Queenmaker

Hwang Do-hee (Kim Hee-ae) is the head of the corporate strategy team at the powerful Eunsung Group, where she has spent over a decade as a skilled fixer — burying scandals, neutralizing opponents, and protecting the wealthy chaebol family that employs her. After a subordinate's suicide, caused in part by Do-hee's own cover-up work, shatters her conscience, she defects from Eunsung and resolves to use her political skills for a different purpose.

She approaches Oh Kyung-sook (Moon So-ri), a blunt, principled human rights lawyer known as "the Rhinoceros" for her tenacious advocacy on behalf of workers and the marginalized. Do-hee persuades Kyung-sook to enter the race for mayor of Seoul, becoming her campaign manager. The two women must navigate an increasingly ruthless battle against Eunsung's preferred candidate, Baek Jae-min (Ryu Soo-young), as the conglomerate deploys its financial power, media connections, and legal resources to ensure his election. Kyung-sook and Do-hee represent opposing instincts — principled idealism versus calculated pragmatism — and the series examines the tension between those two forces as the election reaches its climax.^[4]

Queenmaker was written by Moon Ji-young, whose previous credits include Who Are You: School 2015, and directed by Oh Jin-seok, known for Love with Flaws (2019).^[17] The project was developed as a Netflix original series, with production handled by Insight Film, Studio Focus X, and AStory. It was formally announced in January 2023 alongside other titles in Netflix Korea's 2023 lineup.^[18]

Casting of the lead roles was confirmed in November 2021 when it was announced that Kim Hee-ae and Moon So-ri would star together.^[19] Ryu Soo-young's casting was confirmed shortly after.^[20] Principal photography took place in Seoul, South Korea.

Queenmaker received generally positive reviews from critics. Writing for NME, the reviewer praised the series as "riveting," highlighting the performances of its lead actresses and describing its depiction of political maneuvering as "absolutely riveting," while noting that its villains were at times one-dimensional.^[21] Ready Steady Cut called it the best K-drama of 2023 to that point, writing that it understood "storytelling fundamentals" and comparing its themes of corporate hegemony to those of Succession.^[22]

But Why Tho noted that the series moved from a fixer drama into a political one with surprising range, with class and gender "woven into the narrative" throughout.^[23] Some reviewers drew comparisons to American political dramas such as Scandal and House of Cards. Not all responses were positive; critics at DM Talkies argued the series failed to critically engage with the structural differences between men and women in politics, calling it a "serious miss" in its handling of feminist themes.^[24]