Queenmaker is a Korean drama that was released on Netflix in a binge-drop of eleven episodes. A female-driven political drama, it’s a riveting affair that sees the working class take on corporate hegemony in a race to become the next mayor of Seoul. However, months after its original release, there is no news about a potential Season 2, leading us to suspect that the series will not return for a sophomore outing.
Queenmaker Season 2 Remains Unconfirmed
At the time of writing (March 28, 2024), Netflix have not expressed any official intention to renew Queenmaker for a second season. Given that almost a year has elapsed since the release of Season 1, the lack of news thus far implies no news is coming at all. Queenmaker will not be returning.
This isn’t unusual. Netflix tends to have two distinct strategies with Korean dramas. They either release two episodes a week or the whole thing all at once in their usual way. In rare instances, like with The Glory recently, a single season is divided into multiple parts.
However, in all of these circumstances, it’s rare for one of these shows to be renewed. Outside of extreme circumstances like with Squid Game or unusual ones like with Love (Ft Marriage and Divorce), K-dramas tend to be one-and-done affairs.
How did Queenmaker perform?
Queenmaker certainly performed well both critically and commercially. On Rotten Tomatoes, it still sits at an extremely coveted 100% score, and when it was released it shot straight to the top of Netflix’s non-English Top 10. However, this kind of performance did not move the needle enough to reverse the decision, and a very dense political drama of this type is a tough sell for mainstream global audiences.
We loved it though, and in our review we said:
Queenmaker is as riveting a season of television as Netflix has produced for quite some time. It’s the best K-drama of the year thus far, easily — yes, that includes The Glory— and might sustain that accolade for the remaining months without much fuss.
We also noted in our Ending Explained article which wrapped up Episodes 10 and 11 that the show ended on a cliffhanger that, at least artistically, would have warranted a second season. However, Netflix didn’t feel the same.
