‘The Remarried Empress’ Sets Disney+ and Hulu Record With Biggest Local Original Launch Ever

Disney has a royal hit on its hands. The Remarried Empress has become the most-viewed local original premiere ever across Disney+ and Hulu globally, setting a new benchmark for the company’s international programming just three days after its debut.

The Korean romantic epic, starring Shin Mina, Ju Jihoon, Lee Jongsuk and Lee Seyoung, launched Nov. 3 with four episodes. Disney said Friday the series also delivered the biggest Korean title premiere to date in more than 50 markets, including the U.S., Britain, France, Spain, Germany, Mexico, Chile, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

Disney did not disclose viewing figures. The global premiere record is based on views during the show’s first three days of availability.

The Remarried Empress has supplanted Disney’s previous Korean breakout, Moving, as the streamer’s biggest local-original premiere. The 2023 superhero drama became Disney+ and Hulu’s most watched Korean original and was a particularly powerful draw in South Korea and across Asia. The early results for The Remarried Empress suggest a more broadly global breakthrough, with its records extending across Europe and the Americas.

Set in a fantasy world of rival empires, the series follows Empress Navier (Shin), whose marriage to Emperor Sovieshu (Ju) begins to unravel when he falls for Rashta (Lee Seyoung), a runaway slave. Navier agrees to a divorce on the condition that she be allowed to marry Heinrey (Lee Jongsuk), the crown prince of a neighboring kingdom, setting off a struggle over love, dignity and imperial power.

Yeoh Geena and Hyun Choongyeol adapted the series for the screen, with Cho Suwon (Still 17, Pinocchio) directing.

The series is an unusually perfect fit for Disney+, pairing the royal grandeur and storybook fantasy associated with the Disney brand with the scandal, romantic reversals, glossy production values, and wildly attractive stars that have made K-drama a global phenomenon. The show’s world is one familiar to Disney princesses, but its heroine’s challenges — infidelity, divorce and the prospect of a strategically advantageous second marriage — give the fantasy an appealingly grown-up melodramatic charge.

The launch follows months of anticipation for the series, including sold-out preview screenings at the Busan International Film Festival. Its trailer generated 13 million views across YouTube and social media in its first 48 hours, according to Disney. The Naver webtoon on which the show is based has amassed nearly 3 billion views, making it one of the form’s most popular titles.

Disney brought the premiere forward by a day from its originally scheduled Nov. 4 launch, announcing the change at a Seoul press conference earlier this week as a thank-you to fans.

Following the four-episode premiere, two new episodes will arrive every Wednesday beginning Nov. 11, with the finale scheduled for Nov. 25.