K-drama 'Empathy Cell' premieres July 4 on Lifetime and Disney+

Empathy Cell (공감세포) hits screens July 4 at 10:50 PM across Lifetime, U+tv mobile, and Disney+ simultaneously.

Kim Myung-soo is Cha Eun-hwan, a psychotherapist with a 100% empathy rating. Kang Min-ah plays Yu Ji-an, a top star who has none. Kwon So-hyun (권소현) rounds out the trio as Han I-jin.

Yu Ji-an walks into Cha Eun-hwan's office wanting to sharpen her acting. Their first session goes sideways when an "emotional transfer" happens—something supernatural that leaves him exposed, able to see straight through him. They end up tangled in each other's lives and have to relearn what feelings even mean.

Both arrive at episode one already broken. Yu Ji-an's caught in a scandal that torches her career. She's crying in a convenience store. Cha Eun-hwan's fighting to keep his counselor license after ethical questions surface about how he works.

There's a second wound running through the story. Yu Ji-an and Han I-jin were both in girl group I Want (아이 원트). Yu Ji-an was the favorite. Han I-jin watched from the shadows, burning with resentment. She's an actress now and still seethes over it. Yu Ji-an, meanwhile, knows Han I-jin's the better actor—and it eats at her.

The production team said the first episode lays "all the wounds and conflicts between the two women on full display" and urged viewers to watch how they fell apart.

Screenplay by Jung Yeon (정연) and Kim Sung-rae (김성래), directed by Kim Chil-bong (김칠봉). Produced by WeMad, LG U+, and MBC C&I; provided by A+E Global Media.