The Wonderfools review: Park Eun-bin powers this chaotic yet fun superhero comedy

Netflix's The Wonderfools follows small-town misfits who stumble into superpowers amid Y2K panic. Park Eun-bin's assured turn gives the show's chaos enough heart to outweigh its uneven pacing.

In Short

• Director Yoo In-sik' The Wonderfools released on Netflix on May 15
• Set in 1999, the series turns Y2K anxiety into comic tension
• The K-drama swaps heroes in sleek suits for a group of socially awkward misfits

Superhero fatigue may be real, but The Wonderfools at least attempts something different with the genre. Set in 1999, Netflix’s new K-drama swaps polished heroes in sleek suits for a group of socially awkward misfits who accidentally stumble into superpowers in a small town already consumed by Y2K panic. The result is chaotic, strange, uneven and occasionally overstuffed, but also entertaining when it fully commits to its oddball premise.

At the centre is Eun Chae-ni, played by Park Eun-bin, a young woman dismissed as Haeseong’s "biggest trainwreck." After a mysterious incident gives her supernatural abilities, Chae-ni is drawn into a bizarre mystery involving disappearances, suspicious townspeople and a widening conspiracy threatening the city. Alongside her is Lee Un-jeong, played by Cha Eun-woo, a socially awkward civil servant who unexpectedly becomes part of this accidental superhero squad. It is less Marvel and more, "what if a group of deeply confused neighbours suddenly had powers and no idea what to do with them?" That is also where the drama is at its strongest.

Director Yoo In-sik, who previously worked with Park Eun-bin on Extraordinary Attorney Woo, leans heavily into absurdity. The powers are flashy enough, but the series is far more interested in the emotional disorder around them. These characters argue, panic, make terrible decisions and stumble through extraordinary situations with very little superhero competence. That lack of polish gives the show a deliberately messy charm, even if it also leaves it struggling at times to balance comedy, mystery, action and emotional backstory.

Park Eun-bin anchors the series with another assured performance. Chae-ni could easily have become exhausting in less capable hands, but Park gives the character both loudness and vulnerability. Even when the drama tips into complete madness, she keeps Chae-ni grounded enough for the audience to stay with her. Whether the character is rushing headlong into danger or falling apart in the middle of chaos, Park brings emotional conviction to the role.

Cha Eun-woo takes a more restrained approach as Un-jeong, playing him as awkward, rigid and emotionally guarded. The character is sometimes underwritten beside Chae-ni, but Cha’s quieter performance works well as a counterpoint to Park’s more expansive energy.

The supporting cast adds further personality, with Kim Hae-sook, Choi Dae-hoon and Im Seong-jae supplying much of the comedy. Son Hyun-joo, meanwhile, gives the drama an unsettling antagonist whose calm, manipulative presence becomes one of the story’s more interesting elements.

Visually, The Wonderfools captures late-1990s nostalgia without relying on it as a crutch. The Y2K setting gives the show texture, from the fashion to the atmosphere of impending catastrophe hanging over the town. That anxiety mirrors the confusion of the characters effectively. Still, pacing remains a weakness.

At eight episodes, the series does not overstay its welcome, yet several stretches feel uneven. Some side plots linger longer than they should, while other emotional beats pass too quickly. More than once, the show seems unsure whether it wants to be a heartfelt character drama, a parody of superhero stories or a full-fledged mystery thriller.

Even so, it works best when it stops trying to do everything at once. The humour lands because the series never takes itself too seriously, and it understands that not every superhero story needs to feel epic. Sometimes, watching flawed people panic through extraordinary situations is enough.

The Wonderfools is a quirky, slightly messy and often charming superhero comedy led by a strong Park Eun-bin performance. It may not always control its own powers, but it delivers enough laughs, heart and chaos to appeal to viewers willing to go along with its weirdness.

The show has eight episodes and is currently streaming on Netflix.

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