'Hellbound' beats 'Squid Game', tops list of global Netflix TV shows on day of release

Hellbound, the latest Korean drama starring Yoo Ah In has broken the record set by Squid Game. The religious dystopian drama, also starring Won Jin A and Kim Hyun Joo, among others, topped the list of Netflix global TV shows on November 19, which was the day of release.

According to reports, this feat was achieved by Squid Game only eight days after its release. The show reportedly ranked first in 24 locations, including Belgium, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Morocco. It ranked second in France and India, and third in the United States and Germany.

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'Hellbound', directed by 'Train to Busan' fame Yeon Sang Ho, received mixed reviews

There were big expectations from Netflix's latest offering, Hellbound, as the show was based on one of the most popular web comics of all time, known as Jiok. In addition to this, it must be noted that the show is helmed by Yeon Sang Ho, the director behind the world famous Korean movie, Train To Busan.

However, the fragmented set up of the show was one of the main reasons why it received a mixed response from fans. One of the biggest questions that was never addressed in the show was the origin of the angel of death and the smoke monsters.

Initially, the leader of the Church of New Truth, Jung Jin Su, had claimed that the angel of death targeted those who committed sin and bound them to hell.

In the later episodes of Hellbound, it was clarified that the decree that bound individuals to hell was not based on the sins that they had committed as Jin Su had so claimed. The show provided no alternative explanation to help viewers understand why a random selection of individuals had to face death and subsequently be bound to hell.

The fact that a newborn baby also received a decree in Hellbound was indeed shocking, but at the end of the show, it was revealed that the baby held the key to solving all the questions. The baby is the sole survivor of the decree.

The connecting thread between the initial episodes of Hellbound featuring actor Yoo Ah In and the latter episodes featuring actor Won Min A was none other than lawyer Min Hae Jin (Kim Hyun Joo). The links were weak and not entirely convincing. However, within the premise of a religious dystopia, the perspective that the show took was intriguing.

Many appreciated this aspect of Hellbound and believed that the show was the next big deal on Netflix.