Daniel Dae Kim’s ‘Butterfly’ cancelled after one season

Prime Video has dropped “Butterfly,” the espionage series fronted by Daniel Dae Kim, ending one of the streamer’s largest Asia-based original shoots to date.

The six-episode series, filmed primarily in Seoul and Incheon, was produced by Amazon MGM Studios and Boom! Studios with South Korean director Kim Jee-woon at the helm. Its cancellation came just two months after its August debut, which had been praised for advancing Korean and Asian American collaboration in global television production.

The $80 million production followed Kim’s character, former U.S. operative David Jung, navigating espionage networks in South Korea alongside co-stars Park Hae-soo and Kim Tae-hee. The show debuted at No. 6 on Nielsen’s U.S. streaming originals chart and reached No. 2 globally on Prime Video during its first week.

Industry sources said the decision was based on audience retention data that fell short of renewal thresholds, leaving one of Prime Video’s most ambitious Asia-centered projects without continuation.