ViacomCBS Global Distribution Group, one of the world’s leading distributors of premium entertainment content, has entered into a licensing partnership with U-NEXT, Japan’s leading OTT player, to exclusively launch a selection of premium drama series from SHOWTIME, including Halo, Your Honor, City on a Hill and more.

Showtime Networks Inc. (a wholly-owned subsidiary of ViacomCBS with over 27 million subscribers), is internationally renowned for its high-quality premium original series and groundbreaking documentaries. U-NEXT has acquired six premium drama series from SHOWTIME (Your Honor, City on a Hill, Halo, Ripley, The First Lady (working title), Yellowjackets).

This year’s Golden Globe® nominated Your Honor (Bryan Cranston, Best Actor – Limited Series), “City on a Hill”, starring Golden Globe^® winner and Emmy^® nominee Kevin Bacon and Screen Actors Guild^® award winner Aldis Hodge, The First Lady (working title), which will feature dramatizations of Michelle Obama and other historical figures, and the epic sci-fi action Halo based on the video game franchise with over 81 million copies sold worldwide, are among the highly anticipated series that will premiere exclusively on U-NEXT.

Dan Cohen, President, ViacomCBS Global Distribution Group, said, “We are delighted to partner with Japan’s leading OTT service, U-NEXT to introduce an exclusive selection of critically acclaimed and highly anticipated SHOWTIME series to Japan. With its emphasis on providing premium entertainment to the Japanese market, U-NEXT is an ideal platform for SHOWTIME series, and we look forward to bringing these series to Japan.”

Tenshin Tsutsumi, CEO of U-NEXT, said: “We are thrilled to partner with ViacomCBS in introducing SHOWTIME content to our service. The evolving landscape in the streaming sector has created a huge demand for high-quality premium content, and we are delighted to partner with ViacomCBS to feature some of the best premium series from the internationally renowned SHOWTIME brand on U-NEXT.”

In addition to the premiere titles licensed from ViacomCBS Global Distribution Group, from Feb. 19 (Friday), viewers will also be able to enjoy a selection of popular original series including David Lynch’s masterpiece Twin Peaks as well as the 2017 SHOWTIME original Twin Peaks: A Limited Event Series.

Premiere titles

Your Honor (10 episodes), premieres Spring 2021

Starring Bryan Cranston (“Breaking Bad”), multiple award-winner and 2021 Golden Globe nominee for Best Actor – Limited Series, this legal thriller shattered viewership records for limited series with its premiere broadcast in the U.S.

Cast: Bryan Cranston, Michael Stuhlbarg, Carmen Ejogo, Hope Davis, Hunter Doohan, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Sofia Black-D’Elia

City on a Hill (10 episodes), premieres Spring 2021

Starring Golden Globe^® winner and Emmy^® nominee Kevin Bacon and Screen Actors Guild^® award winner Aldis Hodge, this acclaimed drama series set in the early 1990s centers on the unlikely alliance between an Assistant District Attorney and a corrupt yet venerated FBI veteran.

Cast: Kevin Bacon, Aldis Hodge, Jonathan Tucker, Mark O’Brien, Jill Hennessy, Lauren E. Banks, Amanda Clayton, Kevin Chapman, Jere Shea and guest star Sarah Shahi

Halo (9 episodes)

Based on the iconic Xbox® franchise, Halo’s epic universe and cast of characters come to life in this new original series. Halo reinvented how people think about video games and has grown into a global entertainment phenomenon, having sold over 81 million copies worldwide. In its adaptation for SHOWTIME, Halo weaves deeply drawn personal stories with action, adventure and a richly imagined vision of the future.

Cast: Pablo Schreiber, Natasha McElhone, Bokeem Woodbine, Shabana Azmi, Yerin Ha, Bentley Kalu, Natasha Culzac, Kate Kennedy, Danny Sapani, Olive Gray, Charlie Murphy and Jen Taylor

Ripley (8 episodes)

BAFTA® Award winner and “Fleabag” and “Sherlock” actor Andrew Scott stars in this series based on Patricia Highsmith’s bestselling quintet of Tom Ripley novels.

Cast: Andrew Scott

The First Lady (working title)

Oscar, Emmy and Tony® winner Viola Davis executive produces and stars in the new anthology series, told through the lens of the women at the heart of the White House. This series will peel back the curtain on the personal and political lives of three unique, enigmatic women, tracing their journeys to Washington through an enlightening intimacy, with season one focusing on Michelle Obama (Davis), Betty Ford (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Eleanor Roosevelt.

Cast: Viola Davis, Michelle Pfeiffer

Yellowjackets

Starring Melanie Lynskey, Oscar, Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Juliette Lewis, Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Christina Ricci, and Tawny Cypress, “Yellowjackets” is equal parts survival epic, psychological horror story and coming-of-age drama. It tells the saga of a team of wildly talented high school girls soccer players who become the (un)lucky survivors of a plane crash deep in the remote northern wilderness.

Cast: Melanie Lynskey, Christina Ricci, Juliette Lewis, Tawny Cypress, Ella Purnell, Sammi Hanratty, Sophie Thatcher, Sophie Nélisse, Steven Krueger and Jasmin Savoy Brown

Launching 19 February:

• Twin Peaks
• Twin Peaks: A Limited Event Series (2017) (exclusive on U-NEXT)
• Escape at Dannemora
• Californication
• The Loudest Voice
• Ray Donovan