Featured Image Credit: Netflix
Topics: Netflix, Ghost Of Tsushima
Few could have predicted just how popular Squid Game was going to be for Netflix, with the series smashing all kinds of records as it went on to become one of the most successful shows in the streaming service's history.
That show recently finished with the release of the third series, concluding the arcs of fan favourites like Seong Gi-hun and Lee Myung-gi. Happily enough for Netflix, that didn't leave too long of a gap between that and the release of the final series of Stranger Things, but with that also set to end very shortly, the streaming giant will need another hit to keep the proverbial coffers topped up.
Fortunately a new show has just debuted that has all the chops to take the ball and run with it, taking some elements of the aforementioned Squid Game and giving them a whole new setting to work in.
Last Samurai Standing is a new six-part series set in the Meiji Era of Japanese history, which started in 1868 and marked the end of the feudal period that had dominated the country's culture for so long.
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It's a really interesting period to set the show in, and when you hear the premise, you're likely going to want to give it a go even more.
The new series follows protagonist Shujiro Saga, played by Junichi Okada, joins a unique tournament where 292 fighters (a mixture of samurai, other soldiers and criminals) compete to be the last one standing and the winner of the grand prize of 100,000 Yen.
Now I'm not sure how up you are on historical conversion rates but that's a boatload of money (it's approaching $4 million from what I have managed to Google) and it's certainly enough to make some bad people do some pretty savage things.
The show has landed pretty spectacularly with both fans and critics, and it sits on a 100% Audience Score and 97% Critics Score on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of writing.
It also appeared at number three in the top 10 trending shows for the week on Netflix, which likely means it drew in a significant viewership after release.
I'm not quite at the end yet, so can't say how likely it is, but from what I've seen so far, it's absolutely a show that Netflix should keep around for the long run.