Korea’s first mainstream erotic film, Madame Aema, debuted in 1982.  Director Lee Hae-young’s (Believer, Phantom) first television series, Aema, is a comedic retelling of the behind-the-scenes drama that threatened to halt production of the controversial film. What starts as a feud between veteran actor Jeong Hee-ran (Lee Hanee) and feisty, young ingenue Shin Ju-ae (Bang Hyo-rin) turns into a watershed moment for women working in the seedy underbelly of Korea’s male-dominated film industry. The period piece also stars Jin Sun-kyu as Ku Jung-ho, the sleazy CEO of Madame Aema’s production company, and Cho Hyun-chul as Kwak In-u, the film’s rookie director.