{ "id": "ep5csx3twp", "slug": "the-believers-ep5csx3twp", "title": "The Believers (สาธุ)", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_international_serials", "label": "International serial drama and telenovelas", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_international_serials" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_turkish_other", "label": "Turkish, Middle Eastern, and African serials", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_turkish_other" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_turkish_other.thai_serials", "label": "Thai serial dramas (lakorn)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_turkish_other.thai_serials" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_turkish_other.thai_serials.yr-2008-2024", "label": "Premiered 2008 to 2024", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_turkish_other.thai_serials.yr-2008-2024" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.asia.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_turkish_other.thai_serials.yr-2008-2024", "label": "Asia (other) · 2021 and later: Premiered 2008 to 2024", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_turkish_other.thai_serials.yr-2008-2024", "path": [ { "id": "geo.asia", "label": "Asia (other)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2021", "label": "Asia (other) · 2021 and later", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2021" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2021.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2021.culture" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2021.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2021.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2021.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2021.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_international_serials", "label": "International serial drama and telenovelas", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_international_serials" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_turkish_other", "label": "Turkish, Middle Eastern, and African serials", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_turkish_other" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_turkish_other.thai_serials", "label": "Thai serial dramas (lakorn)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_turkish_other.thai_serials" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_turkish_other.thai_serials.yr-2008-2024", "label": "Premiered 2008 to 2024", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_turkish_other.thai_serials.yr-2008-2024" } ] } ], "excerpt": "The Believers (สาธุ, Sathu) is a Thai Netflix crime drama series premiering March 27, 2024, in which three indebted entrepreneurs monetize a rundown Buddhist temple, exploring phuttha phanit, the commercialization of faith in Thailand; season 2 followed on December 4, 2025.", "snippet": "The Believers (สาธุ, Sathu) is a Thai Netflix crime drama series premiering March 27, 2024, in which three indebted entrepreneurs monetize a rundown Buddhist temple, exploring phuttha phanit, the commercialization of faith in Thailand; season 2 followed on December 4, 2025.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_turkish_other.thai_serials.yr-2008-2024", "markdown": "# The Believers (สาธุ)\n\n**The Believers** (สาธุ, *Sathu*) is a Thai crime drama thriller series released on Netflix on March 27, 2024, about three young entrepreneurs who, after their startup fails and leaves them in debt, take over a rundown [Buddhist temple](https://www.edgepedia.org/buddhist-temple) and monetize people's religious faith to repay their creditors.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_believers/s01) • [2](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/the-believers-trailer-release) Its central theme is *phuttha phanit* (พุทธพาณิชย์), the commercialization of Buddhism in Thai society, a subject the series treats as a question for viewers rather than a verdict.[3](https://theactive.thaipbs.or.th/news/learning-education-20240523)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Premiere | March 27, 2024, on Netflix; season 1 has 9 episodes[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_believers/s01) |\n| Premise | Three entrepreneurs, buried in debt after their startup is hacked, revive a rundown temple to profit from donations[2](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/the-believers-trailer-release) • [4](https://www.netflix.com/th/title/81517165?s=i&trkid=264293154&vlang=th) |\n| Director | Wattanapong Wongwan; the series is his first directing work[2](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/the-believers-trailer-release) • [5](https://about.netflix.com/th/news/the-believers-season-2) |\n| Lead cast | Teeradon Supapunpinyo (Win), Pachara