Japanese broadcaster Nippon TV and Korean studio CJ ENM described how they’re combining the strengths of their respective industries to create drama series that can appeal to global audiences, during a TIFFCOM presentation.
The two broadcast giants worked together on ten-part series Merry Berry Love, which started streaming worldwide on Disney+ on October 7. The series stars Korea’s Ji Chang Wook (The Worst Of Evil), playing a spatial designer, and Japan’s Mio Imada (Tokyo Revengers), playing a strawberry farmer, who find love on a remote Japanese island.
Shinji Enari, Nippon TV’s Executive Vice President, Content Business, explained how the show marks the first time the company has worked with CJ ENM: “We delegated leadership to CJ ENM and have been supporting the production while following their lead”.
Directed by Kim Soojung (Semantic Error) and written by Lee Jaeyoon (Divorce Insurance), Merry Berry Love was developed and produced by CJ ENM and co-produced by Nippon TV. Weekly episodes are streaming on Disney+ immediately following linear broadcast on Nippon TV in Japan.
Disney+ reports that, just 14 days following launch, the show is the number one most viewed Japanese live-action title premiere on Disney+ globally in 2026, and the number one most viewed Japanese title premiere in the APAC region.
Giyoung Choi, CEO of CJ ENM Japan, said the cooperation made sense because Korean companies have many years experience in distributing dramas globally, while Japan has previously been stronger in format sales.
“Nippon TV wants to offer Japanese drama to the global market by taking advantage of our expertise in this area,” said Choi, who is of Korean origin and speaks fluent Japanese. He then outlined some of the differences between the Korean and Japanese drama industries.
“The way the Korean industry approaches the task is different. In Korea, they think about how to be successful, but in Japan they think more about how to avoid mistakes and failures. One approach is not better than the other; they are just different.
“The key is to try to reach out to each other to understand the good points of the Korean and the Japanese systems. At first, Japanese and Korean staff face some communication difficulties, but by observing each other, we can learn how to work together successfully. And based on the experience we gained working on this show, we’re really looking forward to working on more joint productions.”
Korea-Japan collaborations on drama series is a growing trend with multiple shows recently combining actors, crew, storylines and locations from both markets. Other recent examples include Netflix crime thriller Blue Road, based on a manhwa about detectives in Korea and Japan tracking down a serial killer committing murders in both countries; and Fuji TV’s Kidnap Game, a thriller with talent and production partners from Japan, Korea and Hong Kong.
Also in the TIFFCOM presentation, Nippon TV presented the 11 unscripted shows that have been produced by Gyokuro Studio over the past year, including Love On The Menu, Never Look Back, Majority Rules, Ultra Mission, Mega Catch and Secret Little Assistant.
Launched in June 2025, Gyokuro Studio was established to produce unscripted shows targeting global format sales. Nippon TV has also opened a Los Angeles office to expand its global infrastructure, which also includes outposts in New York, London, Amsterdam, China and Southeast Asia.
Gyokuro Studio head Ken Akiyama said: “We’ve had offers from multiple companies for shows including Majority Rules, Ultra Mission and Never Look Back. We thought this would take more time, but we’re negotiating multiple contracts within one year of launching the studio.”
TIFFCOM is running for three days (October 28-30) at the Tokyo Metropolitan Industrial Trade Center in Hamamatsucho.
