Mr. Queen


Mr. Queen is a 2020 South Korean television series based on the Chinese web series Go Princess Go. Directed by Yoon Sung-sik, it stars Shin Hye-sun as Queen Cheorin and Kim Jung-hyun as King Cheoljong. The drama is about Queen Cheorin finding herself with the soul of a modern-day man inside her body and King Cheoljong striving to be a king who helps his people. It aired on tvN every Saturday and Sunday at 21:00 from December 12, 2020, to February 14, 2021.
Despite its controversies, the series is the eleventh highest rated drama in Korean cable television history, with the last episode reaching a nationwide rating of 17.371% and garnering more than 4 million in viewership. It also set a record for tvN by achieving the 5th highest rating in the network's history.

Synopsis

In the modern age, Jang Bong-hwan is a head chef who works at the Blue House. He is a womanizer with a free spirit. One day, he gets in trouble when a Chinese delegate takes out a fish hook after biting into food cooked by him. After a near-death experience and falling into a pool, he finds himself in the body of So-yong as Queen Cheorin in the Joseon period.
King Cheoljong, the reigning monarch, is a gentle and easy-going person. However, he is a king as a figurehead, while the true power is wielded by the late King Sunjo's widow, Queen Sunwon. Bong-hwan goes on a mission to win Queen Sunwon's favor by cooking for her and try to get back to his body in modern Korea but Bong-hwan soon discovers that So-yong has a secret while the King is not what he seems, and has a dark and suspicious side to him.

Cast

Main

People around Queen Cheorin

In March 2020, Shin Hye-sun was confirmed to be a part of the drama. In June 2020, Kim Jung-hyun, Bae Jong-ok, Kim Tae-woo joined her to play lead roles in the series. In July 2020, Seol In-ah and Yoo Young-jae also joined the cast.
In October, the first script reading was held. The stills from filming of the series were released on November 16, 2020.
The series reunites actors Kim Jung-hyun and Seol In-ah who previously acted together in the drama School 2017.
It also marks the second collaboration of Shin Hye-sun with actors Bae Jong-ok, Kim In-kwon and with whom she acted in the film Innocence and the dramas Angel's Last Mission: Love and Legend of [the Blue Sea], respectively.
On November 24, 2020, filming was stopped as one of the supporting actors tested positive for COVID-19.

Release

From November 4, 2021, the series is available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
From February 15, 2023, the series was made available for streaming on Netflix.

Episodes

Spin-off

tvN announced that they would be airing a spin-off titled Mr. Queen: The Secret,'' which featured the secrets and an extended love story of King Cheoljong and Queen Cheorin. It aired exclusively on the streaming service, TVING after the end of the main series' episodes 19 and 20 on February 13–14.

Original soundtrack

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Mr. Queen: The Bamboo Forest OST
Mr. Queen OST
'''Chart performance'''

Reception

Controversies

Following its airing, a controversy erupted in episode 2 as the series referred to Korea's national treasure, the Veritable Records of the [Joseon Dynasty] as a "tabloid." This drew outrage among viewers and about 700 people filed complaints to the Korea Communications Standards Commission. The series was also criticised as the author of the original Chinese drama has made negative remarks about Korea in their other work. The producers released a statement clarifying their stance and apologising for the [|controversies], adding that they were not aware of the negative comments made by the novelist.

Domestic audience viewership

An 8.0% viewership rating was recorded nationwide for the first episode, making it the second-highest premiere rating of any weekend drama of the network and fifth-highest premiere rating of the network after Hospital Playlist 2, Jirisan, Mr. Sunshine, and Encounter.
As per Nielsen Korea, the final episode logged a national average viewership of 17.37%, breaking its own highest ratings, thereby making the series 5th highest-rated drama in Korean cable television history.

Global audience viewership

Mr. Queen became the 4th most popular TV show on Netflix a few days after it was made available for streaming on February 20, 2023, as per data provided by FlixPatrol for February 20. Mr. Queen went further up the Netflix Top 10 TV Shows Worldwide Chart.
Mr. Queen took 5th place in the Netflix global viewing hours with 20.9 million viewing hours in its first week after it was made available for streaming on Netflix. It reached Top 10 in TV in 33 countries from Africa, Asia, and the Americas including Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Australia, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, and Vietnam.

Awards and nominations