This year, Prime Video released a slate of new action thrillers, each finding its audience. This included Jensen Ackles‘s Countdown, Daniel Dae Kim‘s Butterfly, and the Maggie Q Bosch spin-off, Ballard. Despite all of them making Prime Video’s Top 10 in streaming, only Ballard was given a green light for a second season, while the other two faced cancellation. Butterfly, in particular, was a surprising cancellation, especially as it surged in the streaming charts just days after the announcement of its lack of renewal. It’s clear that fans are still reliving the non-stop action of the show, so don’t let its cancellation dissuade you — Butterfly‘s single season has all the wall-to-wall espionage and heart to make for a fun binge.
‘Butterfly’ Climbed Up Prime Video’s Charts After Its Cancellation
Kim, as David Jung, leads this spy thriller meets family drama, turning into a retired spy who is presumed dead but returns to his former stomping grounds to save his daughter from the same fate. Reina Hardesty‘s Rebecca had been groomed into a heartless, elite assassin by David’s former partner, Juno (Piper Perabo). When Rebecca finds out he is still alive, she is torn between her loyalty to her mentor and her father, leading to a cat-and-mouse chase that also acts as family therapy.
After Butterfly premiered on the streaming service, it peaked at #6 on Nielsen’s Top 10 Streaming Originals in the U.S., an impressive feat that suggested the show would have a future. Combine this with an Audience Rotten Tomatoes score of 83%, and it’s clear that the series resonated with audiences. Thus, the news of its cancellation was shocking, even if the show had dropped from the charts just beforehand. Prime Video cited a broader “slate reevaluation” as the reason for not renewing the series, but what happened a few days after this news likely points to it being an unwise or rushed decision.
Butterfly rocketed to #3 on Prime Video’s global charts, once again finding an even bigger audience only after Amazon MGM studios pulled the plug on the show. Whether this is a response to the cancellation or mere coincidence raises the question: was the decision to cancel made too soon? The spy thriller clearly hooks viewers in, and considering it ends on a wild cliffhanger, many fans are likely unsatisfied and yearning for answers. However, despite some unanswered questions, there are enough thrills in the lone season to make it worth viewing if you haven’t already.
‘Butterfly’ Wins Us Over by Blending Together Espionage, Culture, and Emotion
Butterfly may have had a middling critical reception with an RT score of 68%, but there was one thing critics collectively agreed on: Kim delivered a stunning performance. Kim’s David was naturally at the center of the show and all its contrasting elements, tying them together through his acting and characterization. He becomes the driving force of the series that makes it so bingeable, even if we know there’s no second season on the horizon. As an action lead, he participates in some of the most mesmerizing and adrenaline-pumping fighting sequences, while as a father, he portrays vulnerability and guilt in navigating his estranged relationship with his daughter.
Moreover, Kim’s performance makes Butterfly a well-rounded cultural milestone. During SDCC 2025, he told Collider that “Korea is definitely a character in our series, and that’s one of the things that makes our show unique.” Thus, through Kim and Hardesty’s performances and their father-daughter chemistry, Butterfly is able to incorporate Korean culture organically rather than in a “tokenistic” way. David continuously introduces Rebecca to different aspects of Korean culture, such as drinking Makgeolli or through their interactions with various cities named in respective episodes like “Busan” or “Seoul.”
So even though Butterfly hasn’t been renewed for a second season, considering its action-packed atmosphere and cultural significance, it’s still definitely worth watching. The six episodes are filled with twists and heart that will draw you in from the moment you see Kim’s David lurking in the shadows. With its tumultuous pace and emotional storytelling, it is primed for a weekend binge. We may wish that Season 2 was greenlit to address at least one cliffhanger; however, Butterfly’s first season alone is an enticing must-watch that rolls cutthroat assassins and family nuance into one gripping package.
- Release Date
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August 13, 2025
- Network
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Prime Video
- Directors
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Kitao Sakurai
