Paramount+ adds three Korean dramas, completing CJ ENM co-development commitment

Bargain

Paramount+ has commissioned three new South Korean original series, completing the seven-title commitment struck with CJ ENM and its streaming platform TVING in 2021.

The new shows, Dongjae, The Good Or The Bastard, Dreaming Of Cinde Fxxxing Rella and Pyramid Game, will launch exclusively on the service in the US, Canada, UK, Australia, Latin America, Brazil, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. This latest batch of Korean titles follows the Paramount+ and TVING orders for Yonder, Bargain, A Bloody Lucky Day and Queen Woo.

Paramount+ entered Asia last year with a partnership with TVING, through which existing subscribers gained access to Paramount+ content at no additional cost. The alliance also covered the development of original series for both services, with resulting shows licensed by Paramount Global Content Distribution outside of Korea, Japan and Taiwan.

“Fruitful results” of CJ ENM partnership

Produced by Studio Dragon and Ace Factory, Dongjae, The Good Or The Bastard is a spin-off of the thriller series Stranger, and will revolve around one of its characters – Seo Dongjae, whose future is bleak due to the stigma of his past corruption as a sponsor prosecutor.

In the spin-off series, Dongjae takes on the murder case of a high school girl, and begins to walk a dangerous tightrope between his intuition as a prosecutor and his instinct as an opportunist. The series is created by Lee Su-yeon, who wrote the first two seasons of Stranger. It is directed by Park Gun Ho and written by Hwang Hajung and Kim Sangwon.

Dreaming Of Cinde Fxxxing Rella is a “hybrid” romantic comedy created by Baek Mi-kyoung about a woman whose dream is to become Cinderella because of her harsh reality. She meets a Prince Charming who doesn’t believe in love, and through the conflicts they face, she matures into becoming Princess Charming herself. The series is directed by Kim Min-kyeong, written by Yu-ja, and produced by CJ ENM, Story Phoenix and KeyEast.

Meanwhile, Pyramid Game, from Film Monster and CJ ENM Studios, is created by JQ Lee, directed by BaK So Yeon and written by Choi Sui. It follows a high school girl who escaped being bullied by becoming a “sniper” to end the game in Baekyeon Girls’ High School, where each person is graded through monthly voting, and an ‘F’ grade is labeled as a legitimate victim of school violence.

“On the heels of Bargain’s recent success in attracting a great interest from various international markets, we’re excited to announce that more Korean content will travel globally through Paramount+,” said Catherine Park, Paramount’s SVP, head of streaming & regional lead, Asia.

“We take great pride in witnessing the fruitful results of our partnership with TVING and CJ ENM, and we will continue to work closely with them to ensure utmost success for all our co-produced Korean originals.”