“In a kingdom defeated by corruption and famine, a mysterious rumour of the king’s death spreads, as does a strange plague that renders the infected immune to death and hungry for flesh. The crown prince, fallen victim to a conspiracy, sets out on a journey to unveil the evil scheme and save his people.”
Don’t enter. Dead inside. Just kidding—the dead are resurrecting next March in the Netflix Original Series, Kingdom. Last week, Netflix officially announced the return of the South Korean horror-drama series that makes AMC’s The Walking Dead look like rookie shit.
What we consider to be a MUCH BETTER version of AMC’s The Walking Dead, Netflix’s Kingdom takes place during the medieval Joseon period, focusing on Crown Prince Yi Change (Joo Ji Hoon) as he navigates a dangerous world of politics, conspiracy, and…the dead. The South Korean drama series is based on the Korean webcomic Land of the Gods, by author Kim Eun-hee, who went on to write the Netflix series, adapting her webcomic to a mainstream audience. Season 1 was released January of this year.
With The Walking Dead, I mean come on, we get it, after eight-long years, nothing new has really happened—there’s no cure, and the gang keeps dying off and gaining more survivors to help fight off a new threat. Probably a good reason the viewer ratings have continued to die off.
Over the years, Netflix has continued to make a big push for its Korean drama content, with several the material really taking off, as its subscriber base has really gone global.
SPOILER ALERT: If you have not seen Kingdom Season 1 or its finale, turn away now and run. Spoilers are below.
Season one ended with the crown prince approaching the dead and left with the question of how to now save his country from what seems to be an inevitable fate—death by the dead, or death of democracy through political and royal corruption. The Crown Prince gathered his defenses to prepare for the overnight attack—but the dead never showed up. Unfortunately, Seo-bi discovers the reason the zombies only slept during the daytime had everything to do with the frigid temperatures and absolutely nothing to do with luck.
So, the dead walk in the cold and sleep during the heat. Like season one, the second installment will also be directed by Kim Seong-hun, so viewers can continue to expect the same cinematography, storytelling, and beautiful design the show brings to the screen. The show’s main cast includes the return of Ju Ji-hoon, Bae Doona, and Ryu Seung-ryong, who will be reprising their roles, respectively. New members to the cast will include Park Byung Eun, Kim Tae Hoon, and others.
Kingdom Season 2 will premiere on Netflix on March 2020.
