Disney+ has unveiled Night Tales Club, a six-part Japanese supernatural mystery anthology led by The Naked Director star Takayuki Yamada and set to premiere in January 2027. The series brings together an unusually stacked lineup of genre directors, including Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Takashi Shimizu and Gannibal’s Shinzo Katayama.
Adapted from a short-story collection by Japanese horror writer Ichi Sawamura, the anthology gives each episode to a different filmmaker. The director roster also includes Yukiko Sode, Yuichiro Sakashita and Yosuke Nakamura, while Kenji Nakajima, whose credits include The Naked Director and Tokyo Swindlers, directs the framing sequences featuring Yamada.
Yamada plays Hojo, a wealthy entrepreneur obsessed with unexplained phenomena. Convinced that ghost stories, monsters, curses and other supernatural anomalies are “bugs” in a deeper conspiracy, he establishes the titular Night Tales Club, inviting people who have encountered the inexplicable to share their experiences and evidence in exchange for 20 million yen, roughly US$130,000, in gold.
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Each of the six episodes follows a different account of the supernatural, as Hojo attempts to uncover the truth behind the strange occurrences. Sawamura has adapted his own stories for the screen, with Yusuke Wakabayashi and Teruhisa Yamamoto producing.
Sawamura said: “As the original author of these stories, I feel an enormous sense of surprise and joy that they will soon be available on screen to scare audiences around the world!”
The announcement lands as Disney+ scales up its international originals, with Japan positioned as a key part of its Asian production strategy. Disney has said it plans to roughly triple its annual output of international original series over the next three years, from approximately 60 to 70 shows this year.
The streamer has already built momentum with Japanese live-action titles including Gannibal, which returned for a second season in 2025, and Land of Tanabata. Upcoming projects include the Korean-Japanese romantic comedy Merry Berry Love and variety series The One Shot.
In April, Disney also struck a multi-year development agreement with TBS-owned production company The Seven to create more Japanese live-action originals for global streaming audiences.
Night Tales Club arrives on Disney+ in January 2027.
