# Parasyte: The Grey (기생수: 더 그레이)
**Parasyte: The Grey** (기생수: 더 그레이) is a six-episode South Korean science-fiction horror series released on Netflix on April 5, 2024, in which parasites that take over human hosts are opposed by a government task force called Team Grey, while one woman lives in an uneasy coexistence with the parasite inside her[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/parasyte_the_grey) • [2](https://sports.khan.co.kr/article/202404091530003). It is a spin-off of the Japanese manga *Parasyte* (기생수) by Hitoshi Iwaaki: it uses the manga's universe and premise but tells a new story set in South Korea with new characters, rather than remaking the manga's plot[3](https://www.documentarytube.com/blog/is-parasyte-the-grey-based-on-anime-or-manga/). The series was directed by [Yeon Sang-ho](https://www.edgepedia.org/yeon-sang-ho) and written by Yeon Sang-ho and Ryu Yong-jae[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/parasyte_the_grey).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Format | 6-episode Netflix series, about 50 minutes per episode, rated for adults only (청불) in Korea[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/parasyte_the_grey) • [4](https://womenlink.or.kr/post_file_download.cm?c=YTo1OntzOjEwOiJib2FyZF9jb2RlIjtzOjIyOiJiMjAyNDA0MDNjYzJmMzRhZmIyNmQ5IjtzOjk6InBvc3RfY29kZSI7czoyMjoicDIwMjQxMTEzMGFhMzM2MTVkMmZmYSI7czo5OiJmaWxlX2NvZGUiO3M6MjI6InAyMDI0MTExMzI3MmQyNzM3MWFlMGUiO3M6MTk6InBvc3RfZG93bmxvYWRfdG9rZW4iO3M6MTM6IjY5OGQ3NzUzYWRkN2MiO3M6MTE6Im1lbWJlcl9jb2RlIjtOO30%3D) |
| Release | April 5, 2024, on Netflix; all episodes available from launch[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/parasyte_the_grey) • [5](https://enews.imbc.com/News/ViewAmp/414265) |
| Source | Hitoshi Iwaaki's manga *Parasyte*, serialized 1988–1995 and published by Kodansha; the series is an original story in that universe, not a retelling[3](https://www.documentarytube.com/blog/is-parasyte-the-grey-based-on-anime-or-manga/) • [6](https://www.newsis.com/view/NISX20240412_0002697677) |
| Main cast | Jeon So-nee as Jeong Su-in, Koo Kyo-hwan as Seol Kang-woo, Lee Jung-hyun as Choi Jun-kyung, Kwon Hae-hyo as Kim Cheol-min, Kim In-kwon as Kang Won-seok[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/parasyte_the_grey) |
| Reception | 100% Tomatometer (14 reviews) and 80% Popcornmeter on Rotten Tomatoes; 7.1/10 on IMDb (about 17,000 votes)[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/parasyte_the_grey) • [7](https://www.justwatch.com/kr/TV-%ED%94%84%EB%A1%9C%EA%B7%B8%EB%9E%A8/gisaengsu-deo-geurei) |
| Viewership | Topped Netflix's global non-English TV list for two consecutive weeks, with 9.8 million viewing hours in one week[8](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/behind-the-scenes-inside-the-immersive-universe-of-parasyte-the-grey) |
## Spoilers
### Premise and story
The series begins when parasitic organisms that take over human brains appear in South Korea and begin expanding their numbers, and the government organizes a dedicated countermeasure unit, Team Grey (더 그레이), to stop them[2](https://sports.khan.co.kr/article/202404091530003). At the center is Jeong Su-in (전소니), who survives an attack because the parasite that invades her cannot take over her brain; she and the parasite, named Heidi (하이디), fall into a strange coexistence in which they share one body[2](https://sports.khan.co.kr/article/202404091530003) • [9](https://macmyths.com/what-is-parasyte-the-grey-netflixs-live-action-parasyte-series-explained/). The story is set in the fictional South Korean city of Namil[9](https://macmyths.com/what-is-parasyte-the-grey-netflixs-live-action-parasyte-series-explained/).
