- Newtopia lands on Prime Video on February 7
- It stars BLACKPINK’s Jisoo in her second K-Drama role
- Parasite co-writer Han-Jin won has been recruited for its screenplay
No one is prepared for a breakup, especially when it happens at the cusp of a zombie apocalypse. Prime Video and South Korean streaming service Coupang Play have released the first trailer (see below) for new K-Drama series Newtopia, set to premiere on both platforms on February 7. And though we’re still waiting patiently for all of Prime Video’s new January 2025 titles, the first trailer for Newtopia has sparked my intrigue to see what February 2025 has in store for one of the best streaming services.
Just before the outbreak of a zombie virus, the trailer opens with a still shot of soldier Jae-yoon (Park Jeong-min) at the receiving end of a phonecall breakup where his girlfriend Young-joo (BLACKPINK’s Jisoo) calls it quits on their long term relationship. Soon after, their world comes crashing down even more when they’re faced with the chaos of a zombie apocalypse and Seoul spirals into a frenzy as all traffic comes to a halt and people start dropping like flies.
When you think that Newtopia couldn’t get more messy, Young-joo rethinks her decision to end her relationship with Jae-yoon and sets out on a mission to be reunited with him. As he’s recruited for duty to stop the spread of the virus, Jae-yoon finds himself torn between his role as a soldier and the love of his life.
With Park Jeong-min at the centre of the story alongside Jisoo in her second K-Drama role since her appearance in the romance series Snowdrop (streaming on Disney Plus), Newtopia has roped in Yoon Sang-hyun as director who has movies Bleak Night (2010) and Time to Hunt (2020) under his belt. But the show wouldn’t be as hard-hitting without a striking script at its core, therefore the choice of Han-Jin won for co-writer seems sensible given his previous writing contributions to Bong Joon-ho’s Best Picture winner Parasite (2019) – which sits proudly in our recommendations for the best Netflix movies.
Despite the trailer being a mere one-minute watch, it succeeds in promoting a new dystopia that’s just as unhinged as Netflix’s Squid Game, if not more, but with a little bit of silly humor attached to its story to take the edge off. Luckily, you have just one month to go until you can enter the chaotic world that is Newtopia, and I’m intrigued to see how it’s received.