Paramount+ Expands Global Korean Content Slate Amidst Growing Success of Originals

PARAMOUNT+ EXPANDS GLOBAL KOREAN CONTENT SLATE AMIDST GROWING SUCCESS OF ORIGINALS

DONGJAE, THE GOOD OR THE BASTARD; 

DREAMING OF CINDE FXXXING RELLA, and PYRAMID GAME

Named as Three Additional Titles from Partnership with CJ ENM

September 27, 2023 – Paramount+ today announced the expansion of its global Korean originals slate, revealing that three new series DONGJAE, THE GOOD OR THE BASTARD; DREAMING OF CINDE FXXXING RELLA, and PYRAMID GAME will launch exclusively on the service in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia, Latin America, Brazil, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. The latest batch of Korean shows completes all seven titles committed by Paramount+ and TVING, following YONDER, BARGAIN, A BLOODY LUCKY DAY and QUEEN WOO, as part of Paramount’s global partnership with leading entertainment company CJ ENM. 

Paramount+ is enjoying the growing success of its global Korean originals. YONDER, the first title announced from the partnership, aired on Paramount+ internationally in April and was the #1 international series in the US at premiere. The highly-acclaimed series BARGAIN has already picked up two international accolades, crowned ‘Best Screenplay’ at the Canneseries Awards Ceremony, and winning the Critics' Choice Award at the Seriencamp Festival in Germany. It recently had its North American premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival as part of the event’s Primetime section, and is set to launch on Paramount+ internationally on October 5.

Catherine Park, Paramount’s Senior Vice President, Head of Streaming & Regional Lead, Asia, said, “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+. 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.

Yang Si-kwon, Head of Content at TVING, said, YONDER and BARGAIN, which were previously selected as partnership titles between the two companies, are showing tangible results on the global stage. It is meaningful that collaboration has now expanded to confirm these three series as well, which will help maximize partnership synergy.”

DONGJAE, THE GOOD OR THE BASTARD, produced by Studio Dragon and ACE FACTORY, is a spin-off of the renowned thriller series Stranger, and its story will revolve around one of the popular characters in Stranger Seo Dongjae, whose future is bleak due to the stigma of his past corruption as a sponsor prosecutor. In the spin-off series, Dongjae is troubled by a redevelopment case. When he takes on the murder case of a high school girl, he begins to walk a dangerous tightrope between his intuition as a prosecutor and his instinct as an opportunist. DONGJAE, THE GOOD OR THE BASTARD 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 renowned television screenwriter Baek Mi-kyoung who has written many well-received dramas, such as Strong Girl Bong-soon, The Lady in Dignity and Mine. DREAMING OF CINDE FXXXING RELLA is a story of a woman whose dream is to become Cinderella because of her harsh reality. She meets Prince Charming who doesn’t believe in love, and through the conflicts they face, she matures into becoming Princess Charming herself. It is a production that seems like a children’s story at times, but a hot adult love story at times, too. The series is directed by Kim Min-kyeong, written by Yu-ja, and produced by CJ ENM, Story Phoenix and KEYEAST.

PYRAMID GAME, created by JQ Lee, directed by BaK So Yeon, written by Choi Sui, is a story of a high school girl who had to escape being bullied and become 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. PYRAMID GAME is produced by Film Monster and CJ ENM STUDIOS. Kim Jiyeon, known for her performance in the popular TV series Twenty-Five Twenty-One, plays the lead character Sung Soo-ji.

Paramount+ officially marked its entry to Asia last year with the launch of its streaming service in South Korea on the number-one K-content platform, TVING, a CJ ENM subsidiary.  This was part of a strategic global partnership between Paramount Global and CJ ENM that includes content licensing and distribution across Paramount+ and TVING, as well as the development of Korean original series. DONGJAE, THE GOOD OR THE BASTARD; DREAMING OF CINDE FXXXING RELLA, and PYRAMID GAME will be licensed by Paramount Global Content Distribution outside of Korea, Japan and Taiwan.

Cast of DONGJAE, THE GOOD OR THE BASTARD: Lee jun hyuk [Credit: ACE FACTORY]

Cast of Dreaming of CINDE FXXXING RELLA: Pyo Ye-jin, Lee Jun-young [Credit: SECRET ENT, Jflex Entertainment]

Cast of PYRAMID GAME: Top Row: Kim Jiyeon, Jang Da A, RYU DA IN, Kang Na Eon; Bottom Row: Jeong Ha dam, Shin Seul Ki, YULLI.A [Credit: Each actor’s management company]

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About Paramount+

Paramount+, a direct-to-consumer digital subscription video on-demand and live streaming service, combines live sports, breaking news and a Mountain of Entertainment™. The premium streaming service features an expansive library of original series, hit shows and popular movies across every genre from world-renowned brands and production studios, including BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures and the Smithsonian Channel. Paramount+ with SHOWTIME, the service's cornerstone plan, is also home to SHOWTIME content including scripted hits, critically acclaimed nonfiction projects, SHOWTIME SPORTS® (including industry-leading SHOWTIME Boxing) and films. This premium plan includes unmatched events and sports programming through the local live CBS stream, including golf to basketball and more, plus streaming access to CBS News Network for 24/7 news and CBS Sports HQ for sports news and analysis. 

For more information about Paramount+, please visit www.paramountplus.com and follow @ParamountPlus on social platforms.

About TVING

TVING is one of Korea’s leading online streaming platforms. Originally founded by leading entertainment company CJ ENM, TVING launched as an independent corporation in October 2020. Since then, TVING has been increasing its business value by collaborating with leading companies across the globe. Under its slogan “All Things for Every Fandom”, the streaming service features an expansive library of TVING originals, K-dramas, entertainment shows, international hit series, popular movies, animation across a wide array of genres in addition to live sports. From the widely acclaimed K-dramas <Yumi's Cells>, <Work Later, Drink Now> to entertainment shows <EXchange>, <High School Mystery Club>, <Seoul Check-In>, TVING has already established a rich portfolio of original series that have been greatly received by global audiences. Starting with Japan and Taiwan, TVING plans to expand its global footprint and with a mission to introduce more K-content to the world. Paramount+, a U.S. streaming service owned by Paramount Global, had begun its service through local streamer TVING as a branded zone. For more information, please visit http://www.tving.com.

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