Picture: Studio Dragon / tvN
Happiness (also known as Infectious Smile) is now available on Netflix in several new countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Latin America. The series is considered one of the best recent zombie series from South Korea.
Ahn Gil-ho and Han Sang-Woon created the series, which is headlined by Han Joo (Dong Yi), Park Hyung Sik (Doctor Slump), and Jo Woo-jin (Gangnam B-Side). The plot revolves around a special agent and a detective who has been investigating a mysterious new disease. They are locked in their apartment while a zombie apocalypse is ravaging the outside world, but it turns out the other residents sheltered in the apartment may be just as bad as what awaits them outside.
The series comes from Studio Dragon and tvN, two companies Netflix has carried dozens of shows over the past few years, but sadly, Netflix didn’t pick up this show during its initial run in the late months of 2021.
Some regions of Netflix have been lucky enough to have been able to stream the series for nearly a year (or two!) now. According to Unogscountries like the Czech Republic, Israel, India, Italy, Switzerland, South Korea, and Nordic regions first picked the show in late 2022 or 2023. Until now, the show has been exclusive to Rakuten’s Viki service in most regions (where it continues to stream alongside Netflix).
If you’re adding the new series to your queue, you’ll want to plan a watch within the next year, as our understanding is that this is on a tight one-year license, meaning the show will depart as soon as December 13th, 2025.
Picture: Studio Dragon
The series notably holds an 8.8 out of 10 on MyDramaListthe IMDb equivalent for Korean dramas. For comparison, that’s the same rating as Kingdomwidely considered one of the best zombie series ever. Certainly the best Netflix has ever produced anyway.
Happiness also has a strong rating on IMDb, with a 7.8 rating. One user wrote that the people in the story are scarier than the zombies, adding, “Thrilling and exciting, and I swear every episode is just so surprising, you won’t be able to stop watching it.”
Another, giving the show a 10/10, said, “It is so much more than just an apocalypse show. It subtly portrays the dark side of humanity and how we humans are so fragile in holding our sanity in difficult times.”
2025 is set to be a busy year for new zombie series from South Korea, with Netflix’s long-awaited follow-up All Of Us Are Dead expected to arrive (or at the very least get some significant updates after its filming postponement). There’s also the highly anticipated new series called Newtopia, starring Park Jeong Min and Kim Ji Soo, although that’s not currently expected to land on Netflix. Netflix also remains the home to Kingdom (which sadly doesn’t look like it’s ever coming back for a season 3) and zombieverse, which recently returned for its second season.
For a look ahead at all the new K-dramas heading your way throughout 2025, keep it locked here on What’s on Netflix. Will you be checking out Happiness on Netflix? Let us know in the comments down below.
