Horror series Kingdom is set post the demise of Korean King in the Joseon Dynasty period which lasted from 1400 to 1900.
Soon after the demise of the King, a mysterious plague caused him and hundreds of his dead men to rise from their grave unleashing terror in the peninsula. The series revolves around the crown prince as he struggles to control the outbreak and keep his people safe.
The teaser is intriguing giving away very few details and leaves the rest to the imagination of the viewers. The teaser has garnered enough interest to pick up for a second season.
The new series is the outcome of an ongoing partnership between Netflix and Asian production studios aiming to bring out different genres of series. Netflix acquired distribution rights for "Kingdom" early 2017 although it was not slated for release until 2019. After the streaming of the teaser, Netflix announced to look out for the second season of the Korean zombie thriller as well.
Netflix unveiled the first look teaser on Wednesday at See What's Next (SWN) Asia showcase event held in Singapore at Marina Bay Sands. The SWN was attended by Netflix's co-founder and CEO Reed Hastings, Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos and Vice President of Product Todd Yellin.
The event saw a detailed look at Netflix's strategy, vision and a sneak peek at new series to be aired in 2019.
Kingdom is directed by Kim Seong-hun, who awarded the prestigious Korean Grand Bell Award for best director in 2014 for his film "A Hard Day". Talking about the series Seong-hun said that "It is a drama where I wanted to try something new. It is about the struggle of human greed for power and pain of the citizens that takes place in the 15th to 16th century of Joseon era".
The writer of the series Kim Eun Hee said "In "Kingdom" people's necks get cut off, they bleed and many people die. These kinds of scenes are impossible to show on existing platforms. Netflix provided the freedom of expression without any inhibitions."
"Kingdom" is set to premiere on January 25, 2019 on Netflix.
