HBO Max has announced that 'Fired Up!', its Taiwanese original series based on the popular Korean webtoon 'Itaewon Class''​will premiere on July 31. As part of HBO Max's slate of original Asian content, the series will consist of 12 episodes, with new episodes to be released weekly following the premiere.

'Fired Up!' is a reinterpretation of Gwang Jin's webtoon 'Itaewon Class', adapted to resonate with local Taiwanese sensibilities. While maintaining the core narrative of the original—the story of a young man struggling to protect his family's restaurant following his father's death—the setting and character backgrounds have been reimagined to fit Taiwanese culture.

The series stars Mandopop singer and actor Eric Chou, alongside Angela Yuen, Shao Yu-wei, and Wang Shih-hsien. It is co-directed by Kao Pin-chuan and Tseng Ying-ting and produced by the Taiwanese production company DaMou Entertainment. In addition to his starring role, Eric Chou also wrote, composed, and performed the ending theme song, 'Shells'.

'Itaewon Class' was adapted into a JTBC drama in 2020, gaining immense popularity both domestically and abroad. In 2022, Japan's TV Asahi produced and aired a Japanese version titled 'Roppongi Class'. 'Fired Up!' marks the second international remake of the series and is drawing attention as another example of Korean webtoon IP being successfully localized for the Asian market.

Global OTT platforms and broadcasters are increasingly adopting strategies to reinterpret proven Korean webtoon and drama IP for their local markets. 'Fired Up!' is a product of this trend and is expected to strengthen HBO Max's competitive edge in original Asian content while further expanding the global reach of Korean content IP.