Chicken Nugget (TV series)

Chicken Nugget is a 2024 South Korean comedy mystery television series written and directed by Lee Byeong-heon, and starring Ryu Seung-ryong, Ahn Jae-hong, and Kim Yoo-jung. Based on the Naver webtoon of the same name, it is a comic mystery chase drama about the struggles of a father to recover his daughter who entered a mysterious machine and turned into a chicken nugget, assisted by a man who has a crush on her. It was released on Netflix in selected regions on March 15, 2024.

Synopsis
Choi Min-ah, the daughter of a company president, mistakes a new machine as a device which helps her with her fatigue, and she is accidentally turned into a chicken nugget. As her father, Choi Seon-man and intern Go Baek-joong who has a crush on her, try to turn her back into a human, they discover unexpected secrets.

Main

 * Ryu Seung-ryong as Choi Seon-man
 * The president of More Than Machines, who tries to turn his daughter back into a human.


 * Ahn Jae-hong as Go Baek-joong
 * An intern who has a crush on his boss's daughter, Min-ah.


 * Kim Yoo-jung as Choi Min-ah
 * Choi Seon-man's daughter who enters a mysterious machine thinking it is a fatigue recovery machine and turns into a chicken nugget.

Special appearances

 * Jung Ho-yeon as Hong Cha
 * Korea's best taste columnist.


 * Park Jin-young as Yoo Tae-young
 * Yoo Tae-man's handsome older brother.


 * Ko Chang-seok as Baek-joong's father
 * Moon Sang-hoon as Jeong Hyo-bong
 * A man who is entangled with a mysterious machine and appears at the right time.


 * Yoo Seung-mok as Yoo In-won
 * A doctor crazy about mechanical research.


 * Jeong Seung-gil as Yoo Tae-man
 * A man who has the strongest presbyopia complex.


 * Kim Tae-hoon as employee of More Than Machines
 * Hwang Mi-young as employee of More Than Machines
 * Jeong Sun-won as employee of More Than Machines
 * Lee Ha-nui as employee of More Than Machines
 * Kim Nam-hee
 * Yang Hyun-min
 * Heo Jun-seok
 * Park Hyeong-soo
 * Lee Joo-bin

Production
In November 2022, it was reported that filming is currently in progress.

In an interview, director Lee Byeong-heon said, "We recently finished filming and will be released on Netflix at the earliest at the end of 2023, or early next year at the latest".

Critical response
Pierce Conran of South China Morning Post wrote that "even among Netflix's growing catalogue of dystopian dramas, twisty thrillers and sci-fi tentpoles, Chicken Nugget stands out, thanks to its saturated colours, heightened tone and absurd sense of humour". Jonathan Wilson of Ready Steady Cut rated it a 3.5/5 and wrote that the series is a "work of sneaky genius". Joel Keller of Decider wrote that the series "is silly as hell, but it promises to be one of those shows where two people go on a crazy adventure" and "just happens to involve a woman who becomes a chicken nugget". Sarah Musnicky of But Why Tho? rated it a 8/10 and wrote it "dials everything up to a ten and then some" and "it is absurdist, comedic fun and spares no expense or time in embracing its quirky energy". Joly Herman of Common Sense Media wrote that "some sinister undertones and the copious use of language makes this show a better choice for older teens" and "fans of irrational sci-fi will appreciate this one the most".

Viewership
Chicken Nugget ranked tenth in Netflix's Global Top 10 TV (Non-English) category for the week of March 18–24, 2024, and received a warm response in seven countries including South Korea.