# The Art of Sarah (레이디 두아)
**The Art of Sarah** (레이디 두아, *Lady Dua*) is a South Korean mystery thriller limited series released on Netflix on February 13, 2026. Its eight episodes follow [Sarah Kim](https://www.edgepedia.org/sarah-kim), a woman who built a luxurious identity on a lie, and Park Mu-gyeong, the detective who investigates her after she is named as the victim in an unidentified murder case.[1](https://asianwiki.com/The_Art_of_Sarah) • [2](https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/81904993) The series was directed by Kim Jin-min, written by Chu Song-yeon, and produced by SLL, with [Shin Hye-sun](https://www.edgepedia.org/shin-hye-sun) and Lee Jun-hyuk in the leading roles.[2](https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/81904993) • [3](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/the-art-of-sarah-premieres-february-13)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title | 레이디 두아 (revised romanization: Lady Dua); English title The Art of Sarah[1](https://asianwiki.com/The_Art_of_Sarah) |
| Format | 8-episode limited series, episodes of 39 to 51 minutes, TV-MA rating[4](https://www.netflix.com/title/81904993) |
| Release | All episodes on Netflix, February 13, 2026[1](https://asianwiki.com/The_Art_of_Sarah) |
| Creators | Director Kim Jin-min (*Extracurricular*, *My Name*); writer Chu Song-yeon, a debut screenwriter and SLL script-contest winner; producer SLL[3](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/the-art-of-sarah-premieres-february-13) • [5](https://www.mk.co.kr/news/hot-issues/11966114) |
| Lead cast | Shin Hye-sun as Sarah Kim; Lee Jun-hyuk as detective Park Mu-gyeong[4](https://www.netflix.com/title/81904993) |
| Reception | 86% Tomatometer and 76% Popcornmeter on Rotten Tomatoes; No. 3 on Netflix's global Top 10 non-English shows in its first week[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_art_of_sarah) • [5](https://www.mk.co.kr/news/hot-issues/11966114) |
## Spoilers
### Premise
Sarah Kim is the president of the Asia branch of a high-end brand whose name is heard everywhere although she herself is rarely seen. She is suddenly identified as the victim in an unidentified murder case, and detective Park Mu-gyeong investigates her. As he does, her mysterious identity is gradually revealed.[1](https://asianwiki.com/The_Art_of_Sarah) Netflix's logline describes a mystery drama about a woman who wants to embody luxury even if it means being fake, and the sharp detective who traces her desires.[2](https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/81904993)
The story opens with the discovery of a body in the Seoul sewers. Mu-gyeong's team initially verifies the victim's identity using an ankle tattoo and a one-of-a-kind bag, but the more they investigate, the less they seem to know.[7](https://time.com/7378594/the-art-of-sarah-ending/) Each episode is named for a different identity or figure connected to the case, including "Jane Doe", "Sarah Kim", "Mok Ga-hui", "Kim Eun-jae", "Boudoir", and "Kim Mi-jeong", reflecting the shifting answers the investigation produces.[4](https://www.netflix.com/title/81904993)
### Plot and characters
The series is told largely from Mu-gyeong's point of view, positioning him as the audience's eyes as Sarah's story shifts and refracts.[8](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/amp/entertainment/shows-dramas/20260210/the-art-of-sarah-focuses-on-pursuit-of-fake-luxury) Through flashbacks drawn from the testimony of witnesses to Sarah Kim's many cons, and from Sarah Kim herself, the persona is revealed to have been created by Mok Ga-hui, a working-class shop girl at Samwol Department Store who sold luxury bags to the very wealthy and was drawn toward the status the bags represented.[7](https://time.com/7378594/the-art-of-sarah-ending/)
Sarah's public identity is regional manager of the ultra-elite but fictitious fashion house Boudoir, which sells luxury women's fashions, particularly designer handbags, to the wealthiest customers in South Korea.[9](https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-drama/k-drama/article/3343315/netflix-k-drama-art-sarah-review-shin-hye-sun-leads-glitzy-fashion-world-mystery) • [10](https://www.kdramalove.com/Art_Sarah.html) Her rise involves deceit and blackmail, and she makes several enemies along the way.[10](https://www.kdramalove.com/Art_Sarah.html) The investigation also connects her to Kang Ji-hwon and to the power broker Hong Seong-sin; in the backstory, the reborn Kim Eun-jae approaches the dying loan shark Seong-sin with a deal in which she gives him a kidney in exchange for marriage and 500 million won, roughly $346,000.[4](https://www.netflix.com/title/81904993) • [7](https://time.com/7378594/the-art-of-sarah-ending/)
Supporting cast members include Kim Jae-won as Ji Hwon, Jung Da-bin as Woo Hyo-eun, Bae Jong-ok as Choi Chae-u, and Jung Jin-young as Hong Seong-sin.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_art_of_sarah) • [7](https://time.com/7378594/the-art-of-sarah-ending/)
## Production
Director Kim Jin-min had previously directed the Netflix Korean crime dramas *Extracurricular* and *My Name*; the Korean trade press framed *The Art of Sarah* as a move from those works' survival and action focus toward a more intellectual psychological crime drama.[3](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/the-art-of-sarah-premieres-february-13) • [11](https://southern.tistory.com/2767) Writer Chu Song-yeon developed the project after winning an SLL script contest, and her internship-period planning work resulted in the produced series.[5](https://www.mk.co.kr/news/hot-issues/11966114) Filming began in January 2025 and concluded in late May 2025.[12](https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/k-dramas/the-art-of-sarah-netflix-crime-thriller-k-drama-preview/)
