Malcolm Henry
Move over Squid Game your time atop Netflix (and Rotten Tomatoes) is over. At least temporarily. And, yes, it is another gory Korean show that is taking the spot.
Hellbound premiered on the streaming platform on Friday, Nov. 19, and immediately shoot to the top of streaming charts not only in the U.S., but across the globe.
Nicely done, Yeon Sang-ho.
Now… what is is about?
Well, the South Korean horror is set in an alternate universe where supernatural creatures materialize to drag humans to Hell. So, perhaps not as realistic as Squid Game, but whatever…
Anyways, the first few episodes synopsis is basically, the show follows Jin Kyeong-hoon , a detective investigating the happenings of you know, monsters taking people to hell, and introduces Jeong Jin-soo, the chairman of the New Truth. While the final episodes take place five years later and focus on Bae Young-jae, a detective who is struggling with the fact that his newborn baby is bound for hell.
I am a pass on this, because it sounds pretty ridiculous, but Let’s go to the tape:
Hellbound is currently ranking No. 3 among all shows on Netflix behind Tiger King 2 and Cowboy Bebop — Squid Game is still sitting in ninth. The show became the No. 1-ranked show on Netflix on Nov. 20 — literally, just one day after the series was released — and knocked Squid Game out of the top spot. Squid had topped the chart for 46 non-consecutive days, to second place.
Last we heard, Squid Game 2 was in development.
That is a story I am more more interested in that Hellbound.
In his interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Dong-hyuk said, “we could go with Gi-hun’s story as he turns back, and explore more about how he’s going to navigate through his reckoning with the people who are designing the games.”
He also said a possible plot could revolve around “the story of the police officer and the story of his brother, The Front Man. So if I end up creating Season 2, I’d like to explore that storyline – what is going on between those two brothers?”
No matter what is going to happen in Season 2, Dong-hyuk is cashing in as Netflix is now going to move forward with three other titles from Dong-hyuk: Silenced, Miss Granny, and The Fortress.
