KST from November 21, 2018, to February 21, 2019, for 52 episodes.
Originally slated for 48 episodes, The Last Empress was extended to 52 episodes due to its popularity. It received high viewership ratings and positive reviews for its fast-paced and unpredictable plot. On its 24th episode on December 27, 2018, The Last Empress garnered nationwide ratings of 17.9%, making it the highest-rating weekday mini-series for Korean terrestrial television in 2018. It surpassed the record previously held by the drama Return.
The series also remade in Turkey titled Altin Kafes (2023).
