The Blue Road on Netflix: Release Date, Time, Episodes & Cast

The Blue Road premieres on Netflix worldwide on Friday, November 20, 2026. It's a Korea–Japan crime thriller from D.P. director Han Jun-hee, starring Son Suk-ku and Japanese actor Eita Nagayama as detectives from Seoul and Tokyo hunting the same serial killer. Expect it around 5 p.m. KST (12 a.m. Pacific), Netflix's usual drop time for originals, though Netflix hasn't posted a specific time for this title.

Here's everything confirmed so far, and what isn't.

The Blue Road release details at a glance

Release time tip: Netflix's Help Center says originals go live at 12 a.m. Pacific Time. It also says a title's own page shows a specific launch time when there is one. US clocks went back on November 1, so midnight Pacific is 5 p.m. in Seoul and Tokyo on November 20. Add the show to "My List" or tap "Remind Me" on its page to get the notification.

What is The Blue Road about?

The case starts in Tokyo with a mutilated body and a message written in Korean in blood. A second body then turns up in Korea, this time with a message in Japanese. That's the premise as described by the Korea Herald. Two detectives realise they're chasing one killer working across both countries, and are forced into an uneasy partnership.

The series is set in 2002, the summer South Korea and Japan co-hosted the FIFA World Cup, according to What's on Netflix's interview with Han and its review. It's a pointed backdrop: a tournament sold as a moment of friendship between two countries with a complicated shared history. The reviewer noted the show engages with exactly those tensions.

Cast and characters

This is a reunion. Cineplay reported when the project was confirmed that it brings Han back together with Son, who starred in D.P. Han told What's on Netflix he kept the focus on the two leads because the series has few episodes and a small cast.

The source comic, and how faithful it is

Blue Road (Purungil in Korean, Ao no Michi in Japanese) was a 2002 Korean–Japanese collaboration. Keishi Edogawa wrote it and Korean artist Kaya Kwon illustrated it. Anime News Network describes it as a five-volume crime story about cultural friction and cross-border teamwork. Netflix's version is its first live-action adaptation.

Readers of the comic shouldn't assume they know the ending. In the What's on Netflix interview, Han said the team treated the source loosely and that the ending changed several times during development.

Is it any good? Early reactions

Only the first three episodes have been shown publicly, at the Busan International Film Festival in October. What's on Netflix's review rated them 4 out of 5. It called the show a "brutal, brilliant buddy-cop thriller" with wild swings in tone, singled out Eita Nagayama as its MVP, and compared its ornate, gruesome murders to NBC's Hannibal. The reviewer also noted it was too early to judge the mystery itself.

Our take: if you liked D.P.'s institutional anger, this sounds like Han working in the same register. From the early reviews, it's a procedural with a political edge more than an action showcase. The Korea–Japan pairing is the real hook. A cast split this evenly between Korean and Japanese leads is unusual for a Korean Netflix series.

Where to watch The Blue Road

Netflix only. It's a Netflix original announced for a global release, so it should be on Netflix in most regions, including South Korea and Japan. As always, check your local app, since availability can vary by region. You won't find it on Viki, Viu or Prime Video. Anything claiming otherwise before November 20 isn't legitimate.

It lands on a busy night: SBS's Good Partner 2 also premieres on November 20, according to Soompi. See our November 2026 K-drama schedule for everything else airing, and our best K-dramas on Netflix right now if you need something to watch until then.

Still unconfirmed

• Exact release time for this title (we've given Netflix's standard time).
• Whether all episodes drop at once. Netflix hasn't said.
• Runtime per episode.

We'll update this page once Netflix's title page lists them, and add an ending explainer, with spoiler warnings, after release.