Netflix’s Kingdom Series (2019)
Zombies in the Korean medieval era where swords, bows and arrows are alive? Awesome!!! This Korean series’ take on the zombie-genre would probably be the best hit among its peers since The Walking Dead’s derailment. Netflix’s Kingdom (2019) just takes it to another level.
The genre of zombies may have been cliche these days but Kingdom’s edge comes from the combined visual beauty of the historical time period and the supernatural element. If you prefer swords and arrows over guns, I guarantee you that this is the zombie series for you.
Synopsis:
“Set in Korea’s medieval Joseon period, it tells the story of Crown Prince Yi-Chang (Ju Ji-hoon), who becomes embroiled in a coup/political conspiracy and is forced to embark upon a mission to investigate the spread of a mysterious undead plague that has beset the current emperor and the country’s southern provinces.
The story starts with a notice written in Chinese on a billboard, claiming the king of Joseon is dead and the crown prince should be crowned immediately as the new king. However, inside the palace, the king is known to be severely sick and has been secretly treated for the past 10 days. No one was allowed to visit the king, not even the crown prince himself.
Late at night, the crown prince sneaked out to visit his father, wanting to know the truth. But instead of his own father, he encountered the silhouette of a beastly monster. [12] . Accompanied by the physician Seo-Bi (Bae Doo-na), the enigmatic Yeong-Shin (Kim Sung-gyu), and his personal guard Moo-Young (Kim Sang-ho), Prince Yi-Chang must prevent the advance of the plague towards his home capital of Hanyang (present-day Seoul) while addressing the sinister coup masterminded by Minister Cho Hak-jo (Ryu Seung-ryong) and his family aimed towards his deposition from the throne.”
Adaptation:
Kingdom is adapted from the webcomic ‘The Kingdom of the Gods’ by Kim Eun-hee, the star TV drama writer who also serves as showrunner.
Kim Eun Hee stated, “‘Kingdom’ is a production I’ve been thinking about since 2011 when I was writing the second half of ‘Sign,’ I wanted to take modern-day fears and horror and put them in a Joseon era setting. I’m hoping that my work with Netflix will help the creative imagination within ‘Kingdom’ soar. I will work together with director Kim Sung Hoon, who is a close colleague and someone I admire, to create a great production.”
The making of Kingdom:
Will there be a Kingdom season 2?
Kingdom season 1 ended in a cliffhanger with a lot of content available for producing season 2. That said, here’s what we know so far:
Netflix has renewed Kingdom for season 2 and has started filming this February 2019 and is due to end filming by June 2019. Season 2 will probably be released around January 2020.
Spoiler Alert:
"It's not the sun. It's the temperature."
