Queen Mantis

Queen Mantis
Promotional poster
Also known asThe Mantis: Original Sin
Hangul
사마귀: 살인자의 외출
Lit.Mantis: The Killer's Outing
RRSamagwi: sarinjaui oechul
MRSamagwi: sarinjaŭi oech'ul
Genre
Based on
La Mante
by 
  • Alice Chegaray-Breugnot
  •     Nicolas Jean
  •     Grégoire Demaison
  •     Laurent Vivier
Written byLee Young-jong
Directed byByun Young-joo
Starring
Music byJo Yeong-wook
Country of originSouth Korea
Original languageKorean
No. of episodes8
Production
Executive producers
  • Lee Ok-gyu (CP)
  • Lee Gwang-soon
  • Choi Jeong-bok
  • Kim Min-jeong
Producers
Cinematography
  • Kim Jung-won
  • Lee Eui-yeol
Editors
  • Park Gok-ji
  • Lee Yoon-hee
Running time70 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkSBS TV
ReleaseSeptember 5 (2025-09-05) –
September 27, 2025 (2025-09-27)
Related
La Mante (French original)
Mrs. Deshpande (India)

Queen Mantis (Korean: 사마귀: 살인자의 외출) is a 2025 South Korean mystery-thriller-police procedural television series written by Lee Young-jong and directed by Byun Young-joo based on the 2017 TF1 series La Mante. Go Hyun-jung and Jang Dong-yoon portray the lead roles. It aired on SBS TV from September 5, to September 27, 2025, every Friday and Saturday at 21:50 (KST).

Synopsis

A woman was imprisoned as a serial killer a long time ago. The story unfolds as someone begins committing a series of murders imitating her.

Cast

Main

A woman who was imprisoned for being a serial killer.
A detective. Jung Yi-shin's estranged son.
A police officer who advised Cha Soo-yeol to become a detective.
A detective who should be in charge of the investigation but is replaced by Cha Soo-Yeol without knowing his connection to his birth mother.

Supporting

President of a pottery studio. Cha Soo-yeol's wife.
  • Lee Hwang-ui as Jeong Hyeon-nam
Suyeol's maternal grandfather and Jeong Yi-shin's father. He cared for Suyeol, who grew up without parents
  • Kim Min-ho as Bae Seong-gyu
A member of the serial murder investigation team. He has a deep respect and camaraderie for Kim Na-hee
The youngest detective in the Violent Crimes Investigation Unit.
  • Park Wan-hyung as Son Ji-an
Cyber Investigator in the Investigation Team
A close friend and colleague who runs the same workshop as Jeongyeon.
  • Lee Chang-min as Park Min-jae
  • Lee Tae-gu as Seo Gu-wan
  • Lee Yoon-geon as Hong Seung-pyo
  • Han Si-a as Kim Eun-ae
  • Gil Eun-seong as Kim Woo-tae
  • Cha Sun-bae as Park Eun-bae

Production

Development

The eight-episode series is written by Lee Young-jong and directed by Byun Young-joo. It is planned by Studio S, which also co-produced the series with Mega Monster, Merry Christmas [ko], and Docu-Factory Vista for SBS TV.

Queen Mantis is Lee's debut as a television series writer. He previously wrote the screenplay for the films Flu (2013), The Witness (2018) and 12.12: The Day (2023).

In an interview with OSEN, Lee said that the initial plan was to adapt La Mante into a film; however, Mega Monster recommended a series adaptation instead, which later prevailed.

Casting

On November 14, 2023, the production companies announced that the lead role for the series was offered to Go Hyun-jung. On July 23, 2024, Go and Jang Dong-yoon were confirmed to portray the lead roles.

Ji Chang-wook was offered the role of Cha Soo-yeol but declined due to scheduling conflict.[unreliable source?]

Kim Bo-ra previously portrayed the role of Ha Seol in the 2024 MBC TV Friday-Saturday drama Black Out, which was the debut television work of director Byun Young-joo.

Filming

Principal photography began in August 2024. Filming was done from October 2024 to February 2025.

Promotion

A teaser for the series was aired on December 21, 2024 during the 2024 SBS Drama Awards.

Release

It premiered on SBS TV on September 5, 2025, and airs every Friday and Saturday at 21:50 (KST).

Queen Mantis is available for streaming on Wavve, Netflix (South Korea and selected regions), Kocowa (North America), U-NEXT (Japan), friDay Video, Hami Video and CHT MOD (Taiwan), TrueVisions Now (Thailand) and Rakuten Viki (selected regions).

Viewership

Queen Mantis : South Korea viewers per episode (thousands)
SeasonEpisode numberAverage
12345678
1127213251341144612701098119114041293
Source: Audience measurement performed nationwide by Nielsen Media Research.
Average TV viewership ratings
Ep. Original broadcast date Average audience share
(Nielsen Korea)
Nationwide Seoul
1 September 5, 2025 7.1% (3rd) 7.3% (3rd)
2 September 6, 2025 6.9% (2nd) 7.3% (2nd)
3 September 12, 2025 7.3% (3rd) 7.0% (3rd)
4 September 13, 2025 7.5% (2nd) 7.5% (2nd)
5 September 19, 2025 6.6% (5th) 6.9% (3rd)
6 September 20, 2025 6.0% (3rd) 6.4% (3rd)
7 September 26, 2025 6.3% (6th) 6.5% (3rd)
8 September 27, 2025 7.4% (2nd) 7.9% (2nd)
Average 6.9% 7.1%
  • In the table above, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.

