TV

Newest Netflix's K-Drama of 2024 is a Perfect 3 Body Problem Follow-Up

Newest Netflix's K-Drama of 2024 is a Perfect 3 Body Problem Follow-Up
Image credit: Netflix

Existential threats make for compelling TV, as this new show proves.

Summary

  • 3 Body Problem is a big hit for Netflix.
  • It began streaming just over a month ago, and many viewers have binged the series.
  • The streaming giant's new K-drama fills that 3 Body Problem-sized hole.

When you hear that D.B. Weiss and David Benioff are behind a series, you sit up and take notice. The recent Netflix drama 3 Body Problem had all the suspense and drama we've come to expect from the pair, as a team of scientists and a detective investigate the strange deaths of scientists around the world.

Based on the novel The Three Body Problem by Liu Cixin, the show scored 80% on Rotten Tomatoes and topped Netflix's global top 10 for 3 weeks. But with only 8 episodes, this uber-bingeable show has already come to an end for many fans.

The good news, a new K-drama landing on April 26th is the perfect show to stream if you loved 3 Body Problem and can't believe it hasn't been renewed for Season 2.

What would you do if there were only 200 days left until the apocalypse?

That is the question the citizens of Korea face in this heart-pounding show.

No sooner have we been shown that life in Korea is normal, than we are warned that a catastrophe is imminent. According to NASA, an asteroid is on course to collide with Earth (more specifically, the Korean Peninsula) in just 200 days. That's about seven months before everything ends.

The show, aptly named Goodbye Earth, follows the residents of the fictional town of Woongcheon as they await their impending doom. If you loved the intensity and urgency of 3 Body Problem, Goodbye Earth has just as much to offer.

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This series is also based on the novel The Fool At the End of the World by Kōtarō Isaka, and focuses on the reactions of three characters to the coming devastation.

Directed by Kim Jin-min, the show follows:

  • School teacher Jin Se-kyung played by Ahn Eun-jin
  • Priest Woo Sung-jae played by Jeon Seong-woo
  • Battalion commander Kang In-a played by Kim Yoon-hye

As you might expect when the end of the world is so close, chaos breaks out and lawlessness is rampant. For many, morality goes out the window and life becomes simply hedonistic.

Calm in the middle of the storm

As society collapses, Woo Sung-jae tries to comfort his people and Kang In-a does her best to maintain order. Meanwhile, Jin Se-kyung focuses all her attention on the students she still feels responsible for.

The show examines how society as a whole and individuals within it would act if they knew exactly how long the earth would continue to rotate. By looking at events through the eyes of these three very different characters, it shines a light on all of humanity and asks serious questions about what society really means and just how fragile it is.

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Kim Jin-min has already directed one show rated 100% on Rotten Tomatoes

2021 K-drama My Name has a perfect score on RT and gives hope that Goodbye Earth could be as good as (if not better than) 3 Body Problem.

My Name is a crime thriller about a young girl who gets involved with a gang and is set up as a mole for the police. It's an action-packed neo-noir that shows Jin-min knows what it takes to keep viewers fully immersed in the drama and on the edge of their seats.

Other notable shows from the director include:

  • Extracurricular (2020)
  • Lawless Lawyer (2018)
  • The Liar and His Lover (2017)

Jin-min won the Best Production Director award at the 9th Korea Drama Awards for Marriage Contract in 2016.