The Blue Road Netflix Release Date, Cast and Plot: Nov. 20
On Thursday, Netflix released new character stills for The Blue Road, its Korea-Japan serial killer thriller from "D.P." director Han Jun-hee. The series premieres November 20, three weeks out.
The stills split the two leads by temperament. Son Suk-ku plays Kim Seok, a detective with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency who, per Soompi, "refuses to back down even in the face of orders from his superiors or barriers between countries." In the images he examines a firearm with a flat, emotionless gaze. Nagayama Eita plays Inose, a Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department detective with "a rougher, more explosive energy." One still shows him subduing a man in a Tokyo alley while bystanders applaud.
Both actors described their characters. Son said Kim Seok "seems like someone who is unshakable on the outside, but he suffers because of the turmoil within him and tries to overcome it." Nagayama called Inose "more passionate than anyone when it comes to a case," with "a strong determination to catch the culprit."
The case that pairs them starts in Tokyo, per the Korea Herald. A mutilated body turns up with a Korean phrase written in blood. Another body appears in Korea, this time with a message in Japanese. As the killings continue, the investigation points to one killer working across both countries. The series is adapted from a Korean-Japanese co-produced comic, with Han directing and Cho Yu-jin, whose credits include "One Win" and "Cassiopeia," as screenwriter.
Early reviews exist. Three episodes screened at the 31st Busan International Film Festival in October, and What's on Netflix, reviewing those episodes, called it "a brutal, brilliant buddy-cop thriller." Its reviewer described Nagayama's Inose waking up among beer and cigarettes and slapping around on-duty officers for comic relief, then noted the show "gives something of a provocative and thoughtful edge" to the partnership by playing off the historical tension between the two countries.
For a US audience, the pairing is the draw. Son's credits include "D.P." and "Big Bet," and Han directed the "D.P." franchise for Netflix. Nagayama's credits include "Monster," per the Korea Herald, and "The Blue Road" is his first Netflix Original series, according to What's on Netflix. Han's earlier work also includes the film "Coin Locker Girl" and the series "Weak Hero Class."
The tone is the open question. The Busan review describes comic relief sitting next to brutal murder scenes and kidnappings, plus yakuza back-room meetings and an underfunded Korean police unit, and says Han's camerawork holds those pieces together.
Netflix has not yet confirmed how many episodes the series runs. The Busan screening covered the first three. The full season arrives November 20.
