Just days after Amazon Prime Video dropped Butterfly, the tale of international espionage has been climbing the streamer’s top 10 ranking of film and TV.
Set in the bustling South Korean city of Seoul, the six-part drama stars Daniel Dae Kim (of Lost and The Good Doctor) as the semi-retired gun-for-hire David Jung.
Now sitting at the third spot on Amazon Prime, the show kicks off in a high-end hotel, where a visiting politician is under surveillance for a bold assassination attempt (think Day of the Jackal vibe) which is being organised by a shady and deep-pocketed private intelligence agency.
The young assassin on the job is Rebecca, played by Reina Hardesty. Next on her kill list is the rogue and not-really-retired agent David, who’s highly trained in field work.
Adapted from a graphic novel by Arash Amel and Marguerite Bennett, it turns out that David and Rebecca are known to one another.
The former intelligence agent is on a mission to protect his wife and daughter, while also reckoning with an incident from his past that comes back to haunt him. Ominous stuff.
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Kim has described Butterfly as ‘the realisation of a longtime dream… to create a show that bridges two cultures I love deeply.’
‘A central question in our entire season is, “Who can you trust?”,’ Kim told USA Today. ‘And just because they’re family, can you trust them? The ending to our season really speaks to that question.’
Kim was an executive producer on the show and has already teased what they could tackle with a second season, saying there’s ‘a lot more story to tell, and there are places for all of our characters to go that I find really intriguing’.
He added: ‘So let’s hope people like it enough to make that happen.’
What else can you watch on Amazon Prime Video?
- Gunpowder. Starring Game of Thrones breakout Kit Harington, the gory drama sees him play Robert Catesby, the mastermind behind the plot to blow up the House of Lords in 1605.
- The Assassin. Stars Keeley Hawes as the titular assassin, who reunites with her estranged son (Freddie Highmore) after he tracks her down with questions about her past.
- Outlander: Blood of My Blood. The highly anticipated prequel dropped its first two episodes, and fans are already hooked.
So far so good on that front. The show has totted up a 71% rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, with several positive write-ups to its name.
Collider praised the ‘wall-to-wall action’ in the show, while The AV Club wrote: ‘With a tight focus and impressive performances, Butterfly‘s basic spycraft story feels both elevated and entertaining.’ TV Guide described the show as ‘slick’ and a ‘solid spy series’.
However, not every review can be glowing and The Hollywood Reporter bemoaned the show ‘needed more time in the chrysalis’. You be the judge!
A version of this story was originally published on August 13.
Butterfly is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
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