Queen Mantis

"The Mantis" redirects here. For the original French television series, see La Mante. For other uses, see Mantis (disambiguation).

Queen Mantis (Korean: 사마귀: 살인자의 외출) is an upcoming 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 will portray the lead roles. It is scheduled to premiere on SBS TV on September 5, 2025, and will air every Friday and Saturday at 21:50 (KST).

Queen Mantis
Promotional poster
Hangul	사마귀: 살인자의 외출
RR	Samagwi: sarinjaui oechul
MR	Samagwi: sarinjaŭi oech'ul
Genre	Mystery Thriller Police procedural
Based on	La Mante[1] by Alice Chegaray-Breugnot, Nicolas Jean, Grégoire Demaison and Laurent Vivier
Developed by	Studio S[2] (planning)
Written by	Lee Young-jong[2]
Directed by	Byun Young-joo[2]
Starring	Go Hyun-jung Jang Dong-yoon
Country of origin	South Korea
Original language	Korean
Production
Executive producers	Lee Ock-gyu (CP)[2] Choi Jeong-bok[2] Kim Min-jeong[2]
Producers	Kim Yong-jin[2] Yoo Jeong-hoon[2] Shin Hae-eun[2]
Running time	70 minutes[3]
Production companies	Mega Monster[2][4] Merry Christmas [ko][2][4] Docu-Factory Vista[2][4]
Original release
Network	SBS TV
Related
La Mante

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

• Go Hyun-jung as Jung Yi-shin^[1][5]

A woman who was imprisoned for being a serial killer.

• Jang Dong-yoon as Cha Soo-yeol^[5]

A detective. Jung Yi-shin's estranged son.

Supporting

• Jo Sung-ha as Jung-ho^[6][7]

A police officer who advised Cha Soo-yeol to become a detective.

• Lee El as Na-hee^[6][7]

A female police officer.

• Kim Bo-ra as Lee Jung-yeon^[6][8]

President of a pottery. Cha Soo-yeol's wife.

• Kim Tae-jung as Choi Hyuk^[9]

The youngest detective in the Violent Crimes Investigation Unit.

Production

Development

The eight-episode series is written by Lee Young-jong and directed by Byun Young-joo. It is developed by Studio S and produced by Mega Monster, Merry Christmas [ko], and Docu-Factory Vista for SBS TV.^[6]

The Mantis: Original Sin will be Lee's debut television series. He previously wrote the screenplay for the films Flu (2013), The Witness (2018) and 12.12: The Day (2023).

Casting

On November 14, 2023, the production companies announced that the lead role for the series was offered to Go Hyun-jung.^[1] On July 23, 2024, Go and Jang Dong-yoon were confirmed to portray the lead roles.^[5]

Ji Chang-wook was offered the role of Cha Soo-yeol but declined due to scheduling conflict.^{[10][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.^[6][8]

Filming

Principal photography began in August 2024. Filming was done from October 2024 to February 2025.^[6]

Promotion

A special teaser for the series was aired on December 21, 2024 during the 2024 SBS Drama Awards.^[7][11]

Release

It is scheduled to premiere on SBS TV on September 5, 2025, and will air every Friday and Saturday at 21:50 (KST).^[12]