A new spy series continues an impressive winning streak for Daniel Dae Kim. Since breaking out in American television with his turn as Jin-Soo Kwon in the seminal drama Lost, Kim has been a regular fixture for viewers. He followed up his time on Lost with the Hawaii Five-0 reboot, as Chin Ho Kelly, which he maintained until 2017.
But despite memorable characters on the likes of The Good Doctor and stints on popular shows like the Buffy the Vampire Slayer spinoff Angel, ER, and 24, Kim has talked about never getting to be the lead of an ongoing drama. That has changed, with a graphic novel that has debuted to a positive Rotten Tomatoes score.
Butterfly Continues Kim’s Rotten Tomatoes Streak
Butterfly premieres August 13 on Prime Video. It is based on Arash Amel’s graphic novel series for Boom! Studios, focusing on a spy who’s hunted by a sinister corporation. The series currently sits at 70% on Rotten Tomatoes, with ten reviews so far. Seven of the Butterfly reviews lean positive, while three lean negative.
|
TV Show |
Characters |
Roles |
Tomatometer |
Audience Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Butterfly (2025) |
David Jung |
Executive Producer & Actor |
70% |
— |
|
Avatar: The Last Airbender (2024) |
Fire Lord Ozai |
Actor |
62% |
70% |
|
Mech Cadets (2023) |
General Aiden Park |
Voice |
— |
88% |
|
Pantheon (2022) |
David |
Voice |
100% |
95% |
|
Star Wars: Visions (2021) |
Bichan |
Voice |
98% |
64% |
As it stands, the spy thriller adaptation maintains Kim’s four-year fresh streak when it comes to television shows. As seen in the table above, that streak includes voice work and a supporting role in a major Netflix live-action series. However, this new Prime Video Original brings Kim back into the spotlight as a leading man.
What To Know About Butterfly
Butterfly is described as a character-driven spy thriller. It consists of six episodes, exploring complex family dynamics within global espionage. The story follows David Jung (Kim), a highly unpredictable former US intelligence operative living in South Korea.
His life gets ripped apart when the consequences of an impossible decision from his past come back to haunt him. He finds himself pursued by Rebecca, a sociopathic young agent assigned to kill him. He’s also hunted down by Caddis, the sinister spy organization she works for.
Butterfly also stars Piper Perabo, Reina Hardesty, and Louis Landau in main roles, with Ken Woodruff serving as showrunner and co-creator alongside acclaimed novelist Steph Cha. Woodruff, who previously worked on Gotham and The Mentalist, also executive produces with Cha, Kim, and John Cheng for 3AD; Stephen Christy and Ross Richie for BOOM! Studios, and Arash Amel for The Amel Company.
Source: Rotten Tomatoes
Butterfly
5/10
- Release Date
-
August 13, 2025
- Network
-
Prime Video
- Directors
-
Kitao Sakurai
