Queenmaker

Kim Hee-ah plays Hwang Do-Hee who is a fixer for the Eunsung group and is labelled as an attack dog with the lengths she will go to defending the family behind the company. In carrying out her role a young girl seems to commit suicide and then the companies employees go after Oh Kyung-Sook (Moon So-Ri) an activist lawyer who is causing the company embarrassment. Do-Hee realises she has been lied to and to honour the young girls memory she encourages Kyung-Sook to run as mayor of Seoul against against the husband of the daughter of the Eunsung group played by Ryu Soo-young. It is a predictable drama with pantomime villains but does enough to keep you interested in the drama. My favourite characters were the daughter and adopted daughter of the Chaebol family who were completely messed up but because of this the most entertaining.

The actresses in this movie were superb. Bingeworthy, and not a typical story. It's complex, dark, sad, but also full of hope, redemption, loyalty, and justice. Who doesn't love a good underdog story? The villains played their characters to a T, but also were complex. Character development for some characters were good, but wished there was a bit more background on the heros. Nevertheless this is worthy of a high rating and was definitely gripping. I would almost characterize this a political drama, but it's so much more than that. It's got depth, grit and no nonsense fillers...meaning in 9 episodes they cover enough and give you closure vs unnecessarily keeping the storyline going.

I have to admit: after watching episode one I thought this would be one more on my list of Korean turn-offs. How wrong I was. The second episode really grabbed me and it did not disappoint. What a great, well executed drama on corruption, human evil and the struggle to have honesty, righteousness and justice prevail. It has some weak moments, but overall this series is outstanding and approaches for instance House of Cards. Acting and dialogues are generally top notch. This series will keep you on the edge of your seat while the storyline develops with an absurd mix of strikes and counterstrikes between political opponents. The good should prevail of course, but right into the last episode it is unclear if it will. Can't spoil yet, as I'm currently watching the last (11th) episode. See for yourself.

So far Korean cinema has not been able to make me a fan because of overacting, hysteria and poor storylines in many series and movies. Queenmaker however is a true gem. Definitely recommended and hoping for more of this in the future.

Completely addictive and riveting political drama, with some very solid humorous moments that balance the darker themes.

I don't think I've ever seen a more sincere and powerful portrayal of female friendships and relationships. Korean writers are by far the best at building complex, interesting, and strong, female characters. Television shows rarely centre female bonds like this. The characters don't sit around talking about men or their insecurities. Their relationships show depth and authenticity.

The performances by Kim Hee-ae, Moon So-ri and Kim Sun-Young were outstanding. The scene where Oh Kyung Sook and Hwa Soo break down together was so well acted, and genuinely heartfelt.

Another great Korean show.

Queenmaker is an exception to Netflix Originals. It is a great series with a clean ending; you don't have to wait for season 2. It has no foul language, no f words, no drugs, no explicit sex of any kind. House of Cards, Money heist, Delhi Crime, Queen's Gambit, and Marcella are good examples of what Netflix should focus on. It also licensed excellent tv series like Revenge so that we could watch them without commercials. That was the biggest value proposition for us. Many of the Netflix originals are pretty bad, full of explicit sex, drugs, and f words. The Night Agent is another exception, excellent story, well produced and directed. Many of the originals have actors who do not belong in the script but are there to satisfy diversity. We love the Korean, Northern European, some other foreign shows.