The series was released on January 28, 2022, on Netflix.[5][6] Following its release, the series was watched over 474.26 million hours in its first 30 days on the service.[7] On June 6, 2022, the series was renewed for a second season.[8]
The second season of the series is expected to be released in 2026.[9]
Synopsis
In the South Korean city of Hyosan, a hopeless science teacher enacts a horrific experiment, causing a local high school to be overrun with zombies. As the outbreak spreads to the city, and the beleaguered authorities struggle to contain it, a group of trapped students must band together and use their wits in order to survive and reach safety.
A gang of bullies corner Hyosan High student Lee Jin-su on the rooftop of a building. He tries to fight them off, but is pushed off the roof and left hospitalized. He vows revenge against his bullies before suddenly turning into a zombie, prompting his father, Lee Byeong-chan, to smuggle his body home. Several days later, Kim Hyeon-ju, one of Jin-su's bullies, is bitten by an infected hamster in the school's science lab. Byeong-chan, a science teacher at the school, witnesses this and locks her inside the lab. She escapes the next day, though now infected and delirious, and bites school nurse Kim Kyung-mi before being transported to the hospital. Police arrive at the school and arrest Byeong-chan. Shortly after, Kyung-mi turns into a zombie and attacks several students, triggering a viral outbreak within the school.
2
"Episode 2"
January 28, 2022 (2022-01-28)
Childhood best friends Nam On-jo and Lee Cheong-san flee the cafeteria as zombies overrun the school. They take refuge in classroom 2-5 with other surviving classmates, including Lee Su-hyeok, Yoon I-sak, Han Gyeong-su, Lee Na-yeon, Yang Dae-su, Oh Joon-yeong, Kim Ji-min, Jang Woo-jin, Seo Hyo-ryung, Kim Min-ji, and class president Choi Nam-ra. An infected teacher enters the classroom and bites Min-ji after transforming, forcing the group to flee into another classroom. Along the way, I-sak is also bitten, and, after transforming, attacks On-jo, forcing Cheong-san to push her out of a window. The students fashion a fire hose into a makeshift ladder to descend to the broadcast room, where they reunite with their homeroom teacher, Ms. Park. Meanwhile, school bully Yoon Gwi-nam hides in the cafeteria kitchen. Archery club members Jang Ha-ri and Jung Min-jae take refuge with Yoo Jun-seong and Park Mi-jin in a restroom. At the hospital, a zombified Hyeon-ju bites several others, leading to a rapid citywide infection.
3
"Episode 3"
January 28, 2022 (2022-01-28)
Gyeong-su is scratched while fighting off a zombie and isolates himself in another room when Na-yeon accuses him of infection. Despite showing no initial symptoms, Na-yeon antagonizes him while pretending to apologize and tending to his scratch with her handkerchief. Gyeong-su suddenly transforms and attacks Cheong-san, throwing himself out of a window in the process. Nam-ra reveals that Na-yeon caused Gyeong-su's infection by using her handkerchief smeared with zombie blood to touch Gyeong-su's scratch. The group condemns Na-yeon, causing her to storm out into the halls, with Ms. Park following her. Meanwhile, Gwi-nam betrays several survivors to zombies to escape the kitchen. Cheong-san's mother heads to the school to search for her son. Elsewhere, firefighter and On-jo's father, Nam So-ju, along with his crew, assemblywoman Park Eun-hee, and other government officials are trapped inside a government building. Park Hee-su, a pregnant student, gives birth in a public bathroom stall. She flees with the baby but is bitten and hides inside Cheong-san's family restaurant, tying herself out of reach from the baby as she turns. The outbreak prompts government forces, under the command of Jin Seon-moo, to declare martial law and initiate the evacuation of survivors.
4
"Episode 4"
January 28, 2022 (2022-01-28)
Cheong-san's mother arrives at the school but is quickly surrounded and killed by zombies, among them the zombified Gyeong-su. Police detective Song Jae-ik interrogates Byeong-chan, who admits to creating the virus, known as the "Jonas Virus," in an attempt to empower Jin-su against his bullies. This proved ineffective, however, as Jin-su turned into a zombie and infected his mother as well. Suddenly, a horde of zombies swarms the police station. Byeong-chan, who is bitten, informs Jae-ik that his research on a cure is on his laptop in the school's science lab. He sacrifices himself to the horde, allowing Jae-ik and rookie officer Jeon Ho-chul to escape. At the school, Su-hyeok and Cheong-san retrieve a smartphone from the staff room and encounter Min Eun-ji, a school outcast who was bitten but has not turned. They are separated by zombies; Su-hyeok returns to the broadcast room while Cheong-san is forced to flee with the phone. Cheong-san hides in the principal's office, where he witnesses Gwi-nam killing the principal before fleeing again with Gwi-nam in pursuit. Meanwhile, So-ju, his surviving crew, and the government officials are evacuated.
