Netflix has signed a new partnership with hit-maker Aki Isoyama. The streaming giant announced on Thursday an exclusive five-year deal with Isoyama to produce and distribute new series and films, underscoring Netflix’s growing investment in Japanese content.
Isoyama has been behind some of Netflix’s most popular Japanese dramas. She executive produced the time-traveling comedy Extremely Inappropriate! which topped Japan’s most-watched list on Netflix for three weeks this spring.
The show follows a single father who is mysteriously transported from 1986 to the present day, becoming a cultural phenomenon in Japan. The series humorously explores the country’s mixed feelings about embracing international progressive ideals, with the lead character’s 1980s behavior—like making crude remarks, spanking kids, and smoking everywhere—clashing with today’s more restrained Tokyo.
Another hit from Isoyama and Netflix is Let’s Get Divorced, released globally last June. This socially relevant drama tells the story of a seemingly perfect Japanese couple who decide to address the discontent in their marriage, challenging traditional norms with a lighthearted touch.
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“Isoyama’s work always captures the zeitgeist, posing deep questions while remaining captivating and charming,” says Netflix’s head of content in Japan, Kaata Sakamoto. “She is a master storyteller who showcases Japan and its culture in an uplifting and entertaining way. We’re excited to see what new stories Aki Isoyama will create with Netflix, highlighting Japan’s allure to a global audience.”
Isoyama is already working on the first series under the new deal. Described as a “never-before-seen style,” the project reunites her with longtime screenwriting partner, Kankuro Kudo, known for Extremely Inappropriate!, Let’s Get Divorced, Ikebukuro West Gate Park, and Kisarazu Cat’s Eye. More details about the project will be revealed soon.
Isoyama is excited about the partnership, saying, “Netflix offers many kinds of local stories, and I saw this as an opportunity to add more uplifting works from Japan. I want to share a different side of modern Japan beyond the period dramas and traditional imagery often seen in foreign films.”
“With streaming amplifying our stories to global audiences, cultural barriers are breaking down, diversity and freedom in storytelling are increasing, and even Japan’s traditional business practices are evolving. I want to create optimistic, human-centered works that reflect today’s reality.”
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This deal with Isoyama follows other recent collaborations between Netflix and Japanese content creators, including Tokyo-based The Seven (creators of Alice in Borderland and Netflix’s Yu Yu Hakusho series adaptation) and Babel Label Studio (The Journalist).
Netflix has also partnered with renowned Japanese filmmakers like Cannes favorite Hirokazu Kore-eda, who made his streaming debut with the geisha series The Makanai, and veteran writer Yuji Sakamoto, who penned the Netflix film In Love and Deep Water.
