SINGAPORE – Want to see ancient China, 1930s Korea or perhaps the chaotic Nixon administration of the 1970s?
A slew of television series premiering in May set in different places and time periods will take viewers through history and even into the future.
The Straits Times highlights five upcoming shows that are worth the watch.
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story
Premieres on Netflix on Thursday
A spin-off of Netflix’s steamy Regency-era romance series Bridgerton (2020 to present), Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story is a prequel that takes a closer look at the monarchy.
In Bridgerton, Queen Charlotte (India Amarteifio as the younger queen, Golda Rosheuvel as the older version) is the ultimate authority, making decisions and public appearances in place of her beloved yet senile husband King George.
But the prequel shows her at a more vulnerable time. It chronicles her rise, from her love story and eventual marriage to the dashing King George (Corey Mylchreest) to how their union spurred a great societal shift.
Why it is worth the watch: With its heartfelt yet sexy love stories, both seasons of Bridgerton have successfully launched the careers of its young stars, shooting heart-throbs such as Rege-Jean Page to international fame. Watch to find out if Amarteifio and Mylchreest will follow suit.
Tale Of The Nine Tailed 1938
Premieres on Prime Video on Saturday
Leading man Lee Dong-wook reprises his role in this sequel to the successful K-drama Tale Of The Nine Tailed (2020), about Lee Yeon, a man who is secretly a 1,000-year-old gumiho (a mythological nine-tailed fox).
While Lee Yeon got his happy ending in the first season with Nam Ji-ah (Jo Bo-ah, who does not appear in the follow-up), Tale Of The Nine Tailed 1938 throws a huge curveball at him when he somehow goes back in time to 1938.
He is desperate to return to modern-day South Korea, but there are debts to be paid before he can do so.
Also in the 1938 timeline is his estranged half-brother Lee Rang (Kim Bum), as well as new characters such as Lee Yeon’s old friends, the mountain gods Ryu Hong-joo (Kim So-yeon) and Cheon Moo-young (Ryu Kyung-soo). But Lee Yeon’s most dangerous enemy is the bitter, angry version of himself in 1938.
Why it is worth the watch: Since Lee Yeon’s love interest is in the present while he is stuck in the past, a major romantic plotline is unlikely. The absence of romance will leave more time for the action and lore of the fantastical world of gumihos and gods.
Black Knight
Premieres on Netflix on May 12
This K-drama is set in the dystopian future of 2071, where air pollution is so bad that gas masks and oxygen tanks are needed to survive. There is a strict and brutal social hierarchy, where those deemed to be of the lowest class, known as refugees, are left to fight for their own survival.
Deliverymen, or knights, are crucial – they venture out into the world, deliver oxygen and fight off bandits stealing supplies. Kim Woo-bin plays a knight known simply as 5-8. He rescues a refugee boy named Sa-wol (Kang You-seok), who dreams of becoming a knight.
Together, they try to take down the ruthless Cheonmyeong Group, which controls the oxygen supply of the world.
Why it is worth the watch: While Kim was previously part of the ensemble drama Our Blues (2022), this is the star’s first leading role in a series after his diagnosis and subsequent recovery from nasopharyngeal cancer. It is also a chance to catch noughties romantic leading man Song Seung-heon (Autumn In My Heart, 2000) in a rare villainous role, as he plays Cheonmyeong Group heir Ryu Seok.
White House Plumbers
Now streaming on HBO Go
Go back in time to the 1970s and behind the scenes of the Watergate scandal during the Richard Nixon administration in this satirical political miniseries. Woody Harrelson takes on the role of E. Howard Hunt, while Justin Theroux plays G. Gordon Liddy.
In real life, Hunt and Liddy were intelligence operatives during Nixon’s presidency who acted as “plumbers” to stop classified information from leaking to the press.
They were convicted as orchestrators behind the burglary on the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate Office Building, a scandal which led to Nixon’s registration.
The show portrays the duo as bumbling, arrogant fools who somehow keep on failing and eventually end up accidentally toppling the presidency they were hired to protect.
Why it is worth the watch: Those working in politics are often portrayed as serious, dour or intelligent. But White House Plumbers, like the acclaimed satire Veep (2012 to 2019), is taking a more comedic approach to political failures.
The Ingenious One
Now streaming on iQiyi International
In ancient China, Yun Xiang (Chen Xiao) is a chivalrous young master who looks to be without a care in the world. In truth, after 10 years of martial arts training, he has a grand plan – to unravel the truth behind the extermination of his clan many years ago and avenge the dead.
On his journey, he befriends a skilled swordsman, a rich playboy and the mysterious Shu Yanan (Rachel Momo, also known as Mao Xiaotong), whom he falls in love with.
Why it is worth the watch: The Chinese wuxia series not only has action, but also marks the reunion of Chen and Mao, who played Yang Guo and Guo Fu in The Romance Of The Condor Heroes (2014). Guo Fu may have chopped Yang Guo’s arm off for rejecting her, but the actors are slated for a reciprocal love this time round.