5
"Episode 5"
January 28, 2022 (2022-01-28)
Cheong-san and Gwi-nam fight atop a bookshelf in the school library. Cheong-san gouges Gwi-nam's left eye before pushing him down into a horde of zombies. He escapes into a vent and tries to call for help using the smartphone, but finds that all communications have been cut off by the government to manage the crisis. Meanwhile, Joon-yeong and On-jo retrieve a drone from the science lab to search for Cheong-san. As they pilot the drone outside, they find much of the city in ruins. Ha-ri, Min-jae, Jun-seong, and Mi-jin head to the school clinic, only to discover that all internet connections have also been severed. Jae-ik and Ho-chul take refuge in Cheong-san's family restaurant and rescue Hee-su's baby. So-ju and his group arrive at a military encampment, but military officials forbid him from leaving to search for On-jo. Gwi-nam, having survived his injuries and retained human consciousness despite being bitten, vows revenge on Cheong-san.
6
"Episode 6"
January 28, 2022 (2022-01-28)
The students broadcast music throughout the school to distract the zombies while they meet up with Cheong-san. Gwi-nam pursues them, revealing superhuman strength as he attacks Su-hyeok and bites Nam-ra, and is eventually pushed out of a window. The students retreat inside the music room. Cheong-san, who is responsible for Gwi-nam's infection, argues that Nam-ra is infected, but she remains human and does not turn. On-jo suggests that she, Gwi-nam, and Eun-ji developed a form of immunity to the virus. Unbeknownst to them, Na-yeon is hiding inside a nearby locked storage room stocked with food. At the restaurant, Jae-ik and Ho-chul rescue a young girl named Se-bin. So-ju escapes the encampment and sets off towards the school to rescue On-jo.
7
"Episode 7"
January 28, 2022 (2022-01-28)
Soldier Lee Jae-joon is bitten and turns into a zombie during a clearing mission. Researchers use his infected body for examination. As Nam-ra's infection grows stronger, she begins to crave human flesh and gains acute hearing, vision and smell. She and Su-hyeok confess their feelings for each other and kiss. The students flee to the rooftop, only to find the door locked from outside by fellow student and school outcast Kim Cheol-soo. They fend off waves of zombies and Gwi-nam, who survived the fall. Jae-ik, Ho-chul, and the children escape the restaurant on a moped and find another survivor: a live streamer called "Orangibberish". However, Ho-chul rides off with the children when zombies approach them, leaving Jae-ik and Orangibberish behind.
8
"Episode 8"
January 28, 2022 (2022-01-28)
Nam-ra's infection grants her incredible strength, allowing her to throw Gwi-nam down the stairs. Eun-ji sets the staff room on fire before wandering off, activating the fire alarm and finally unlocking the rooftop doors. The students are too late, however, as a rescue helicopter has left with only Cheol-soo. They build a distress signal sign using sticks and planks before later gathering around a campfire. Cheong-san reveals his feelings for On-jo, which upsets her. Jae-ik and Orangibberish are rescued by Ho-chul, who returns with a bus and the two children. They are found and evacuated by the military, who also evacuate Eun-ji. Flashbacks reveal that Ms. Park was bitten while saving Na-yeon, who now seeks to atone for her actions. She stocks up on food to give to the group and makes her way to the rooftop, but is found and killed by Gwi-nam, who plots another attack on the students.
9
"Episode 9"
January 28, 2022 (2022-01-28)
Gwi-nam climbs to the rooftop and attacks the students, but Nam-ra's strength allows her to overpower him once more, pushing him off the roof. Jae-ik reveals to the military that Byeong-chan's laptop, believed to contain the cure, is located at the school. A dispatch team goes to retrieve the laptop and prepares to rescue the students. However, Eun-ji goes berserk at the encampment and bites Cheol-soo. She is promptly captured and examined, resulting in sudden orders to classify all survivors as asymptomatic; ergo, the dispatch team is forced to abandon the students, much to the students' dismay. A loud thunderstorm ensues, hampering the zombies' ability to hear and smell. Both surviving groups at the school decide to use this advantage for another escape. The rooftop group makes their way to the ground floor, where a horrified Cheong-san finds his reanimated mother.
