Nippon TV to air Korean version of Mother
Details
Michelle Clancy
| 16 February 2019

Nippon TV has acquired the rights for the Japan broadcast of the South Korean drama series Mother, depicting modern women who, as their lives unfold, take the time to reflect on themselves to find a new way of living.

The Korean-language version is a remake of Nippon TV’s original drama series of the same name. The remake will air on Nittele Plus, a channel operated by Nippon TV group company CS Nippon Corporation. Nittele Plus will air the original Japanese version in its entirety as well as all episodes of the South Korean remake.

“Binge-watching to compare the original with the remake is extremely popular on pay-TV platforms,” the company noted.

Immediately after the original version finished airing in Japan, Nippon TV secured a remake deal with CJ ENM, a major broadcasting, production, and distribution company in South Korea. The remake, which has different romantic elements and a different ending from the original, was produced by CJ ENM subsidiary Studio Dragon and broadcast on the tvN channel in January 2018, reaching fans all over Asia, according to the company. Moreover, in 2016, Mother was remade as Anne in Turkey, where it became a hit, and then went on to air in over 32 countries. Going forward, another remake deal is sealed for Ukraine.

“I was absolutely surprised when I heard that CJ ENM wanted to buy the scripted format rights to Mother immediately after it was broadcast in Japan,” said Hisashi Tsugiya, producer at the Production Division at Nippon TV.

“They went on to work meticulously on the story of the remake so when I found out that it would air in 2018, I was really excited to see how it turned out. I had the honour of attending the 1 Cannes International Series Festival (CANNESERIES 2018) where over 2,000 people attended the screening, and I saw first-hand how the viewers were captivated by the drama.”

He added, “There was a woman crying behind me and our eyes happened to meet. She said, ‘I have the same past as the lead character. I really empathise with the story. It’s great.’ I am very happy it will be shown in full in Japan and I would be honoured if many people would tune in to see it.”