The newly released Thai series Mad Unicorn, based on the true story of Thailand's first unicorn startup, has been generating social buzz, appearing among the top searches on Google and remaining the number one trending title on Netflix Thailand following its premiere on Thursday.
Produced by Thailand's leading film studio GDH 559, Mad Unicorn features seven episodes. The plot centres on Santi Saelee, a fiercely determined young man from the North who rises from humble beginnings to escape his street life. He launches a startup delivery business, Thunder Express, which brings him both opportunities and powerful enemies.
"Fight like underdogs. Rise as unicorns," reads the series' tagline.
The series was partly inspired by the real story of Komsan Lee, founder of Thailand's first unicorn startup, Flash Express. He was also named the Bangkok Post CEO of 2021.
Since its release on the streaming platform on Thursday, the series quickly became the most watched in Thailand and sparked discussions on social media, with various background stories covered by media outlets.
Most comments from netizens, using hashtags #MadUnicorn and #สงครามส่งด่วน on X, formerly Twitter, described the series as fierce and intense, keeping viewers glued to watch all episodes in one sitting.
The actor most talked about was Natara "Ice" Nopparatayaporn, who portrayed Santi.
As the character Santi is a Thai entrepreneur fluent in Chinese, Ice learned the language in just two months and was able to perform a two-page monologue in Chinese with a natural accent and authentic acting, according to an interview during the series launch event.
Leading actor Natara “Ice” Nopparatayaporn in the set of Mad Unicorn. (Photo: Netflix)
The series was directed by Nottapon "Kai" Boonprakob, known for One for the Road (2021), Come and See (2019) and a documentary on Thai rock singer Artiwara "Toon Bodyslam" Kongmalai's charity marathon 2,215 (2018).
Production of Mad Unicorn took nearly four years, said the director.
The series is now streaming on Netflix, with English soundtrack and subtitles available in many other languages.
