Netflix has a pretty good modern history of spotlighting new series and movies from Korean creators, with Squid Game still standing out as one of its biggest launches ever, becoming one of its most iconic shows and gaining global popularity. So, when it puts a heap of budget behind a new Korean drama series, it's worth paying attention.
This month Netflix launches The East Palace, a new supernatural action thriller that looks like it has a heck of a lot going for it, including some pretty amazing-looking fight sequences, and it's finally got a proper trailer. We'd already really enjoyed the teaser, so it's great to get a longer look at the series.
The East Palace will star Nam Joo-hyuk as a demon-hunter who has the power to enter the spirit world to hunt down malevolent demons – which should clue you in fairly immediately to the fact that this is a proper supernatural series. He's drafted in by the local king to investigate the mysterious east wing of his palace, which seems to be housing all sorts of funky evil beasties.
He also finds an ally in the form of the king's daughter, who has the mysterious power to be able to perceive and indeed communicate with ghosts and demons herself, which makes her a highly useful person to know. Together, they'll have to unravel just why the demon world is targeting the palace and its residents.
While that plot sounds like good fun, it's the visuals that really capture the attention in this case – the show looks pretty gorgeous, with a really distinctive flair that looks nice and stylised. We see glimpses of what are likely to be quite lavish action sequences set in the gloaming of the spirit world, which could be massively entertaining.
It's also clear that the show will have some horror elements, which shouldn't surprise given its subject matter. That could see it enter as a really compelling new take on a few different genres, so be sure to keep an eye out for it when it launches on 17 July.
