It’s all lies, spies and household ties on this adrenalized adaptation of Butterfly, Increase! Studios’ graphic novel about former U.S. intelligence agent David Jung (star and exec producer Daniel Dae Kim), who should revisit his previous after being focused for termination by a younger operative named Rebecca (Reina Hardesty). Suppose shades of Alias in Asia.
“It’s a household drama set in opposition to a spy present,” says co-exec producer Ken Woodruff, who has additionally set the hybrid story in opposition to the fascinating backdrop of Dae Kim’s start nation. “We filmed the whole season in South Korea, over 20 totally different cities all through,” he continues. “I believe we had 70 or 68 days on location and solely eight days on set. I imply, we had been actually on the transfer the whole time. All of the those that labored on the present stated that I had seen extra of Korea than any Korean those that they knew as a result of we had been all over the place.”
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That meant hitting spots each sizzling and never. “We had been in very nice areas after which we’re additionally in these areas the place it’s a lot decrease, simply back-alleys and stuff like that,” Woodruff continues, noting the present’s tweak to the supply materials. “The graphic novel was an unbelievable start line for us, [because it] gave us a number of the themes. It was really set in Europe with totally different nationality characters, however when Daniel Dae Kim received concerned, we had the concept to change it to Korea. And that simply opened up the entire present and simply made it a lot extra attention-grabbing to us, particularly within the spy style the place a lot of it’s set both within the Center East or in Europe. This felt very recent and really new.”
Nonetheless, he admits, there have been some limitations on the web page. “It’s a graphic novel, so it’s not sufficient content material by itself to fill out six full episodes. However the setup and the core dynamics, I believe, had been there from the start. And as soon as we switched it to Korea and needed to flesh out the characters, we did must invent rather a lot.”
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And whereas the primary season is a decent half-dozen of fast-paced, action-infused episodes, there’s a slow-burn sense to sure reveals between Rebecca and David. “The whole lot is so urgent that it nearly felt like we needed to maintain them off,” sequence author and EP Steph Cha explains. “The Rebecca character is so dying to know solutions instantly from the get-go that there’s that rigidity of ‘she’s going to seek out out,’ however they nonetheless must [handle] issues. And that’s a part of the problem… This present is just not a straightforward one to write down as a result of we’re form of attempting to service each of those targets.”
So strap in. The emotional — and life-or-death — stakes for each David and Rebecca turn out to be clear early on as Rebecca suspects her maternal boss (Piper Perabo) could also be preserving secrets and techniques about the true mission. This, after all, is after a jaw-dropping combat sequence staged inside a glass elevator that may be a thrill to behold. “We wished individuals to return in for [the espionage] after which be moved and saved in by the household dynamics,” Cha states. “The private stuff has to matter.”
Butterfly, Collection Premiere, Wednesday, August 13, Prime Video