Netflix has announced a slate of Japanese reality, comedy and dating shows in a bid to expand its footing in the unscripted content category in the country.
At the same time, in order to strengthen its base in key Asian markets, Netflix also revealed a set of new and renewed unscripted content aimed at both South Korean and Indian audiences in a showcase at its office in Seoul.
Speaking about the Japanese market, Dai Ota, Netflix’s Japan content manager, said that the American streaming giant is entering “ramping up our investments in unscripted and bringing new concepts to the screen.”
According to reports, Ota said that 70 per cent of primetime linear programming in Japan comprises reality, variety and dating shows with 15 new titles by Netflix in works in Japan.
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More about the Netflix showcase
Five Japanese reality shows announced by Netflix
The first of the five shows is Lighthouse. It will see Japanese musician-actor Gen Hoshino and comedian Masayasu Wakabayashi engaging in a conversation over a period of six months, through which viewers will be able to learn more about the lives of the entertainers, their struggles, personal stories, style and creativity. The show is set to premiere on 22 August.
Netflix is co-producing romance-themed reality show Is She The Wolf? with Japanese online broadcaster ABEMA. The show will see five men and five women trying to find love. But at least one of them is secretly the “wolf,” whose mission is to dupe contestants. It is set to stream from 3 September.
Love Like a K-Drama, another new show, is also about dating but featuring four Japanese female actors and four Korean male actors. They pair up and try to land lead roles in K-drama shows by doing intimate auditions. The show is set to air on 28 November.
The other two remaining shows are renewals. One of them is the second season of Love Village, in which contestants aged between 35 and 60 look for love. The other is Last One Standing, a comedy sketch show created by producer Nobuyuki Sakuma.
What are the Korean and Indian unscripted content?
The showcase also presented a slate of already announced unscripted Korean shows. Among them were zombie-themed reality show Zombieverse, which started streaming on 8 August, the second season of Physical: 100, third season of Singles Inferno and mind-game survival show The Devil’s Plan.
Indian unscripted shows that were presented at the event were the third season of The Fabulous Lives Of Bollywood Wives, a documentary about Indian rapper Honey Singh titled Yo Yo Honey Singh, and a show on the wedding of Indian actor Nayanthara to Vignesh titled Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale.
A documentary series The Hunt For Veerappan, which was released on 4 August, was also shown. The four-part true-crime documentary about notorious Indian bandit, sandalwood smuggler, elephant poacher and domestic terrorist Koose Munisamy Veerappan.
(Hero and Featured images: Netflix)
This story first appeared on Lifestyle Asia Singapore