Accolades

Award ceremony Year Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Director's Cut Awards 2026 Best Actress (Drama) Go Hyun-jung Nominated

References

  1. 1 2 "The Mantis: Original Sin". WelCon: Well-made K-Content. Korea Creative Content Agency. Archived from the original on May 22, 2025. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
  2. ↑ "The Mantis: Original Sin, You and Everything Else, Walking on Thin Ice: Kakao Entertainment to extend global K-content streak into 2nd half". newsroom.kakaoent.com. Kakao Entertainment. August 13, 2025. Archived from the original on September 8, 2025. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 사마귀 [Queen Mantis]. SBS TV (in Korean). Seoul Broadcasting System. Archived from the original on January 22, 2025. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1회 [Episode 1]. Queen Mantis (in Korean). September 5, 2025. SBS.
  5. 1 2 3 Oh Myung-eon (July 23, 2024). 살인마와 형사 아들의 공조...'사마귀'에 고현정·장동윤 캐스팅 [Collaboration between a murderer and her detective son... Go Hyun-jung and Jang Dong-yoon cast in 'Mantis']. Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). Archived from the original on May 23, 2025. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Lee, Ja-yeon (January 17, 2025). [인터뷰] '세상을 바라보는 다른 태도', <사마귀> 변영주 감독 ['A Different Attitude to the World', Director Byun Young-joo of <The Mantis: Original Sin>]. Cine21 (in Korean). Hankyoreh Media Group. Archived from the original on February 15, 2025. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  7. 1 2 3 Ha Soo-jung (OSEN) (December 23, 2024). "너무 늦었으니 들어가서 자요"..연쇄살인마 고현정, 섬뜩한 웃음(사마귀) ["It's too late, go inside and sleep"..Serial killer Go Hyun-jung, creepy smile (Mantis)]. The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). Archived from the original on May 23, 2025. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  8. 1 2 Lee Ye-ju (MyDaily) (December 24, 2024). 김보라, 고현정과 호흡한다...'사마귀' 출연 확정 [공식] [Kim Bo-ra, acting together with Go Hyun-jung... Confirmed to appear in 'Mantis' [Official]]. Nate (in Korean). Archived from the original on February 15, 2025. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 사마귀 : 살인자의 외출 | 등장인물 [Queen Mantis [Character Introduction]]. SBS (in Korean). Archived from the original on August 21, 2025. Retrieved September 4, 2025.
  10. ↑ Son, Bong-seok (August 12, 2025). 배우 김태정 ‘서초동’ 범죄자에서 ‘사마귀’ 수사팀으로 변신 [Actor Kim Tae-jung transforms from a criminal in "Seocho-dong" to a member of the "Witty" investigation team.]. kyunghyang (in Korean). Retrieved August 12, 2025 – via Naver.
  11. 1 2 Park So-young (OSEN) (August 27, 2025). "1300만 '서울의 봄' 작가의 첫 드라마..'사마귀' 작가 "섬? 하? 뭉클" [인터뷰]" [The first drama from the writer of "12.12: The Day," which drew 13 million viewers... "Mantis" writer: "[A] lot? Huh? Touching."]. The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved September 1, 2025.
  12. ↑ Ha Soo-jung (OSEN) (November 14, 2023). [단독] 고현정, 연쇄살인범 변신...차기작은 '사마귀' [[Exclusive] Go Hyun-jung transforms into a serial killer... The next work is 'Mantis']. Nate (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 2, 2024. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  13. ↑ M. Lim (January 9, 2024). "Ji Chang Wook Turns Down Offer + Go Hyun Jung In Talks For Korean Adaptation Of French Thriller "La Mante"". Soompi. Rakuten Viki. Retrieved February 4, 2025.
  14. ↑ SBS (December 21, 2024). [스페셜 티저] 고현정X장동윤, 변영주 감독의 파격적 문제작 - 사마귀 - SBS [Go Hyun-jung X Jang Dong-yoon, Director Byun Young-joo's Unconventional Problematic Work - The Mantis: Original Sin - SBS]. YouTube (in Korean). Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  15. ↑ Kang, Seon-ae (August 4, 2025). 연쇄살인마母 고현정X경찰子 장동윤…'사마귀', 대본리딩부터 치열했다 [Serial killer mother Go Hyun-jung and police officer son Jang Dong-yoon… 'Witch' was intense from the script reading.]. SBS Entertainment (in Korean). Retrieved August 4, 2025 – via Naver.
  16. ↑ "Watch Queen Mantis - Netflix Official Site". Netflix (in Korean). Archived from the original on September 6, 2025. Retrieved August 29, 2025.
  17. ↑ "コ・ヒョンジョンとチャン・ドンユンが親子役で共演！韓国ドラマ『カマキリ』が9月19日（金）よりU-NEXTで本国同時で独占配信！" [Go Hyun-jung and Jang Dong-yoon co-star as mother and son! Korean drama "Mantis" will be exclusively distributed on U-NEXT simultaneously from Korea starting Friday, September 19th!]. U-NEXT (in Japanese). September 15, 2025. Retrieved September 15, 2025.
  18. ↑ Ployjaehaha (August 19, 2025). "Queen Mantis เมื่อตำรวจสายสืบต้องร่วมมือกับแม่ผู้เป็นฆาตกรต่อเนื่อง "ไขคดี"" [Queen Mantis: When a detective teams up with his serial killer mother to solve a case]. TrueVisions (in Thai). Archived from the original on January 17, 2026. Retrieved August 29, 2025.
  19. ↑ "Queen Mantis". Rakuten Viki. Retrieved August 29, 2025.
  20. 1 2 Nielsen Korea ratings:
  21. ↑ Lee Seung-mi (May 11, 2026). 박지훈, 영화·시리즈 동시 노미…제24회 디렉터스컷 어워즈, 후보 공개. Sports Dong-A (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved May 15, 2026.