A stolen name has turned into a global hit for Netflix. The Korean thriller Mousetrap reached No. 1 on the platform’s worldwide non-English TV chart for the week of August 31 through September 6, drawing 4.4 million views.
The 10-episode limited series pairs a novelist who has lost his identity with a loan shark who once pursued him. Their uneasy partnership gives the familiar doppelganger idea a modern target: the records, money, and public identity that allow a person to prove who they are.
- Netflix chart: No. 1 non-English TV series
- Measured week: August 31 to September 6, 2026
- Episode count: 10
What is Mousetrap about?
Je Moon-jae is a reclusive genius novelist who discovers that someone has taken his name, identity, and fortune. The person behind the theft is known as the Rat. With normal ways of proving himself failing, Moon-jae forms an alliance with Noja, a ruthless lender who has his own financial reason to find the truth.
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Detective Park Sun-yong investigates the connections among Moon-jae, Noja, and the Rat. Across the official episode descriptions, the story moves through identity laundering, a carefully staged trap, clues from Moon-jae’s past, and questions about whether the apparent victim understands his own history.
The series is based on the Kakao Entertainment webtoon Field Mouse. Its premise also draws on a Korean folk idea about a rat becoming human after eating a person’s clipped fingernails. That origin helps explain why the copy is more threatening than a simple lookalike. The Rat can occupy a life that once belonged to someone else.
The official episode guide shows the alliance changing as new links emerge among the three central men. Moon-jae follows recovered memories, Noja confronts his past, and Sun-yong searches for witnesses who can untangle the false identities. Those descriptions establish the chase without revealing the final answer.
Who stars in the series?
Je Moon-jae – Ryu Jun-yeol
Moon-jae is the reclusive novelist fighting to prove that the life claimed by the Rat belongs to him.
Noja – Sul Kyung-gu
Noja is the loan shark whose financial interest turns him into Moon-jae’s uneasy partner.
Lee Kyoo-hyung plays Detective Sun-yong. Kim Hong-sun directs, and Lee Jae-gon is credited as writer. Netflix first announced the project under the working English title The Rat.
All 10 episodes are available now, with running times generally close to an hour. Netflix classifies it as a dark psychological mystery and a thriller based on a webtoon.
Will there be another season?
Mousetrap is presented as a limited series. Netflix has not announced a second season or a continuation. Its current chart position shows strong immediate interest, but viewing numbers alone do not confirm a renewal.
The global ranking covers one measured week and may change when Netflix issues its next report. It confirms current audience interest, not long-term performance.
This guide avoids the final reveal. Viewers looking for the full answer can stream the completed season on Netflix.
For another Netflix story driven by concealed identities, read our The Secret Woman ending guide. You can also see why Desire climbed the Netflix global chart.
Does the stolen-identity premise put Mousetrap on your watchlist, and which character do you trust least? Let us know in the comments.
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