Written and directed by Lee Byeong-heon

Developed by Studio N

A Bizarre, Brilliant, and Utterly Unclassifiable Ride

Right away, it’s clear that Chicken Nugget is a polarizing show. Some will dismiss it as absurd nonsense; others will celebrate it as a stroke of surreal genius. The truth is, both perspectives hold weight—and that paradox is precisely what makes it so intriguing. Love it or hate it, this is not a series you’ll forget. Writer-director Lee Byeong-heon has crafted something that defies easy categorization, embracing both the ridiculous and the unexpectedly profound.

Adapted from the webtoon Dakgangjeong, Netflix’s latest sci-fi comedy kicks off with an existential dilemma so absurd that even Nietzsche might have pondered it: What is it like to live as a chicken nugget? It’s a premise that sounds like a punchline, yet beneath its surface-level absurdity, the show explores themes of identity, longing, and the relentless absurdity of existence itself.

This series thrives on its unpredictability. One moment, it’s a slapstick comedy brimming with pop-culture parodies. Some highlights include characters getting annoyed during flashback scenes and a parody of Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar. The next, it shifts into unexpected pockets of sincerity, touching on love, ambition, corporate disillusionment, and the strange, bittersweet process of growing older. Along the way, you’ll encounter everything from intentionally over-the-top fight scenes to bizarre alien encounters, fourth-wall breaks, and debates about pineapple on pizza. It even detours into a full-fledged 19th-century period drama at one point—because, why not?

Yet, for all its surreal humor and playful nonsense, Chicken Nugget has heart. Beneath the layers of eccentricity, it taps into something deeply human—the way we cling to connections, chase dreams despite the odds, and wrestle with the absurdity of life itself. Whether you find it brilliantly inventive or utterly ridiculous, one thing is certain: it dares to be different. And in a landscape where so much feels predictable, that in itself is something worth celebrating.

Image courtesy of Netflix