Tokyo Broadcasting System Television (TBS) has announced that they will co-develop two new productions alongside Korean companies. The company will remake its smash hit TV series “Extremely Inappropriate!” for audiences in South Korea alongside. TBS and the Korean production company Basestory Co., Ltd. have reached an agreement to finally bring this popular series into Korea.
“Extremely Inappropriate!” is a story about a stubborn father from the 1980s who time-slips into the new millennium and challenges modern social values and trends. Inappropriate remarks made by the protagonist from the 1980s moves people’s hearts, creating a comical yet thought-provoking narrative which went viral among the audience in Japan.
The Korean remake will be produced by Kim Jung-mi, CEO of Basestory, a production company known for delivering a diverse range of high quality creative works. Expectations are high for the fresh idea Basestory will bring into the project, and how they will reproduce the element of the Japanese version by reinterpreting the storyline in the context of Korean local culture and perspectives. This deal may be the beginning of further international adaptations happening from this smash hit project. In June 2024, TBS established Tokyo Broadcasting System Korea (TBS Korea) in Seoul as a strategic hub to penetrate market in Korea and throughout Asia. Moving forward, TBS plans to invest approximately 5 billion yen in co-development in Korea for various genres, including drama, variety shows, films, as well as K-POP and other IPs.
Basestory CEO, Kim Jung-mi, commented: “The original ‘Extremely Inappropriate!’ program conveyed values of understanding and tolerance that transcend generations through a protagonist who travels from past to present. Leveraging Basestory’s planning and production capabilities, we aim to reflect both the contemporary Korean context and the original show’s warm human insights, evoking deep emotions and empathy from Korean viewers."
Moreover, TBS is working on a new non-scripted entertainment format with the South Korean content creation firm Something Special. The new format is expected to be launched at the MIP London event in February 2025. This is the first non-scripted co-development for Something Special with a Japanese broadcaster.
Since establishing TBS Korea, the broadcaster has been intensifying efforts to sell, remake TBS dramas and co-develop IP. Moving forward, TBS will strengthen sales, IP co-development and also plans to invest approximately 5 billion yen in content co-development in Korea across various genres, including drama, variety shows, films, as well as K-POP and other IP.
President of TBS Korea, Jun Fukai said: “One of the purposes of establishing this company is to manage co-development and co-production projects with Korean creators. We are very happy to be working with Something Special for our first non-scripted project, as they have an abundance of expertise and experience in the global market. We hope that this collaboration will result in a new entertainment format that can go global.”
Executive Vice President Head of Content at Something Special, Insoon Kim added: “This collaboration will be partially supported by Format Lab fund which Something Special has been selected by KOCCA (Korean Creative Content Agency) for many years and we are very thrilled to be partnered up with such a prestigious broadcaster like TBS. We are very confident that this is a great start of creating the next global hit which will be initiated by Asia.”