ktown konnection #11 | "Queen of Tears" premieres strong

This week’s Top Global Titles 🌎 “Queen of Tears” rose to #8 on Netflix yesterday, with “Doctor Slump” at #9 and “Marry My Husband” at #4 (Amazon Prime Video).

“My Name is Loh Ki-wan” is the top non-English film on Netflix’s Global Top 10 (March 4-10). KJD

“A Shop For Killers” is the best performing local original in the Asia-Pacific for Disney+ this year. Variety

Happy White Day (화이트데이) ! Considered an informal sequel of sorts to Valentine’s Day, March 14 marks White Day, a day of romance in Korea when men typically gift candy to women.

PREMIERES

• March 15 “Chicken Nugget” (Netflix)

• March 18 “Grabbed By The Collar” (KBS2)(tbc)

I must admit, of all the Kdramas of late, “Chicken Nugget” looks like the weirdest. Directed by Lee Byung-hun (“Twenty,” “Extreme Job”), the series premieres tomorrow.

Wednesday-Thursday Mar 13-14
“The Impossible Heir” (Disney+)

Friday-Saturday Mar 15-16
“Flex x Cop” (SBS) (Disney+,Hulu)
“Wonderful World” (MBC) (Disney+)
“Chicken Nugget” (Netflix)

Saturday-Sunday Mar 16-17
“Doctor Slump” (JTBC) (Netflix)
“Queen of Tears” (tvN) (Netflix)

Monday-Tuesday Mar 18-19
“Wedding Impossible” (tvN) (Viki)
“The Midnight Studio” (ENA)
“Grabbed By The Collar” (KBS2) (tbc)

(*Streaming platforms shown are for U.S. only; distributors vary by country.)

STREAMING NEWS

Tudum’s international spend Netflix is now spending more than half of its content budget outside of North America; South Korea is one of its key international markets. Studios like WB and Paramount, however, have been cutting back. Ampere Analysis

U.K. writers strike a deal 🤝 A new deal between the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain (WGGB), Netflix, and the Personal Managers’ Association (PMA) has reportedly “improved terms and conditions,” as well as minimum script fees for series and one-hour specials. THR

And…STAY TUNED 📺 How have streamers affected Kdrama genres and formats? I’ll be doing a deeper dive into shifting trends in OTT and Korean content next week.

KDRAMA/FILM/TV

Disney+ picks up “The Tyrant” Adding to its Korean titles, Disney+ has picked up action spy Kdrama “The Tyrant,” starring Cha Seung-won, Kim Seon-ho. The series comes from writer-director Park Hoon-jung (“The Witch Part 1: The Subversion,” “Night in Paradise”). THR