Korean shows are highly popular nowadays, thanks to shows like Squid Game, The Glory, and Crash Landing on You. One series that helped usher in the new wave of K-drama was Netflix’s sprawling historical fantasy, with warring noble families, ruthless betrayals, and a constant battle for the throne. The formula wasn’t dissimilar to that of HBO’s massive hit, Game of Thrones, except in this instance, it swaps dragons for terrifying zombies. Yet many viewers, including myself, let Kingdom fly under the radar.
Netflix’s hidden Korean-zombie gem
The platform’s medieval zombie epic deserves to be more popular
Like Game of Thrones, Kingdom opens with a mysterious, foreboding chain of events. Set during Korea’s Joseon Dynasty, the series follows Crown Prince Lee Chang as he investigates the mysterious illness that has befallen the king. At first, the focus is more on the succession crisis before it’s revealed that the problem is far worse than it appears: The king has succumbed to a deadly plague that resurrects the dead, and suddenly, the entire kingdom descends into chaos.
Kingdom earned significant praise from critics and viewers alike, yet it never reached the same lofty heights as Netflix’s biggest hits like Stranger Things and Squid Game. This is a shame, as it is one of the streaming giant’s smartest shows, combining politics with fantasy and horror.
A kingdom worth fighting for
The show has all the best elements of Game of Thrones with a fascinating premise
It isn’t the fantasy that makes Kingdom so easily comparable to Game of Thrones, so much as the constant shifts of power, where nobody can be trusted, and the greatest threats come from those closest to the throne.
However, rather than trying to conquer the kingdom like so many Game of Thrones characters, the protagonist, Crown Prince Lee Chang, tries to save it. Yet, with parallels to the HBO series, corrupt officials brand him a traitor, and he’s forced into exile, while powerful aristocratic families manipulate the succession for their own gain. You never know who to trust, as everyone seems to have a hidden agenda, and seemingly loyal characters are forced to make morally questionable decisions.
These plotlines don’t feel like filler between the action scenes (of which there are many). It actually helps maintain the tension, as the zombie threat won’t matter if the kingdom tears itself apart at the seams. This balance of politics and high drama is what made Game of Thrones so addictive during its best seasons.
The horror has real consequences
The zombies are unlike most undead characters we’re used to
I felt like I’d seen enough zombie movies and shows for one lifetime when I found Kingdom. My zombie fatigue even made Fear the Walking Dead feel run-of-the-mill, yet this series makes the undead feel genuinely frightening again.
Far from being slow, ambling corpses, these zombies are relentless predators that sprint, swarm, and overwhelm entire cities within minutes. The drama is highly choreographed, so that every outbreak feels chaotic and sweeps you along with the action. The series relies on suspense rather than jump scares, and each season uses creeping dread and impossible odds to maintain its relentless momentum.
In Kingdom, the horror serves the story rather than acting as a crutch to support the plotlines. Every zombie attack drives the narrative by altering the political landscape as much as any battle might in Game of Thrones.
Every episode looks cinematic
The production quality rivals that of any other premium fantasy television drama
Kingdom looks expensive. Its historical Joseon setting looks unlike any other fantasy series, with ornate Asian architecture instead of medieval castles and elegant silk robes replacing steel armor. Meanwhile, its practical sets show great attention to detail, with epic battles that use hundreds of soldiers and sweeping cinematography that makes it feel more like a major blockbuster production than a Netflix drama.
Yet while this ambitious epic can comfortably rank alongside prestige fantasies in terms of aesthetics and scripting, it rarely gets mentioned alongside the genre’s biggest spectacles.
Kingdom’s biggest enemy in this regard may have simply been timing. Today, Korean television has become a global phenomenon, with hits like Squid Game proving audiences want ambitious international storytelling. However, Kingdom arrived early, before that wave fully took off. What it did do was introduce international audiences to the type of quality they can expect from Korean dramas, opening the door for other, more popular series that followed.
Don’t let Kingdom stay buried
This visually spectacular epic remains one of Netflix’s finest hidden gems in a genre that was on the verge of becoming stale. Kingdom blends the best qualities of more popular shows, including the political maneuvering of Game of Thrones and the relentless tension of The Last of Us and 28 Days Later, but gives them a stunning Far Eastern medieval makeover.
If you enjoy fantasy and horror, Kingdom remains a refreshingly original foreign drama and deserves a place at the top of your watchlist.
Kingdom
- Release Date
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2019 – 2020-00-00
- Network
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Netflix
- Directors
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Kim Seong-hun, Park In-je
- Writers
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Kim Eun-hee
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Ju Ji-hoon
Crown Prince Chang
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Ryu Seung-ryong
Cho Hak-ju
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