10
"Episode 10"
January 28, 2022 (2022-01-28)
Cheong-san's cries attract the attention of nearby zombies, forcing the students to flee. Ji-min is separated from the group and is quickly killed. The students join Ha-ri's group at the gym but soon find themselves surrounded by zombies. As Min-jae rashly flees outside, Jun-seong sacrifices himself to allow everyone to hide in the equipment room. The following morning, Cheong-san and On-jo reconcile, promising to discuss their relationship once they reach safety. The students use metal carts to form a mobile barricade in order to safely reach the gym's back exit. However, Joon-yeong's hand is bitten through a gap in the barricade, and he climbs over it to fend off the zombies before turning. So-ju, finally arriving at the school, comes to their rescue. Meanwhile, researchers deduce that the virus' adaptability and the irreversible state of its victims make a cure impossible. Commander Jin authorizes the bombing of Hyosan.
11
"Episode 11"
January 28, 2022 (2022-01-28)
Escaping the gym, On-jo finally reunites with her father, but the group is forced to flee again from approaching zombies. So-ju diverts the zombies away, sacrificing himself to allow the students to reach a nearby construction site, where they take cover on a scaffold. At the archery center, Gwi-nam presses Min-jae about the group's whereabouts before biting him and leaving him to turn. The military then deploys sound-emitting drones to draw zombies from all over the city to select bombing locations, including Hyosan High. As the students attempt another escape, they are ambushed by Gwi-nam, who bites Cheong-san in his left arm. Cheong-san pushes him off the scaffolding, and knowing he will inevitably turn, kisses and embraces On-jo before rushing away to distract the zombies, allowing the others to escape the school safely. He is attacked by Gwi-nam, and the two fight in a final showdown, culminating in Gwi-nam gouging Cheong-san's left eye to fulfill his revenge. The bombs are activated, instantly wiping out thousands of zombies and seemingly killing Cheong-san and Gwi-nam in the explosion. Commander Jin commits suicide out of regret for authorizing the bombings.
12
"Episode 12"
January 28, 2022 (2022-01-28)
On-jo mourns her father and Cheong-san's deaths. The students reach an evacuated neighborhood, where they fight off a horde of zombies that evaded the bombings. Woo-jin is bitten while saving Ha-ri, forcing Nam-ra to kill him after he turns. As they flee the city, her cravings for human flesh become uncontrollable, and she nearly bites On-jo. Fearing her own impulses, she strays from the group and disappears. The surviving students—On-jo, Su-hyeok, Dae-su, Hyo-ryung, Mi-jin, and Ha-ri—arrive at a military checkpoint and are finally rescued. Four months later, the government lifts martial law in Hyosan but maintains quarantine measures for the survivors in an encampment. Noticing a campfire on the school rooftop from afar, the group sneaks out to investigate. They joyfully reunite with Nam-ra, who appears surprisingly well. She reveals that there are other half-zombie survivors like herself, before leaping off the roof to join them.
Production
Season 1
On April 12, 2020, Netflix announced through a press release that JTBC Studios and Film Monster would produce a series called All of Us Are Dead based on the popular webtoonNow at Our School.[41][42] On April 19, 2020, Yoon Chan-young was confirmed to star in the series as one of the students.[43]Park Ji-hu joined the main cast on April 22.[44] On July 1, they were officially joined by Cho Yi-hyun, Lomon and Yoo In-soo.[45] In selecting the cast, director Lee Jae-kyoo said, "I thought that bringing on actors who were great at acting but still unknown to the public would add to the immersion of the series".[46]
In April 2024, Park Chul-soo, the CEO of Film Monster, announced that the filming period was scheduled for 2024 and the premiere of the second season is set to take place in the second half of 2025.[9]
Netflix decided to postpone the filming schedule to 2025 for better production environment and high quality completeness.[48]
Reception
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 89% based on 27 reviews, with an average rating of 7.1/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "While All of Us Are Dead loses some of its bite with an overlong season, its emotional grounding puts plenty of meat on the bone."[49]Metacritic gave it a weighted average score of 67 out of 100 based on reviews from 5 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[50]
IGN rated the series a 7 out of 10 and noted that the series was "clever, thrilling, and also... a bit exhausting."[51]Variety praised the series, stating it "makes the most out of its nightmarish central location to otherworldly, dizzying effect."[52] The series received generally positive reviews for its performances, screenplay, and action sequences, although its long runtime was criticized.[53]
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