Queen Mantis: Release date news, cast details, streaming details and more about the upcoming Korean adaptation of the French thriller La Mante

Queen Mantis is a Korean remake of the French thriller La Mante, and it lands with the kind of premise that dares you to look away. A notorious serial killer, her estranged detective son, and a copycat playing games with both of them.

The series is set to premiere this September, and it comes wrapped in weekly drops on global platforms that keep the suspense burning for four straight weeks.

The drama begins its run on September 5, 2025, airing Fridays and Saturdays at 21:50 KST on SBS in South Korea. With just eight episodes in total, the season is designed as a tight sprint, concluding by September 27, 2025.

Streaming details

International viewers will find the series traveling across platforms. Netflix carries it in selected regions, while Rakuten Viki lists it as coming soon in others. Local options widen the net: Wavve in South Korea, KOCOWA in North America, and TrueVisions Now in Thailand. Depending on where you live, the show might pop up under different banners, so checking availability region by region will be key.

Time of release

Episodes drop after the SBS broadcast slot of 21:50 KST. That means Friday and Saturday nights in Korea, with the streaming windows opening shortly afterward. For domestic fans, the timing will feel like a late-night thrill ride.

Episodes & runtime

The series is built as a short run with eight episodes, each running about 70 minutes. The pacing leans into extended interrogations, unsettling reveals, and cliffhangers that hold across consecutive nights.

Episode release calendar (KST)

Here’s the full broadcast schedule for Queen Mantis in Korea:

Synopsis

Twenty years ago, Jung Yi-shin became infamous as the “Mantis,” a serial killer whose crimes left deep scars. Her son, Cha Soo-yeol, built his life as a detective determined to sever ties with her legacy. When a new string of murders copies her signature, he has to bring her back into his world. The uneasy partnership between mother and son sets off a tense investigation where family history collides with present danger.

Cast

At the center of Queen Mantis is Go Hyun-jung as Jung Yi-shin, the convicted killer whose name still chills a nation. Her son, Jang Dong-yoon as Cha Soo-yeol, built his life as a detective, but the shadow of her crimes never left him.

Jo Sung-ha plays Jung-ho, the veteran officer whose influence shaped Soo-yeol’s career, while Lee El brings steel to Na-hee, a sharp investigator on the case.

Balancing the darkness is Kim Bo-ra as Lee Jung-yeon, Soo-yeol’s wife who runs a pottery business, and Kim Tae-jung as Choi Hyuk, the youngest detective on the squad, eager yet untested against a killer of this scale.

Creators & production

Queen Mantis is written by Lee Young-jong and directed by Byun Young-joo. The series is developed by Studio S and produced by Mega Monster, Merry Christmas, and Docu-Factory Vista for SBS. Filming ran from August 2024 through February 2025, and a first teaser was unveiled during the SBS Drama Awards in December 2024.

In Sum: Will Queen Mantis be worth the wait and live up to the hype?

Queen Mantis sharpens its story into a duel of bloodlines and secrets, compressing suspense into a single month of television. With a cast that thrives on intensity and a premise already buzzing from its French roots, the drama has all the makings of a late-night obsession.

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Will Queen Mantis be worth the wait and live up to the hype? Time will tell, and soon we'll be able to check it out for ourselves.

Whether you stream it on Netflix, queue it up on Viki, or catch the live broadcast in Seoul, the game between killer, son, and copycat promises to keep its claws in until the very end, starting next Friday, September 5, 2025.

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