Netflix announces premiere date for ‘Physical: 100’ season two

Naman Ramachandran Korean action drama “A Shop For Killers” has become the most viewed local original on Disney+ in the Asia Pacific region (Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Philippines) so far in 2024, the streamer has revealed. Set in contemporary Korea, the eight-part series follows college student Jeong Jian who dives for cover in her childhood home after a series of highly skilled assassins come after her.

Universal‘s bender of a weekend continued past Oscars into Monday night with the enthusiastic SXSW premiere of Monkeypaw’s Dev Patel feature directorial debut, Monkey Man, which blew the roof off Austin’s Paramount Theatre.

EXCLUSIVE: America’s undiscovered K-pop stars are getting their shot at fame.

After stints heading local-language production at Disney APAC and HBO Asia, Hong Kong-based Jessica Kam-Engle is now heading CreAsia Studio, a new Banijay Asia venture in Southeast Asia, in the role of EVP & Business Head.

, the craze for fermented foods and superfood has been inescapable in recent years. Kimchi, in particular, has gone from being South Korea’s national dish to something of an international phenomenon.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief EST N8, the film and TV sales venture formed by U.S.-based EST and Thailand’s N8 company, has hired Chatsuree ‘Chat’ Sripamorn for an Asian sales roles. Reporting to Tenten Wei, she will represent the company at next week’s FilMart. Sripamorn has previously worked at three of the top Thai entertainment companies Mono Next, GMM Studios and Rose Studio over a span of ten years.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Atlas Distribution Company, a U.S. indie distributor, has set Vietnamese-American co-production film “A Fragile Flower” on course for a theatrical release in the U.S. Produced by the duo Mai Thu Huyen and Jacqueline Thu Thao, the romantic musical drama, with a screenplay by Vietnamese singing sensation Nhat Ha, is set debut from Mar.

Drishyam,” a hit Indian thriller in which an ordinary man confounds the police in order to protect his family, is to be re-made in English. Production is by India’s Panorama Studios with U.S. companies Gulfstream Pictures and JOAT Films.

NCT WISH have made their official debut with the release of their new single, ‘Wish’, released in both Japanese and Korean.The six-member NCT sub-group released the song as part of their debut single album of the same name. The project also includes one other B-side track, titled ‘Sail Away’.

Physical: 100 is set to premiere next month – here’s everything you need to know about the new cast and contestants.The streaming service introduced the 100 participants who will be featured in this upcoming season of Physical: 100 in a brand-new video, featuring their names, photos and professions. Notably, the participants were split into five different groups: The Warriors, National Athletes, It Body, Superstar Athletes and Athletic Celebrities.Among the new batch of participants are a number of familiar faces, including K-pop idol Lee Jang-jun of boyband Golden Child, Korean martial artist Kim Dong-hyun and actor Park Kwang-jae, who has starred in a number of hit K-dramas including Moving, Song of the Bandits and more.Aside from established stars, the new cast also boasts a varied group of competitors, ranging from chief executives and MMA fighters to national athletes and YouTubers.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Occult drama-thriller “Exhuma,” dominated the South Korea box office in its opening weekend with a scarily good debut approaching $17 million. The film, about two shaman, a feng shui master and a mortician who attempt to undo the mysterious events happening to a U.S.-based Korean family, grabbed $14.5 million between Friday and Sunday, representing a 77% share of the overall box office market. Including the earnings since its Wednesday debut, the film earned $16.8 million in its full opening session, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic).

Dahomey. The Golden Bear, the first to be awarded to a black filmmaker in the festival’s history, is about the return of 26 royal treasures of the Kingdom of Dahomey from Paris to their country of origin, the present-day Republic of Benin.MUBI has acquired the rights to the film for both the UK and the United States, among other territories.On the night Diop had the following to say when she collected her award:Kenyan-Mexican actor Lupita Nyong’o was president of this year’s jury.Elsewhere, the runner-up prize, the Silver Bear Grand Jury went to Korean filmmaker Hong Sansoo’s Yeohaengjaui pilyo (A Traveler’s Needs), while the Silver Bear Jury Prize was awarded to Bruno Dumont’s L’Empire.Nelson Carlos De Los Santos Arias scooped the Best Director award for Pepe, while the two main acting awards went to two performances in the English language.

Korean content is having its moment, but Pyramid Game will be the only title from the country at next month’s Series Mania.

BIBI has released the music video for ‘Sugar Rush’, featuring appearances by (G)I-DLE‘s Soyeon and Choi Yena.In the clip, BIBI performs the song in a colourful, candy-covered set, while wearing outfits that resemble sweet confectioneries. Meanwhile, Choi Yena and (G)I-DLE rapper Soyeon make special cameos as controllers of a claw machine that feed BIBI candies.“I’m sweet, like candy / You could look don’t touch / Don’t try to get handsy / You get sugar rush,” BIBI sings on the chorus of ‘Sugar Rush’.

Mickey 17, has received a new release date, set for 2025.On Tuesday (February 20), Warner Bros. Pictures announced the sci-fi film’s new release date of January 31, 2025 per a report from The Hollywood Reporter.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter The “Money Heist” spinoff series “Berlin” has been renewed for Season 2 at Netflix. The second season will once again see Pedro Alonso returning as the title character, along with fellow cast members Michelle Jenner as Keila, Tristán Ulloa as Damián, Begoña Vargas as Cameron, Julio Peña Fernández as Roi, and Joel Sánchez as Bruce. The Spanish-language series serves as a prequel to the events of “Money Heist” (a.k.a “La casa de papel”).

Guy Lodge Film Critic Iris, the petite enigma at the center of “A Traveler’s Needs,” dresses at once to be noticed, and to disappear. Over a bright sundress, spattered all over with red and violet blossoms, she wears a cardigan of a most assertive, eye-searing green.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Streaming platform Disney+ will add four new Korean-language original series to its 2024 lineup. Its “Blood Free,” “Unmasked,” “The Tyrant” and “Gangnam B-Side” land in addition to a third season of “The Zone: Survival Mission” and the previously announced “Uncle Samsik” and “Light Shop” from webtoon pioneer and creator of the platform’s 2023 series hit “Moving.” “Blood Free,” which is to star Ju Jihoon (“Kingdom”) and Han Hyojoo (“Moving”), follows a former bodyguard haunted by the failures of his past. He finds himself recruited to protect the CEO of a controversial lab-grown meat company who is also a survivor of the fateful attack that changed his life. Set in modern-day Seoul, “Unmasked” follows a group of investigative journalists who are fighting for their careers after broadcasting a controversial story.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Korean entertainment conglomerate CJ ENM has appointed Jung Jhong-hwan, as president of content, global business. He is expected to spearhead growth of global content production and distribution and continue the group’s multi-studio approach to business.

Squid Game.Sarandos recently visited the headquarters of Netflix Korea, located in the heart of Seoul, South Korea. During a press conference held during his visit, the Netflix CEO shut down rumours that an American remake of Squid Game is in the works.“That’s just a rumour,” he said, according to South Korean news outlet SBS Star.