Chirathivat (Game), Achiraya Nitibhon (Dear), Patchai Pakdeesusuk (Monk Dol)[6](https://www.martincid.com/tv-shows/the-believers-2024-thai-series-on-netflix-three-young-individuals-start-a-rather-unique-business-a-buddhist-temple/) |\n| Reception | Reached number 1 on the Netflix chart in Thailand in its first streaming week (March 25–31, 2024)[7](https://about.netflix.com/th/news/behind-the-believers) |\n| Season 2 | Announced May 9, 2024; released December 4, 2025[5](https://about.netflix.com/th/news/the-believers-season-2) • [8](https://www.contentasia.tv/eNewsletter/2025/ContentAsia_eNewsletter_17_November_2025.pdf) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Premise and story\n\nThe series follows Win, Game, and Dear, three friends whose NFT game startup collapses when a hacker installs a virus and the token price crashes, leaving them owing millions to lenders.[9](https://www.thereviewgeek.com/thebelievers-s1review/) Win devises a plan: they find Wat Phumaram, a neglected temple with an eccentric caretaker and almost no visitors, and apply modern marketing, finance, and branding skills to turn it into a money-making enterprise, drawing worshippers in with campaigns for merit-making and skimming donations to pay their debt.[4](https://www.netflix.com/th/title/81517165?s=i&trkid=264293154&vlang=th) • [10](https://mgronline.com/entertainment/detail/9680000118246)\n\nThe trio recruit a charismatic young forest-tradition monk, Phra Dol, as the face of the project. As the temple grows famous, it attracts wealthy patrons, powerful rivals, and eventually police attention; the season ends with a raid on the temple and old secrets coming to light.[4](https://www.netflix.com/th/title/81517165?s=i&trkid=264293154&vlang=th) Reviewers describe the result as equal parts drama and crime story rather than a straightforward criminal romp, with the characters changing, for good and ill, through their involvement with the temple.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_believers/s01)\n\n### Season 2\n\nNetflix announced a second season on May 9, 2024, after audience demand.[5](https://about.netflix.com/th/news/the-believers-season-2) It premiered on December 4, 2025. According to Netflix, the second season deepens the exploration of how faith and politics intertwine in modern Thailand, revealing a criminal network linking the religious world and local political power; director Wattanapong Wongwan described it as the story of people who try to play the system, but ultimately the system strikes back.[8](https://www.contentasia.tv/eNewsletter/2025/ContentAsia_eNewsletter_17_November_2025.pdf) • [15](https://assets.ctfassets.net/4cd45et68cgf/7s2AffpdeCw4Zr1WHbEzVP/a7c9b5154fff7ff607164394330036ce/-TH-_Next_on_Netflix_Thailand_2025_Slate.pdf)\n\n## Theme: Buddhist commerce\n\nThe show's defining subject is *phuttha phanit*, the use of Buddhist faith for commercial gain, which screenwriter Amaraporn Phaendinthong noted is not a new issue in Thai society but one long entangled with monastic authority and influential politicians that no one had communicated concretely before.[3](https://theactive.thaipbs.or.th/news/learning-education-20240523) The series depicts practices familiar in Thailand, including donation boxes, merit-making campaigns to build pavilions, temple fair events, and the manufacture of sacred amulets, and it weaves in details of monastic administration such as district ecclesiastical officers and the differences between village and forest temples.[11](https://www.springnews.co.th/news/infographic/849203) • [12](https://spacebar.th/culture/sadhu-netflix-commercial-buddhist)\n\nDirector Wattanapong Wongwan said the series was not made to criticize religion but to explore questions he had carried since growing up in a Buddhist society, aiming to get viewers to question the familiar.[2](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/the-believers-trailer-release) A discussion event at Suan Mokkh Bangkok with the creators, actors, and monks described the series as raising questions about problems in the monastic community without condemning Buddhism itself.[3](https://theactive.thaipbs.or.th/news/learning-education-20240523)\n\n## Production and cast\n\nThe series took more than five years of research and script preparation before release.[7](https://about.netflix.com/th/news/behind-the-believers) It was written by a team including Amaraporn Phaendinthong and Watcharapol Paksi, and produced by Joyluxe Club Filmhouse and Deluxe Production.[13](https://assets.ctfassets.net/4cd45et68cgf/7o7DKizXHMmlavZCmUOAFR/f9fa5eeb7da774deb51788e2b7306060/2024_Thailand_Slate_-_Appendix_TH.pdf)\n\n**Casting and preparation.