Cannes, France & Tokyo, Japan – On the first day of MIPCOM, Nippon Television Network Corporation (Nippon TV), currently ranked as the #1 TV broadcaster in Japan for the past three consecutive years, announced that CJ E&M, Asia’s leading content and media company headquartered in Korea, has acquired the format rights to their award-winning drama series Mother (11 x 60’) and will be remaking the series in Korea.
The drama remake is set to air beginning January 2018 on CJ E&M’s general entertainment channel, tvN. The series, also titled Mother in Korean, will star the popular Korean actress Lee Bo Young and will be directed by Kim Chul Kyu, based on a script by Jeong Seo-Gyeong. The deal marks the first time that CJ E&M, known for their hit dramas and original content, will remake a Nippon TV drama. The announcement was made jointly today by Mr. Atsushi Hatayama, President of International Business Development for Nippon TV, and Mr. Jang-ho Seo, the General Manager of CJ E&M’s Global Content Business Division.
“Having announced last year our deal for the Turkish format of Mother (ANNE) which has been a ratings success in Turkey, it is an honour to be unveiling our new venture with CJ E&M for the Korean version of Mother. We are striving to continually advance Nippon TV’s positon in overseas markets and this deal, which we are confident will be a tremendous hit in Korea thanks to the great team at CJ E&M, is further evidence of our continued growth and expansion around the world, “commented Mr. Hatayama.
“Mother has a great storyline that has already proved successful in other global remake versions, including the mega hit in Turkey. We are confident that the Korean version of Mother by CJ E&M will also be able to capture the hearts of not only Korean viewers, but also international audience,” added Mr. Seo.
Nippon TV has had prior success with three of their scripted formats being remade as Korean dramas. The titles were all originally great hits in Japan, including I’m Mita, Your Housekeeper, The Pride of the Temp, and The Queen’s Classroom. Mother’s deal marks the first time in almost five years that Nippon TV’s drama will be remade and aired in Korea.
