Netflix Adds to Slate of Japanese Unscripted TV Shows

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief HYBE Corp., the K-Pop powerhouse behind BTS, and the U.S.’s Geffen Records are to bring their global girl group audition efforts to Netflix as a docuseries that will launch next year. The two music companies announced the 2024 series and a companion-piece online show that kicks off on Thursday as their “The Debut: Dream Academy” moves up a gear. Having begun the selection process in November 2021 and screened some 120,000 submissions from young women hopefuls from around the world, they have now narrowed the field to just 20 candidates.

Stacey Slater is set for yet another shock in EastEnders, as her stalker trauma continues, the show's spoilers have revealed. Viewers are aware that Stacey's stalker is Theo Hawthorne, who is currently spending a lot of time with her, as he's teaching her pregnant daughter, Lilly – but Stacey has no idea. In recent episodes, Theo has stepped up his bid to get Stacey all to himself, by getting rid of her best friend, Eve Unwin.

Since first being introduced to EastEnders fans all the way back in 2009, Lily Slater has fast become a fan favourite as viewers at home have watched the youngster grow up before their very eyes. Most recently, the twelve year old daughter of Stacey Slater has shocked fans with a teenage pregnancy storyline, with the initial mystery surrounding the baby’s father - and her decision to keep the baby - keeping viewers on the very edge of their seats.

How to do you solve a murder when everyone is a suspect? A wise detective finds himself with the case of a lifetime in “Reptile,” and the grisly killing is just the beginning as he soon discovers connections to his own life. “Reptile” hails from director Grant Singer — better known for his work on videos for Sam Smith, 5 Seconds of Summer, and Lorde.

Hurricane Hilary has come and gone, yet NBCUniversal may be feeling drenched today in more fallout from their reality TV blockbusters like Vanderpump Rules and the Real Housewives franchise.

Following Thursday night's episode of EastEnders, fans were left in fear for 12 year old Lilly Slater and her baby after Theo Hawthorne (William Ellis) “manipulated” Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) amid his continued obsession with her. Theo convinced Stacey to kick Eve Unwin (Heather Peace) out of the Slater family home after she destroyed the kitchen in a drunken rage, after coming face-to-face with the woman who killed her twin sister.Turning to Theo for advice, he suggested that it may be unsafe for Eve to be around Lily and her soon-to-be-born baby.This lead Stacey to tell Eve that is was best if she found somewhere to live, leaving viewers concerned for Lily and her baby.

The highly anticipated Heart of Invictus documentary from Prince Harry will be dropping soon on screens - but not after one last dramatic shock.

Netflix has announced a slate of Japanese dating, comedy and reality shows, part of a wider push into Asian unscripted content, which also takes in South Korea and India. 

Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater are continuing their romance amid his divorce. A source tells ET that the co-stars' «relationship is still progressing» after he filed for divorce from Lilly Jay.

There’s been a small update on Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief A team of United Nations inspectors has said it is “deeply alarmed” by the allegations of sexual abuse that may have taken place at leading Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates. Abuses may have involved “several hundred” talents, according to the org. The United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights began its first official visit to Japan last month and concluded 12 days of meetings and interviews last week.

EastEnders fans have had their hearts broken tonight as Freddie Slater found out the truth about his father Graham Foster. Freddie has made it his mission to find out who his father is in recent episodes, despite several members of his family urging him not to. Freddie's mum Little Mo Mitchell and her family have always kept his identity a secret as Graham raped her.

Naman Ramachandran Netflix has unveiled the first trailer for series “Guns & Gulaabs,” starring Dulquer Salmaan (“Chup”) and Rajkummar Rao (“Bheed”). The series is created by India-based filmmaking duo Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K. – popularly known as Raj & DK – as part of a multi-year creative partnership with Netflix under their D2R Films banner.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Japanese anime series took four of the top ten places in streaming service Netflix’s latest global chart of non-English-language shows. The top title of the week July 24-30 was Brazilian teen crime drama series “Sintonia,” in its fourth season. Japanese animation series have long been key audience drivers in Japan and other parts of Asia.

Green Minister Lorna Slater has been criticised for repeatedly snubbing a key trade body on her controversial deposit return scheme.

The rumour mill has been buzzing with speculation about the status of Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater's relationship. Reports suggest that Broadway performer, Ethan, and Grammy-winning singer, Ariana, have been spending some time apart while Ethan works on resolving matters with his estranged wife. The speculations about Ariana and Ethan's relationship began to surface after Ariana's recent split from her husband of two years, Dalton Gomez.

Ethan Slater needs some time.

It’s already August, and that means Netflix has been steadily churning out a ton of original content all year.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Ichikawa Ennosuke, a leading Japanese Kabuki actor, was indicted in Tokyo on Friday on charges of assisting his parents’ suicides. The indictment, reported by public broadcaster NHK and other major Japanese media, alleges that Ichikawa gave an excessive amount of sleeping drugs to his father, Kabuki actor Ichikawa Danshiro IV, and his mother Nobuko.

Netflix has sparked an outcry by listing a vacancy for a new $900,000-a-year product manager role for their AI Machine Learning programme in the midst of the SAG-AFTRA strike.The Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) union went on strike earlier this month, after negotiations broke down with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) over streaming residuals and safeguards against AI technology.According to the job description, the Product Manager position will focus on “increasing the leverage of our Machine Learning Platform.” The MLP is Netflix’s in-house AI program, which has traditionally been used to power the streamer’s algorithmic recommendations. Per Netflix’s research page, the company is now making more use of the program to “optimise” film and TV production, although it’s not clear how they plan to do so.We all know one of the biggest issues both of the striking guilds, the WGA and SAG-AFTRA, have with AMPTP’s offer for a new contract is a lack of protection against and regulation of AI.