Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Dustin Rowles | TV | August 13, 2025
Prime Video has carved out a niche in the crime-spy-espionage “Dad TV” lane with shows like Jack Ryan, Reacher, The Terminal List, and — less successfully — Citadel. Butterfly is its newest entry, and I’d rank it well ahead of Jack Ryan but still a step behind Reacher.
Based on the graphic novel series by Arash Amel, Butterfly follows David Jung (Daniel Dae Kim), a former U.S. intelligence operative now living in South Korea. A decade earlier, he and fellow spy Juno (Piper Perabo) ran a private intel outfit until a mission went sideways, forcing Dave to fake his death so his family wouldn’t be targeted.
Fast-forward to the present: Dave’s been off the grid, but he resurfaces to protect his daughter, Rebecca (Reina Hardesty), now 23 and working as Juno’s protégé. Rebecca’s latest mission? Eliminate an operative, only she discovers it’s her supposedly dead father. She joins forces with him, and the rest of the series is a relentless pursuit as Juno tries to track them down and finish the job.
That’s the basic premise, but what gives Butterfly its pulse — beyond the near-constant cat-and-mouse action — is Dave’s attempt to mend fences with his furious, estranged daughter while introducing her to his new family, which she wants no part of. Meanwhile, Perabo’s Juno mostly lurks in a mission-control-style command center, barking orders.
On paper, it’s straightforward, even generic. In execution, it could have sunk into the same abyss where the $300 million Bezos spent on Citadel now rests. But Kim and Hardesty elevate it. Kim is effortlessly magnetic as the cool, compassionate dad who’s also a lethal spy. Hardesty channels the energy of a rebellious, petulant teen with fierce fighting skills. Their chemistry — and our investment in them — keeps the endless chase sequences from feeling empty. You don’t want either of them to die, and you understand the ruthless machinery of Juno’s operation.
Butterfly isn’t brilliant television, but it’s a tight, engaging spy thriller. It’s got more personality than Jack Ryan and absolutely smokes The Terminal List, even if it lacks the cheeky fun of Reacher. At just six episodes, it’s the perfect August binge — cool, fast, and over before it wears out its welcome.
