Later this year, Netflix will release Kingdom, an eight-episode series, produced by the Korean drama production company, Astory.

The series will be set in Korea’s medieval Joseon period where a crown prince is sent on a suicide mission to investigate a mysterious outbreak that leads him to a brutal truth that threatens the kingdom.

Kingdom breaks new ground by combining two popular genres in one series: historical period drama and zombie action-thriller. The show is a collaboration between two of Korea’s strongest storytellers – director Kim Seong-hun whose latest success Tunnel was a top five movie in the Korean box office last year; and writer Kim Eun-hee whose series Signal was one of the top K-dramas in 2016.

“I am thrilled about partnering with an eminent writer like Kim Eun-hee. Kingdom presents the opportunity to work on long-form television at its most ambitious and on a truly cinematic scale because of the unparalleled creative freedom that Netflix as a global internet television network provides,” said director Kim Seong-hun.

“I have been working on Kingdom since 2011. I wanted to write a story that reflects the fears and anxiety of modern times but explored through the lens of a romantic fascination of the historical Joseon period. Working with Netflix helps us to unlock this creative vision for Kingdom and I am excited to further build this unique story with the director for whom I have tremendous respect,” said writer Kim Eun-Hee.

“Kingdom captured our imaginations from the moment we read the script with its visual feast of historical drama blended with supernatural fantasy,” said Erik Barmack, VP of international originals, Netflix. “We are incredibly honored by this rare opportunity of pairing two premier creative minds in Korea – film director Kim Seong-hun and television writer Kim Eun-hee.”

Noticed for his shining performance in Asura: The City of Madness, Ji-Hoon Ju will take on the role of the crown prince ‘Lee Chang’ who is pushed to the edge of dethronement and faces the brutal truth during his mission to find out the reasons for outbreak in his kingdom.

Actor Seung-Ryong Ryu joins as the role of Joseon’s prime minister ‘Jo Hak-Ju’ who reigns more powerful than the king and creates tension in the evil scheme to take over the kingdom. Sang-Ho Kim, who plays ‘Moo-Young’ will be the royal warrior to the crown prince while Seong-Kyu Kim will be the first one to discover the outbreaks within the kingdom as ‘Young-Shin.’ Actree Bae Doona, who starred in the Netflix original series Sense8, will star as a doctor named Seo-bi.

All 8 episodes of Kingdom will premiere exclusively on Netflix in 2018 to its members in over 190 countries.