Other principal characters include Seol Kang-woo (구교환), a man chasing the parasites that took his family, and Choi Jun-kyung (이정현), the leader of Team Grey, whose husband was taken by a parasite[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/parasyte_the_grey) • [10](https://lovechai.tistory.com/7). Director Yeon Sang-ho described the work as an action thriller like the original, saying he wanted to take the manga's question of coexistence and give it a Korean setting[11](https://kstar.kbs.co.kr/list_view.html?idx=311595).
### Season 2
A second season had not been confirmed as of the April 2024 promotion. Jeon So-nee said she did not know whether it would even be produced, while joking that Koo Kyo-hwan wanted a love line and that she looked forward to a meeting with Suda's Shinichi[2](https://sports.khan.co.kr/article/202404091530003). Yeon said a second season was not his decision to make but that he had ideas for the next story[15](https://news.nate.com/view/20240409n30811).
## Relationship to the manga
The source is Hitoshi Iwaaki's manga *Parasyte*, which a Newsis profile describes as serialized from 1988 to 1995; the series belongs to the body-snatcher genre[6](https://www.newsis.com/view/NISX20240412_0002697677). Netflix identifies the manga, published by Kodansha, as the original work, and presents the series as an expansion of the manga's universe with a new story in a different setting, Korea[3](https://www.documentarytube.com/blog/is-parasyte-the-grey-based-on-anime-or-manga/) • [8](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/behind-the-scenes-inside-the-immersive-universe-of-parasyte-the-grey). Yeon put the approach this way: rather than a simple Korean remake, he started from the question "What if it happened in Korea?"[3](https://www.documentarytube.com/blog/is-parasyte-the-grey-based-on-anime-or-manga/). He also said he approached the project like fan fiction made out of affection for the original, briefing Kodansha directly on how he wanted to build it[11](https://kstar.kbs.co.kr/list_view.html?idx=311595).
The pairing differs from the manga's. In the manga, the parasite Migi takes over the right hand of the protagonist Shinichi Izumi, while Su-in keeps her own consciousness because Heidi cannot control her brain[3](https://www.documentarytube.com/blog/is-parasyte-the-grey-based-on-anime-or-manga/). Iwaaki himself said he was delighted that *Parasyte* would be dramatized in Korea and excited that the new story used a different country as its stage[12](https://twd-shouting.tistory.com/1436).
**A crossover cameo.** The Japanese actor Masaki Suda appears as Shinichi, the manga's protagonist, in the final episode, and Yeon said that if a second season is confirmed Suda would naturally appear again[5](https://enews.imbc.com/News/ViewAmp/414265). Yeon said he thought of casting Suda after watching the film *A Wild Roomer*, in which Suda appears with Yang Ik-june, and that Suda visited the set the day before filming out of curiosity[5](https://enews.imbc.com/News/ViewAmp/414265).
## Reception and viewership
The series performed strongly on Netflix's global charts. It topped the non-English TV list worldwide for two consecutive weeks after its April 5 premiere, recording 9.8 million viewing hours in one week[8](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/behind-the-scenes-inside-the-immersive-universe-of-parasyte-the-grey). In a Consumer Insight survey of 500 Korean OTT users aged 20 to 59, the series recorded 79% awareness and a 41% viewing-experience rate, first among the April 2024 OTT launches surveyed, and viewers most often named the original manga as their reason for watching; on viewer satisfaction it placed second, slightly behind the variety show *High School Mystery Club 3*[13](https://www.consumerinsight.co.kr/up_files/%EA%B8%B0%EC%83%9D%EC%88%98%20%EB%8D%94%20%EA%B7%B8%EB%A0%88%EC%9D%B4%204%EC%9B%94%20%EB%A1%A0%EC%B9%AD%20%EC%BD%98%ED%85%90%EC%B8%A0%20%EC%A4%91%20%EC%8B%9C%EC%B2%AD%EB%A5%A0%201%EC%9C%84.pdf). Review aggregation gives it a 100% Tomatometer from 14 critics and an 80% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/parasyte_the_grey).
