It is so interesting to read all the great movie reviews and thoughts about TV series here on Netflix. Last week I bumped into an article written by @kingsmind in which he mentioned that the recommended the Netflix series named Stranger Things to someone.
By accident, they misunderstood and instead they started to watch the Korean series Stranger and reported back that it was a great recommendation. Well, I took the challenge myself and watched a couple of episodes of Stranger on Netflix. What was it like?
How did I like Stranger
I did not know at all what to expect as I started, but I quickly understood that it is something I like. We get to know a prosecutor who has a bit strange personality, and he isn't always the most polite guy. He goes to meet someone he knows, but as he arrives, the person has been killed. A person is quickly captured and sent to prison for the murder, but was it really this person who did it? Or was he just a random victim that had to take the blame for the act of someone much higher up in the system?
To be honest, I have never seen a Korean TV series (or movie before), so I had a hard time following who's who in the start (they all looked the same), but after 15-20 minutes, I didn't have that problem anymore.
Stranger consists of 16 episodes and they all last for around 66-70 minutes. The story is the same in all the episodes, meaning that you can follow it as the investigation goes on and unfolds. As I have been watching a couple of episodes, I see quite some similarities in the style of the TV series with the Swedish/Danish produced series The Bridge. Here we follow the personal lives of the main characters, see how they behave at their jobs, and also how they have to be careful not to share secrets with the wrong persons.
Stranger is absolutely a series worth watching if you like these sorts of TV series. This could easily have been a Hollywood series, and the fact that it origins from Korea makes it even more interesting to me.
I am not used to watching TV series or movies in which I HAVE to read the subtitles. And, it is sometimes annoying when the subtitle is badly programmed and disappears to fast, or when you see the characters speaking, and no subtitles appear. But, that is rarely happening (only a few times in every episode), so I don't really care about it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?R5S5tsbjWOA
The trailer feels kind of crappy, so do not judge the series based on what you see above.
All in all
If you want to watch a new TV series, Stranger is one I can warmly recommend. It is a great story with great actors from Korea, and it will give you many exciting hours in front of the TV in as you get ready for Christmas!