Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) is expanding its international content line-up with three new series from the Asia-Pacific market.
What Happened: According to a Variety report, the streaming service has given the green light to “Let’s Get Divorced,” a Japanese sitcom about a young politician and his actress wife who decided to end their marriage, only to find opposition from their parents and respective handlers.
The company is also bringing on the Australian “Boy Swallows Universe,” an adaptation of Trent Dalton’s novel about a child who received a mysterious message directing him to liberate his mother from prison.
Another new offering is the Chinese-language series “Copycat Killer,” a Taiwanese adaptation of the Japanese novel “Mohohan” by Miyabe Miyuki about a serial killer who manipulates the police and the media.
All three series are set to premiere in 2023.
See Also: Apple TV+ Orders Series Based On 1927 Sci-Fi Classic 'Metropolis'
Why It Matters: Netflix has already shown the crossover appeal of Asia-Pacific content through its 2021 presentation of the Korean series “Squid Game.” However, rival Disney+, the streaming service from Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:DIS), appears to be making greater content acquisition inroads within this region.
Disney+ plans to release more than 50 original Asia-Pacific productions by 2023, and the initial slate of titles originate from Australia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea and Taiwan. In October, it unveiled a line-up of more than 20 new content titles from Asia-Pacific content creators, including 18 original productions.
However, Netflix is not ready to cede the region to Disney. In late February, it released the South Korean dramas “Thirty-Nine” and “Juvenile Justice,” which both landed in Netflix’s Global Top 10 rankings.
And Netflix made history earlier this week at the Screen Actors Guild Awards as “Squid Game” became the first non-English language series to win in the television categories, with the Best Stunt Ensemble Award along with Lee Jung-jae as Best Male Actor in a Drama Series and Jung Ho-yeon won Best Female Actor in a Drama Series.
