3 Years After All Of Us Are Dead Season 1 Came Out, I Finally Understand What Made The Netflix K-Drama So Good

All of Us Are Dead was one of Netflix’s most-watched non-English shows upon release and remains popular three years later, and I think I’ve finally figured out what makes the show so good. The trend of Netflix original K-dramas becoming worldwide hits did not begin with All of Us Are Dead, with the successes of Sweet Home and Squid Game paving the way for other Korean shows to become streaming sensations. All of Us Are Dead premiering a few months after Squid Game surely helped the former, but I’m not convinced that’s the only reason why it became so big.

Based on a webtoon by Joo Dong-geun, All of Us Are Dead officially entered development in 2020 and premiered on Netflix on January 28, 2022. All of Us Are Dead was a smash hit from the start and remained on Netflix’s all-time non-English shows top 10 for several months despite the lack of updates on season 2. While All of Us Are Dead season 2 is happening, we still don’t know when it will come out. Regardless, rewatching All of Us Are Dead recently helped me realize what made it stand out from other zombie shows.

All Of Us Are Dead Never Stops, And That Makes It Better Than Other Zombie Shows

All Of Us Are Dead Doesn’t Have A Single Dull Episode

Custom image by Yeider Chacon

It can be difficult to get into K-dramas given how long the episodes generally are, but the pacing was not a problem with All of Us Are Dead. In fact, I hardly noticed that I was watching a 12-episode season where every episode was at least an hour long. From the opening scene featuring the transformation of “patient zero” to the bombing of Hyosan, All of Us Are Dead simply does not stop. Every episode of the zombie K-drama is filled with action scenes and terrifying moments, making it easier to forget that you’re binging such a long show.

All Of Us Are Dead Episodes	Runtime
Episode 1	66 min
Episode 2	70 min
Episode 3	62 min
Episode 4	72 min
Episode 5	56 min
Episode 6	67 min
Episode 7	60 min
Episode 8	58 min
Episode 9	61 min
Episode 10	54 min
Episode 11	56 min
Episode 12	53 min

Although some of the best K-dramas of all time were released in a more traditional broadcast model with one or two episodes per week, All of Us Are Dead benefitted from Netflix’s binge-watching strategy. Every episode would end on some type of cliffhanger that would leave us wanting more, which is part of the reason why All of Us Are Dead accumulated so many watching hours over the first few days of release. Unlike other zombie shows like The Walking Dead or even Sweet Home, All of Us Are Dead season 1 was incredibly fast-paced in a good way.

It Doesn’t Take Long For All Of Us Are Dead To Get You Hooked

All Of Us Are Dead Has A Fantastic First Episode

Even great shows can take a while to get you hooked, but that is not what happens in All of Us Are Dead. As soon as the kid being bullied turned into a zombie and had to be dealt with by their own father, who was also the scientist who created the virus, I knew that I was in for a very interesting horror show. All of Us Are Dead’s characters are also easy to connect with, and by the time the outbreak begins, we already feel connected to the likes of On-jo and Cheong-san.

Lomon looks on seriously in front of the cast of All of Us Are Dead standing over a dead zombie.

All Of Us Are Dead Season 2: Confirmation & Everything We Know

The Korean apocalyptic horror series All of Us Are Dead is renewed for second season, but news has been slow since it’s debut in 2022.

The first episode of All of Us Are Dead ends with a horde of zombies storming the school’s cafeteria, after which the action and the sense of despair never stop. All of Us Are Dead season 1 does not have a lot of time jumps, meaning that the story feels like it is happening in real-time. It soon becomes clear that no one is coming to rescue the kids, so the show becomes about them trying to get out of the school into a safer place. It is an exhausting but entertaining journey.

It’s A Shame That All Of Us Are Dead 2 Is Taking So Long After How Good Season 1 Was

All Of Us Are Dead Is Losing Momentum After Season 1’s Success

Custom image of All of Us Are Dead characters — Custom image by Simone Ashmoore

All of Us Are Dead being renewed for season 2 was not at all surprising considering not only how season 1 ended but also how popular the show became. However, what has been surprising is how long season 2 is taking. All of Us Are Dead was renewed for a second season in June 2022, with cameras expected to start rolling in 2024. However, filming for All of Us Are Dead 2 was reportedly pushed back to 2025. With Netflix’s K-drama slate for 2025 not including All of Us Are Dead, we can assume season 2 isn’t premiering this year.

If All of Us Are Dead season 2 comes out in 2026, four years will have passed between the first and second seasons. That is an even bigger hiatus than Sweet Home and Squid Game faced between their respective first and second seasons, both of which took three years to release new episodes after they debuted on Netflix. All we can hope now is that season 2 will be as good as season 1, if not better.