SBS’s new Friday-Saturday drama 'Queen Mantis' (written by Lee Young Jong and directed by Byun Young Joo), also known as Mantis, opened with an explosive debut.
According to Nielsen Korea, the first episode aired on September 5 and recorded a nationwide rating of 7.1 percent. The show ranked first in its timeslot.
The story began with a brutal murder scene. Detective Choi Joong Ho, played by Jo Sung Ha, was reminded of a past case while looking at the corpse. The case was the infamous 'Queen Mantis' serial killings, in which one woman murdered five men.
The killer was Jeong I Shin, portrayed by Go Hyun Jung. Twenty-three years later, her son Cha Soo Yeol, played by Jang Dong Yoon, has become a police officer. When a copycat crime occurs, I Shin agrees to help with the investigation on one condition: she will speak only through her son. This sets the stage for their tense reunion after more than two decades. Soo Yeol struggles to suppress years of anger while I Shin shifts from mother to murderer. Their uneasy partnership begins and the episode ends with I Shin’s unsettling smile.
The premiere hinted at a tightly woven story. Go Hyun Jung’s commanding presence dominated the screen as she embodied the face of a ruthless serial killer. Jang Dong Yoon added depth and intensity with a composed yet powerful performance that heightened the drama’s tension.
'Queen Mantis' is a crime thriller about the uneasy collaboration between a serial killer mother and her detective son. The second episode will air on September 6 at 9:50 p.m.
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