May 17, 2026 7:30pm IST
‘The WONDERfools’ Review: Park Eun-bin, Cha Eun-woo’s Comedic Superhero Series Is Immensely Watchable Despite A Few Flaws
Cha Eun-woo and Park Eun-bin coming together for “The WONDERfools” is a good enough reason to give the series a watch. The two enjoy immense popularity all over the globe with Park being a recipient of a Daesang (one of the highest acting awards in South Korea) for her performance in the 2022 drama “Extraordinary Attorney Woo.”
“The WONDERfools” on Netflix is a superhero action-comedy set in 1999. The premise of the show is quite similar to Lee Jun-Ho’s “Cashero”, which was released in December 2025. A group of friends end up realising their superpowers after a misadventure and go on to save their town. What is different is the angle of a scientist’s cult taking over people’s minds with the foreboding of an end-of-the-millennium apocalypse.
Park Eun-bin plays the role of Eun Chae-ni, who is known as ‘Lady Trainwreck’ in the small town of Haeseong City. She just has a few months to live as she suffers from a degenerative heart condition. Mentally and emotionally exhausted with her condition, she stages a fake kidnapping with her oddball friends, Son Kyung-hoon (Choi Dae-hoon) and Kang Ro-bin (Im Seong-jae) to raise money for a solo trip.
Their plan flops and they end up in a contaminated river. Within hours, they realize they have acquired powers that set them apart from the rest. Enter Lee Un-jeong (Cha Eun-woo), a government employee with a connection to the dark past of the town, The Wunderkinder, a centre which was the hub of illegal biological experiments.
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“The WONDERfools” is about this newly-formed quartet that takes on scientist Han Won-do (Son Hyun-joo) who is back to pursuing his mad dream of immortality under the guise of a religious preacher who heads the Church of Eternal Salvation Prayer House. His foot soldiers include three children with superpowers who are brainwashed into believing that he is their messiah.
Like “Cashero,” “The WONDERfools,’ too, has eight episodes. What sets this one apart is the overall packaging. This one starts off slowly with the first two episodes testing your patience to some extent, but redeems itself strongly thereon. The narrative begins to hold your attention with events unfolding at a rapid pace. The placement of the superpower moments is good throughout the series. Korean drama audiences who watch shows for chemistry between leads won’t be disappointed either. Park Eun-bin and Eun-woo bring in goofiness, cuteness and vulnerability in equal measure.
Park Eun-bin is terrific as the eccentric and loud Chae-ni, using all her skills in physical acting with facial expressions to match the emotions of someone living a renewed life after a superhero transformation. She excels even in the scenes where she shows viewers the vulnerable side of her character.
Cha Eun-woo is also solid in his dual avatar of Lee Un-jeong, a civil servant and a superhero acutely aware of his telekinesis powers. The makers indulge in a bit of fanservicing, shooting scenes where he is shown smoking in a white vest and one where he flaunts his abs. To reconfirm his onscreen dreamboat status, one of the vamps Seok Ho-ran (Choi Yoon-ji) actually says she is soft on him as he is cute! He matches Eun-bin’s histrionics in most of the scenes. After his 2023 fantasy rom-com “A Good Day to Be A Dog,” he proves once again that whimsical, slapstick comedy scripts are his forte.
In the ensemble cast, veteran actress Kim Hae-sook is fun to watch as Kim Jeon-Bok, Chae-ni’s feisty grandmother. She is also a key cog in the story of the unfortunate child victims of the crazy scientist.
The makers of the series recreate the pre-2000 era with flair. The writers leave no room for subtlety using everything from rumbling noises of hunger to loud slapstick comedy to make viewers laugh. The overall treatment reminds us of some of the old Korean dramas that evoke laughter despite their predictability. This unbridled goofiness in “The WONDERfools” makes the series immensely watchable. On the technical side, the cinematography and graphics are excellent.
Filmmaker Yoo In-sik extracts fine performances from his actors. He does take a bit of time to build his premise of four weird friends finding powers, but beautifully sets a tone for a comedic fight between good and evil. While the villains exist, the main draw is the camaraderie of the weird quartet.
The drawback of the series is its initial slow pace, the absence of a truly engaging villain and a lack of clarity in places. Greed, blind faith and moral ambiguity are present in the series but none of these themes are touched upon in detail. However, there are minor glitches as the series never diverts from its original premise.
“The WONDERfools” is a perfect drama if you’re in the mood for a light-hearted series that is breezy, action-packed and packed with comedy.
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