** Patchai Pakdeesusuk, a musician never previously ordained, played Phra Dol; he meditated at least 30 minutes before each scene, visited forest temples in Chiang Rai province with the director, and had his head shaved for the months of filming, as did Phao Phetch Charoensook, who plays the temple's secretary monk Ekachai.[7](https://about.netflix.com/th/news/behind-the-believers) Veteran director Surasee Patham played the abbot Luang Pho Kiw in what was his final screen role; he died the year before the series' release.[7](https://about.netflix.com/th/news/behind-the-believers) The theme song was performed by Milli featuring TangBadVoice.[14](https://www.naewna.com/entertain/800004)\n\n## Reception\n\nIn its first streaming week the series rose to number 1 on Netflix in Thailand, and its marketing campaign, including a fictional \"merit-trading company\" and viral catchphrases from the character Phra Dol, generated wide online discussion.[5](https://about.netflix.com/th/news/the-believers-season-2) • [7](https://about.netflix.com/th/news/behind-the-believers) On Rotten Tomatoes, season 1 holds a 93% Tomatometer from three critic reviews; critics praised the premise and caper structure while some found the pacing slow across nine episodes.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_believers/s01) A Thai-language review scored it 8 out of 10, crediting its direct handling of a sensitive subject.[14](https://www.naewna.com/entertain/800004)\n\n## References\n\n1. [The Believers: Season 1, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_believers/s01)\n2. [Religion or Profit? 'The Believers' Trailer Invites Viewers to Question What They Know, About Netflix (28 February 2024)](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/the-believers-trailer-release)\n3. [คนรุ่นใหม่สิ้นศรัทธา อาจมาจากการศึกษาที่ผิดวิธี, The Active, Thai PBS (23 April 2024)](https://theactive.thaipbs.or.th/news/learning-education-20240523)\n4. [ดู \"สาธุ\", Netflix official title page](https://www.netflix.com/th/title/81517165?s=i&trkid=264293154&vlang=th)\n5. [Netflix ขานรับพลังศรัทธา สาธุ ซีซั่น 2 มาแน่!, About Netflix (9 May 2024)](https://about.netflix.com/th/news/the-believers-season-2)\n6. [The Believers: Faith as the ultimate heist disguise, Martin Cid Magazine](https://www.martincid.com/tv-shows/the-believers-2024-thai-series-on-netflix-three-young-individuals-start-a-rather-unique-business-a-buddhist-temple/)\n7. [ซีรีส์ \"สาธุ\" ทะยานขึ้นอันดับหนึ่ง, About Netflix (4 April 2024)](https://about.netflix.com/th/news/behind-the-believers)\n8. [ContentAsia eNewsletter, 17–23 November 2025](https://www.contentasia.tv/eNewsletter/2025/ContentAsia_eNewsletter_17_November_2025.pdf)\n9. [The Believers Season 1 Review, The Review Geek (8 April 2024)](https://www.thereviewgeek.com/thebelievers-s1review/)\n10. [สาธุ (1-2) ด้านมืดของธุรกิจศรัทธา, MGR Online](https://mgronline.com/entertainment/detail/9680000118246)\n11. [ชวนดู! ซีรีส์ \"สาธุ\" ตีแผ่ \"พุทธพาณิชย์\", Spring News](https://www.springnews.co.th/news/infographic/849203)\n12. [Netflix: 'สาธุ' ซีรีส์ที่ทำให้เกิดคำถามเกี่ยวกับพุทธศาสนาในไทย, Spacebar (28 March 2024)](https://spacebar.th/culture/sadhu-netflix-commercial-buddhist)\n13. [TH Appendix, Thailand Slate 2024, Netflix](https://assets.ctfassets.net/4cd45et68cgf/7o7DKizXHMmlavZCmUOAFR/f9fa5eeb7da774deb51788e2b7306060/2024_Thailand_Slate_-_Appendix_TH.pdf)\n14. [โอ๊ยเล่าเรื่อง : สาธุ (The Believes), Naewna (20 April 2024)](https://www.naewna.com/entertain/800004)\n15. [TH Next on Netflix Thailand 2025 Slate, Netflix](https://assets.ctfassets.net/4cd45et68cgf/7s2AffpdeCw4Zr1WHbEzVP/a7c9b5154fff7ff607164394330036ce/-TH-_Next_on_Netflix_Thailand_2025_Slate.pdf)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › International serial drama and telenovelas › Turkish, Middle Eastern, and African serials › Thai serial dramas (lakorn) › Premiered 2008 to 2024*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/the-believers-ep5csx3twp", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/the-believers-ep5csx3twp.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"The Believers (สาธุ)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/the-believers-ep5csx3twp. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[The Believers (สาธุ)](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-believers-ep5csx3twp)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/the-believers-ep5csx3twp](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-believers-ep5csx3twp). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"The Believers (สาธุ)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/the-believers-ep5csx3twp. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "The Believers is a Thai Netflix crime drama series premiering March 27, 2024, in which three indebted entrepreneurs monetize a rundown Buddhist temple, exploring phuttha phanit, the commercialization of faith in Thailand; season 2 followed on December 4, 2025." }