Prime’s New Reacher Rival Is a Streaming Hit (As Viewers Disagree With Critics)

Critics may not be in love with it, but Prime Video’s new spy thriller Butterfly is an undeniable hit in its first week out. The series is 68% fresh right now on Rotten Tomatoes, which is certainly not bad, but it’s far from the 89% fresh rating it got from the site’s user-based “popcornmeter.” On top of that, Butterfly is the number two most-watched show on Prime Video this week according to FlixPatrol, and it’s far ahead of number three show, Countdown, while it’s within striking distance of the number one show, The Summer I Turned Pretty. The binge model may be helping here, as those who got hooked on Butterfly had access to all six episodes at once starting on Wednesday. The whole series is streaming now on Prime Video.

Butterfly is adapted from a graphic novel series created by writer Arash Amel and published by Boom! Studios. It stars Daniel Dae Kim as David Jung, a former U.S. intelligence agent now living in South Korea and tryign to escape his past. Reina Hardesty plays his daughter, Rebecca, who has followed him into that line of work against his wishes.

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It’s not the most innovative premise, but then again, it’s a classic for a reason. The series has everything you’d want from a good spy thriller series — intrigue, action, and a careful balance of superhuman competence and emotional stakes. Still, on the surface, the show has a lot in common with other shows hitting streamers lately, including Prime Video’s own Reacher and The Terminal List, among others.

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For a lot of critics, that seems to be the main problem. The series doesn’t stand out enough from others in its genre, and its open-ended format left some feeling unsatisfied rather than excited for a second season. The negative reviews of the series also focused on its slow and unexciting character development, while the positive reviews focused on the fun side of a formulaic approach. They felt this was a suitable summertime binge-watch, and that it didn’t make any false promises to be more.

Butterfly may not stand out in the crowded spy thriller genre, but it’s not a heartless regurgitation of tropes, either. Fans of this kind of action will definitely find something to love here, and long-time fans of Kim won’t be disappointed. The six-episode series is streaming now on Prime Video, and the Butterfly graphic novels are available in print and digital formats.