The production team included cinematographer Ju Sung-rim (*[The School Nurse Files](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-school-nurse-files)*, *[Mask Girl](https://www.edgepedia.org/mask-girl)*, *The Roundup* franchise), editor Nam Na-young (*Squid Game*), and costume supervisor Cho Sang-kyung.[13](https://downloads.ctfassets.net/4cd45et68cgf/7udeY1pp0DFjxtd8mtjbLG/8bddae103c76e0c494d129f4ed95d598/-KOREA-_Next_on_Netflix_2026_Slate_Appendix.pdf) The series was announced under the working title Lady Doir before the English title was changed to The Art of Sarah.[12](https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/k-dramas/the-art-of-sarah-netflix-crime-thriller-k-drama-preview/) Speaking at a press conference held in Seoul on February 10, 2026, Kim Jin-min said the drama portrays the psychological strain between a woman hoping to make herself into a luxury brand and the man pulled into her mysterious world, and he praised a script whose story unfolds in ways that cannot be known in advance.[8](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/amp/entertainment/shows-dramas/20260210/the-art-of-sarah-focuses-on-pursuit-of-fake-luxury)
## Themes and reception
The series treats luxury as a social symbol rather than a matter of craftsmanship: brand names act as badges of wealth and class, and Sarah's con consists of crafting an entire luxury persona around that symbolism.[9](https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-drama/k-drama/article/3343315/netflix-k-drama-art-sarah-review-shin-hye-sun-leads-glitzy-fashion-world-mystery) A line associated with the show, "If you can't tell the fake from the real, is it really fake?", captures its class-infused theme, and the story has been described as a non-linear narrative of revenge, social inequity, and the power of performed identity.[7](https://time.com/7378594/the-art-of-sarah-ending/)
Critics were divided on the execution. Rotten Tomatoes recorded an 86% Tomatometer from 7 reviews and a 76% Popcornmeter score.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_art_of_sarah) Reviews praised Shin Hye-sun's lead performance and the structure in which each episode offers a new answer to the question of who Sarah Kim is, while some found the plot increasingly convoluted and judged that the finale did not sustain the earlier momentum.[14](https://readysteadycut.com/2026/02/13/the-art-of-sarah-review/) • [15](https://www.thereviewgeek.com/theartofsarah-s1review/) Commercially, the series debuted at No. 3 on Netflix's global Top 10 non-English shows in its first week and was the only [Korean drama](https://www.edgepedia.org/korean-drama) to enter that week's list.[5](https://www.mk.co.kr/news/hot-issues/11966114)
## References
1. [The Art of Sarah, AsianWiki](https://asianwiki.com/The_Art_of_Sarah)
2. [The Art of Sarah, Netflix Media Center](https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/81904993)
3. [When It Feels Real, Is It Still a Lie? 'The Art of Sarah' Premieres February 13, Netflix](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/the-art-of-sarah-premieres-february-13)
4. [The Art of Sarah, Netflix](https://www.netflix.com/title/81904993)
5. ['레이디 두아', 넷플 글로벌 톱10 비영어 쇼 3위 출발, 스타투데이 (mk.co.kr)](https://www.mk.co.kr/news/hot-issues/11966114)
6. [The Art of Sarah, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_art_of_sarah)
7. [Breaking Down the Twisty Ending of The Art of Sarah, TIME](https://time.com/7378594/the-art-of-sarah-ending/)
8. ['The Art of Sarah' focuses on pursuit of fake luxury, The Korea Times](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/amp/entertainment/shows-dramas/20260210/the-art-of-sarah-focuses-on-pursuit-of-fake-luxury)
9. [Netflix K-drama The Art of Sarah review, South China Morning Post](https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-drama/k-drama/article/3343315/netflix-k-drama-art-sarah-review-shin-hye-sun-leads-glitzy-fashion-world-mystery)
10. [The Art of Sarah review, kdramalove.com](https://www.kdramalove.com/Art_Sarah.html)
11. [레이디 두아 / The Art of Sarah, southern.tistory.com](https://southern.tistory.com/2767)
12. ['The Art of Sarah' Netflix Crime Thriller K-Drama Preview, What's on Netflix](https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/k-dramas/the-art-of-sarah-netflix-crime-thriller-k-drama-preview/)
13. [KOREA Next on Netflix 2026 Slate Appendix, Netflix](https://downloads.ctfassets.net/4cd45et68cgf/7udeY1pp0DFjxtd8mtjbLG/8bddae103c76e0c494d129f4ed95d598/-KOREA-_Next_on_Netflix_2026_Slate_Appendix.pdf)
14. ['The Art of Sarah' Review, Ready Steady Cut](https://readysteadycut.com/2026/02/13/the-art-of-sarah-review/)
15. [The Art of Sarah Season 1 Review, The Review Geek](https://www.thereviewgeek.com/theartofsarah-s1review/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › International serial drama and telenovelas › East Asian drama series › Korean contemporary drama › Thriller, crime, and mystery series › Crime and mystery thrillers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license