Paramount+ boosts Korean content slate

Paramount+ revealed Thursday that it will be expanding its global Korean originals slate with the launch of two new series exclusively on the service in multiple regions around the world. Forthcoming K-dramas A Bloody Lucky Day and Queen Woo will be available on Paramount+ in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia, Latin America, Brazil, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. The two series are the latest projects developed by Paramount+ and Korean streamer TVING, as part of Paramount’s global partnership with Korean entertainment powerhouse CJ ENM.

The announcement comes amid some early success for Paramount+’s Korean originals, with Bargain, an upcoming K-drama from the company, winning the best screenplay prize at last night’s Canneseries Awards Ceremony in France. The service also revealed that recently launched Korean drama series Yonder has become its most-watched international series in the U.S. so far this year. Yonder, which stars Shin Ha-kyun and Han Ji-min, premiered globally on the service April 11, while Bargain will go live on Paramount+ this summer.

A Bloody Lucky Day is a thriller action series about an ordinary taxi driver Taek, who gets entangled with a customer that turns out to be a serial killer. The series is directed by Pil Gam-Sung (Hostage: Missing Celebrity) and written by Kim Min-sung and Song Hanna. It is produced by CJ ENM’s production house Studio Dragon, The Great Show and Studio N, and stars Lee Sung-min (Reborn Rich) as Oh Taek, the taxi driver; Yoo Yeon-seok (Hospital Playlist) as Geum Hyuk-soo, the psychopathic killer; and Lee Jung-eun (Parasite, Yonder) as Hwang Soon-gyu, the relentless chaser.

Queen Woo is a period drama series directed by Jung Se-kyo (Oh! My Gran) and written by Lee Byoung-hak (The Royal Tailor). It follows the story of Queen Woo Hee, the first woman in history to become queen twice, as she embarks on a journey to inherit the throne amidst a fierce battle between all the tribes owned by the late King’s brothers. TVING recently announced that Jun Jong-seo (Bargain) will play Queen Woo, with additional castmembers to be revealed at a later date.

“We are incredibly proud of our Korean content that is finally taking the global stage, engaging viewers and fans on Paramount+ and beyond,” said Catherine Park, senior vp and head of streaming and regional lead for Asia at Paramount. “The addition of A Bloody Lucky Day and Queen Woo strengthens our global content offering, and we look forward to bringing more original Korean content to our viewers worldwide.” The Hollywood Reporter