Disney+ has officially begun production on The Koreans, a Korean-language reimagining of the acclaimed FX spy series The Americans. The new drama will star Lee Byung-hun, best known for his role as the Front Man in Netflix's Squid Game, alongside Han Jimin (Love Scout).
Set in early 1990s South Korea, the series follows a middle-class family hiding a treasonous secret. The parents, seemingly ordinary citizens, are actually elite North Korean operatives working to destabilise the South from within. The plot tracks their struggle between loyalty to their homeland, personal identity, and family bonds, while a counterintelligence agent closes in.
Director Ahn Gilho (The Glory) will helm the series, adapted by Park Eunkyo (Made in Korea) from the original created by Joe Weisberg. The original The Americans, which aired on FX from 2013 to 2018, is widely regarded as one of the finest television series ever produced, following KGB spies in Cold War-era Washington DC.
The Koreans will premiere on Hulu in the United States and on Disney+ internationally. Fans of the original have expressed excitement online, with one Reddit user calling the original "one of the best shows of all time" and another describing it as the "best TV thriller ever."