**Critical debate.** Korean criticism focused on how the parasites fight. In the Cine21 critic Lee Woobeen's view, the original manga's parasites turned their bodies into steel-hard blades and swords, and the metallic clash of those weapons, and the shock of humans being butchered the way humans slaughter livestock, carried the work's meditation on humanity; in the drama the parasites fight with flesh-like tentacles that stab rather than cut, the parasites' combat power is sharply reduced, and he argued that this theme largely dissipated[14](https://cine21.com/news/view/?mag_id=104836). Korean viewers also discussed the drama's differences from the anime, including how much backstory its human characters receive[10](https://lovechai.tistory.com/7).
## References
1. [Parasyte: The Grey, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/parasyte_the_grey)
2. [Jeon So-nee interview, Sports Kyunghyang (2024-04-09)](https://sports.khan.co.kr/article/202404091530003)
3. [Is Parasyte: The Grey Based on the Manga?, DocumentaryTube](https://www.documentarytube.com/blog/is-parasyte-the-grey-based-on-anime-or-manga/)
4. [K-Slate 2024 content data table, Womenlink](https://womenlink.or.kr/post_file_download.cm?c=YTo1OntzOjEwOiJib2FyZF9jb2RlIjtzOjIyOiJiMjAyNDA0MDNjYzJmMzRhZmIyNmQ5IjtzOjk6InBvc3RfY29kZSI7czoyMjoicDIwMjQxMTEzMGFhMzM2MTVkMmZmYSI7czo5OiJmaWxlX2NvZGUiO3M6MjI6InAyMDI0MTExMzI3MmQyNzM3MWFlMGUiO3M6MTk6InBvc3RfZG93bmxvYWRfdG9rZW4iO3M6MTM6IjY5OGQ3NzUzYWRkN2MiO3M6MTE6Im1lbWJlcl9jb2RlIjtOO30%3D)
5. [Yeon Sang-ho interview on Masaki Suda, MBC enews (2024-04)](https://enews.imbc.com/News/ViewAmp/414265)
6. [Yeon Sang-ho interview, Newsis (2024-04-12)](https://www.newsis.com/view/NISX20240412_0002697677)
7. [Parasyte: The Grey streaming page, JustWatch Korea](https://www.justwatch.com/kr/TV-%ED%94%84%EB%A1%9C%EA%B7%B8%EB%9E%A8/gisaengsu-deo-geurei)
8. [Behind the Scenes: Inside the Immersive Universe of Parasyte: The Grey, About Netflix](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/behind-the-scenes-inside-the-immersive-universe-of-parasyte-the-grey)
9. [Parasyte: The Grey Explained, MacMyths](https://macmyths.com/what-is-parasyte-the-grey-netflixs-live-action-parasyte-series-explained/)
10. [Differences between the anime and the Korean drama review, Lovechai blog](https://lovechai.tistory.com/7)
11. [Yeon Sang-ho interview, KBS kstar (2024-04-12)](https://kstar.kbs.co.kr/list_view.html?idx=311595)
12. [Netflix drama preview blog, twd-shouting](https://twd-shouting.tistory.com/1436)
13. [OTT K-Original early audience evaluation, Consumer Insight (May 2024)](https://www.consumerinsight.co.kr/up_files/%EA%B8%B0%EC%83%9D%EC%88%98%20%EB%8D%94%20%EA%B7%B8%EB%A0%88%EC%9D%B4%204%EC%9B%94%20%EB%A1%A0%EC%B9%AD%20%EC%BD%98%ED%85%90%EC%B8%A0%20%EC%A4%91%20%EC%8B%9C%EC%B2%AD%EB%A5%A0%201%EC%9C%84.pdf)
14. [Lee Woobeen, comparison criticism of Parasyte: The Grey and the original, Cine21 (2024-04-11)](https://cine21.com/news/view/?mag_id=104836)
15. [Yeon Sang-ho MD interview on season 2, Nate entertainment (2024-04-09)](https://news.nate.com/view/20240409n30811)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › International serial drama and telenovelas › East Asian drama series › East Asian remake chains and cross-national versions*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license