Not a huge football fan? Join the club! If you, too, are looking for a non-sporty alternative to this weekend's big Super Bowl LIX telecast, how about a fresh Korean rom-com with a side of zombie apocalypse? The new Prime Video series Newtopia checks all of those genre-breaking boxes, with a starry cast led by K-pop royalty.
At the center of the highly anticipated fantasy-romance is Lee Jae-yoon (Park Jeong-min, of Deliver Us From Evil and Dongju: The Portrait of a Poet fame), a South Korean soldier who is self-conscious about starting his mandatory military conscription at a later age, and his girlfriend Kang Young-joo — played by singer-actress Jisoo, best known as a member of the world-famous girl group BLACKPINK — who he recently split with following an argument. However, when a mysterious outbreak starts sweeping through Seoul, the pair race across the zombie-laden metropolis to be together again.
Newtopia is directed by Yoon Sung-hyun who is known for his films Bleak Night and Time to Hunt, both of which also star Park Jeong-min. The series is co-written by Han Jin-won and Jee Ho-jin — the former, of course, co-wrote the Oscar-winning film Parasite, while Jee Ho-jin penned the recent action drama A Shop for Killers.
If you're not usually a fan of zombie-filled fare like 28 Days Later and Dawn of the Dead, consider the Prime Video series a newfangled take on the undead form. “Newtopia is like a fairytale disguised as a zombie series," said Park in a recent interview with Forbes. "The challenges the characters encounter lead to growth, and I believe viewers will find themselves rooting for the two main characters as they watch the series. Although Newtopia is labeled a zombie series, it is actually adorable, heartfelt, and light-hearted. This is what I believe sets it apart from other zombie series or films. I think Newtopia might offer a similar sense of freshness that viewers felt with the film Warm Bodies, but in its own unique way.”
The first two episodes of Newtopia hit Prime Video on Friday, February 7, with the rest of the installments from the eight-episode first season to arrive weekly on the streaming service. That means that you'll need access to Prime Video — monthly subscription is currently priced at $8.99 per month, or you can get Prime Video access with a general Amazon Prime membership for $14.99 per month or $139 per year.
Check out the official trailer for Newtopia before tuning into the first two episodes of the zombie dramedy this weekend on Prime Video.
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