'The Remarried Empress' Hits No. 1 in 12 Countries on Disney+

Disney+ K-drama "The Remarried Empress" is off to a strong start. Just one day after its premiere, the series reached No. 1 in 12 countries.

The show stars Shin Min-a, Ju Ji-hoon, Lee Se-young, and Lee Jong-suk. It also topped Disney+ rankings in South Korea.

As of Nov. 5, "The Remarried Empress" had reached the top spot on Disney+'s TV show chart in 12 countries, according to FlixPatrol, a site that tracks global streaming rankings. Those countries included South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Belgium, and Switzerland. The series also placed No. 7 on Disney+'s global TV show chart.

In South Korea, it took No. 1 on "Today's Top 10 in Korea," the chart featured within the Disney+ app. The result came despite some domestic skepticism over whether the cast could convincingly pull off the show's Western-style royal costumes and setting.

The first four episodes premiered on Nov. 3. The story centers on Navier (Shin Min-a), the empress of the Eastern Empire. Her husband, Emperor Sovieshu (Ju Ji-hoon), falls for Rashta (Lee Se-young), a runaway slave, and tells Navier he wants a divorce.

Navier agrees, but on one condition. She asks for approval to remarry Heinley (Lee Jong-suk), a prince of the Western Kingdom.

The series is a live-action romance fantasy based on the popular webtoon, digital comic, of the same name.

Navier fights to protect her dignity as empress and her future. Sovieshu, caught up in his feelings for Rashta, shakes up the life they have built together. Heinley pursues Navier openly. Rashta, meanwhile, makes no secret of wanting to raise her own status. The tangled ties among the four drive both the palace conflict and the romance.

All four opening episodes are streaming now on Disney+. Two new episodes will follow each week, for 10 episodes in total.

For a webtoon adaptation that faced doubts at home, the early rankings suggest the story has already found viewers well beyond South Korea.