It opens with the line: “She won't just let us walk away.”
Of course she won't. This is a spy thriller. Nobody ever just walks away. They sprint through subways, leap from rooftops, and stare meaningfully into mirrors before stabbing someone with a hairpin. And so it goes.
Amazon's latest international gamble is Butterfly, a sleek-looking, graphically sourced espionage series headlined by Daniel Dae Kim. The official trailer dropped this week, all coiled tension and grit-glazed cinematography, promising shadowy vendettas and morally compromised field agents. You've seen this story before. The real question is whether Butterfly can make you want to see it again.
The series premieres September 13, 2025, exclusively on Prime Video. And yes, it's based on a graphic novel — because in 2025, what isn't?
Familiar Wings, Foreign Flight
Kim stars as David Jung, a former U.S. intelligence operative now holed up in South Korea, trying to live a quieter life. Naturally, that dream crumbles the moment his past returns in the form of Rebecca (Reina Hardesty), a sociopathic young assassin working for a generically menacing organization called Caddis. They share history. They now share bullets.
If that sounds like The Bourne Identity by way of Seoul, you're not far off. The trailer is flush with stylistic nods to the genre: surveillance cameras whirring, terse phone calls in rainy alleyways, and explosive pasts catching up in slow motion. It's kinetic, polished, and undeniably international—but whether it's interesting is another matter.
The problem isn't Kim. The man has presence, always has. He lends Jung a weary dignity that could have been pure cliché in lesser hands. But we're now entering the “what took so long?” phase of his career—finally getting lead roles after decades of being the dependable supporting guy on someone else's mission. And here, at least from the trailer, he earns it. He's the center of gravity in a show that otherwise looks like it's spinning in a few too many directions.
Hardesty, meanwhile, plays Rebecca with the sort of dead-eyed determination that trailers love. Sociopathic, yes, but also a little one-note—though to be fair, we're only seeing 90 seconds of footage. Piper Perabo shows up as her superior, which may just be code for “the person who explains exposition from behind glass.”
The Spy Game, Streamlined
Let's talk structure. The series is adapted by Ken Woodruff (Gotham) and Steph Cha (novelist, Your House Will Pay), with direction from Kitao Sakurai—best known for his anarchic work on The Eric Andre Show. That's a curious pick for a spy drama, but not necessarily a bad one. Sakurai has an eye for chaos, and Butterfly may benefit from a director unafraid of tonal whiplash.
But here's the rub: we're drowning in sleek, serialized spy stories. Apple has Slow Horses. Netflix had The Night Agent. FX gave us The Old Man. Each tried to dust off the genre with various tricks—de-aging, grizzled monologues, family secrets—and some worked. Most didn't. What they all lacked, and what Butterfly must deliver if it wants to stand out, is authentic emotional consequence.
Not fake stakes. Not revenge monologues dressed up as character development. Real, messy fallout. You want to tell a story about spies? Show me what they lost. What they ruined. What they'll never get back.
The Danger of Looking Good
There's an odd risk with shows like Butterfly: they look too good. That teal-and-orange color grade, those designer blood splatters, the perfectly timed gun cocks—it all slides down too easy. You get high on the polish and forget to ask what it all means.
We saw this with Netflix's FUBAR. All swagger, no soul. Butterfly flirts with the same danger, though the source material (by Arash Amel) suggests a tighter emotional spine. The trailer leans into that with a few choice lines—“Second chances don't come twice”—but trailers lie. That's their job.
A Note on Timing
The series hits Prime Video on September 13, 2025, putting it in the post-summer slump, where studios quietly hope a sleeper hit will bloom amid audience fatigue. Smart move? Maybe. If Butterfly finds its rhythm early—and doesn't get lost in the algorithm—there's space for it to thrive. If not, it'll be another slick ghost buried beneath 4,000 tiles on the Prime homepage.
Final Thought
Do I want Butterfly to be good? Sure. Daniel Dae Kim deserves a proper lead role, not a consolation prize for years of Hollywood oversight. And there's something thrilling about an American spy story unfolding in Korean back alleys, away from Langley and London and all the usual haunts.
But trailers are trained liars. And I've watched enough of them to know: just because a butterfly flaps its wings in Seoul doesn't mean anyone will feel it in your living room.
