Nippon TV, Japan’s leading multiplatform entertainment powerhouse, announced today that the company will attend this year’s London TV Screenings and plans to exhibit at the inaugural MIP London by offering two new scripted formats and one new unscripted format to the international buyers in attendance. The announcement was made today by Yoko Takashima, Associate Managing Director, Content Business and Distribution, Nippon TV.
The Hot Spot (60 min. x 10eps.), is a sci-fi dramedy series from the creators of the award-winning hit series Rebooting. Written by Bakarhythm with award-winning director Itaru Mizuno set to direct whose credits include Issak, co-developed with ZDF Studios and Studio Zentral and a finalist for Series Mania Forum’s Co-Pro Pitch in March 2024, and How to be a Sensei, another co-developed script with Anyway Content, which was announced in October 2024.The Hot Spot began airing on Nippon TV from January 2025, with the first episode topping ratings among teenagers and female viewers (ages 35-49) and recording 2.68 million views on the national VOD platform TVer in its first week. The original version of The Hot Spot has been acquired by Netflix and is currently streaming, having ranked #1 on the ‘Top 10 TV Shows in Japan’.
The second scripted series is the romance drama Ensemble (60 min. x 10eps.), a legal love story that follows the journey of a realistic female lawyer and an idealistic male rookie lawyer. Ensemble premiered on Nippon TV in January 2025, with the first episode topping its time slot for female viewers (ages 35-49) and recording about 2 million views on TVer in its first week, with numbers continuing to rise.
The company will also be introducing one new unscripted game show format Funny Face Spy (60 min. eps.), where six contestant spies must outsmart high-tech facial recognition cameras by hilariously contorting their faces and tackling thrilling challenges to escape elimination.
“Our confidence in two new scripted formats is backed by their outstanding viewership performance in Japan. Having witnessed the massive success of Rebooting, we are thrilled to introduce The Hot Spot, the highly anticipated series from the same talented team to the global audience. Funny Face Spy takes the classic humor of ‘funny faces’ to the next level by integrating Nippon TV’s cutting-edge AI facial recognition technology, transforming it into an intuitive and story-driven format. Once you watch this video, you’ll find yourself making faces without even realizing it—it’s a non-verbal show that’s perfect for family viewing,” commented Takashima. “We are delighted to be participating in London TV Screenings as well as the very first MIP London to offer formats which we believe will capture attention from viewers across the globe and perhaps even from outer space.”
