Netflix Releasing First Of Its Kind Reality Series
Despite cracking down on password sharing last spring, Netflix subscriber growth is plateauing in the West, forcing the streaming platform to look for new innovative ways to boost its net profit. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the streaming platform has decided to do this by building its presence in Japan—a vital international growth market and the third largest economy in the world (following the United States and China). After discovering that Reality TV is incredibly popular in the Japanese market, Netflix is unveiling a lineup of five reality, variety, and dating TV series during an event held at its offices in Seoul, South Korea.
Netflix is breaking into the Japanese market with an influx of shows in the country’s most popular genre: reality television.
The new slate of shows spotlights Netflix’s commitment to diversify its content offerings and capture the attention of Japanese audiences. Is She the Wolf? and Love Like a K-Drama are two eccentric dating shows included in the new content the studio will soon produce. A comedy-variety show called Lighthouse is also in production, as well as the second seasons of the comedy-competition show, Last One Standing and the middle-aged dating show Love Village.
Dai Ota, Netflix’s Japan content manager, expressed enthusiasm for the company’s new content strategy, which focuses on ramping up investments in unscripted programming. Ota shared that Netflix aims to boost unscripted television creation and tell high-quality and captivating stories from the imaginative voices of Japan.
Highlighting the significance of unscripted content in Japan, Ota emphasized that approximately 70 percent of primetime linear programming in the country comprises reality, variety, and dating shows. Netflix currently has 15 such titles in development, emphasizing the company’s commitment to catering to local tastes and preferences.
Netflix often tailors content to specific regions, but the new slate of Japanese reality television is one of the largest investments of this type in the company’s history.
Japan’s thriving economy and strong per-user revenues make it an attractive market for streaming services. The country offers ample room for both local and international subscription video platforms to expand their subscriber base, with cord-cutting gaining traction relatively recently. According to Media Partners Asia, Netflix had 7.2 million subscribers in Japan during the first quarter of 2023, constituting a 15 percent share of the premium SVOD market.
The first title from Netflix’s new slate, Lighthouse, is set to premiere on August 22. The show presents an intimate and unprecedented conversation between musician-actor Gen Hoshino and comedian Masayasu Wakabayashi, who share their personal stories, struggles, and fears over a six-month period.
Is She the Wolf? is scheduled to launch on Netflix on September 3, introducing a unique twist to the dating show genre. Contestants seeking love will be confronted with a surprise “wolf,” an imposter who aims to deceive other participants with a false romance while keeping their true identity concealed.
The Netflix exclusive Japanese reality shows will be slowly rolling out over the next few months, starting with Lighthouse in a few weeks.
On November 28, audiences can look forward to Netflix’s Love Like a K-Drama, a hybrid series that merges Japanese romance’s popularity with Korean dramas’ global appeal. The show features four Japanese actresses and four Korean actors paired together for auditions involving romantic kissing scenes.
Finally, the second season of Last One Standing is set to launch on Netflix on October 10, bringing back its exhilarating comedy competition, while details about the upcoming episodes of Love Village are eagerly anticipated.
