'Video Hotspot' Wavve to Release 30 Original Contents This Year

Gentleman, Deadman, Brave Citizen and More Movies Coming Soon
Webtoon-Based Series Like Weak Hero and Gwiwang Also in Development

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] Online video service (OTT) ‘Wavve,’ which announced a content investment of 1 trillion KRW by 2025, revealed on the 16th that it will present about 30 original contents this year. Its in-house planning and development studio, Studio Wavve, will also expand its active range in earnest.

The Power of Wavve Originals... MAU Increased by 170,000 in January

Content Wavve, which operates Wavve, expanded its paid subscriber base last year by releasing 26 original and exclusive contents. Among new paid subscribers to Wavve, 65% chose original works such as 'Taxi Driver,' 'The Veil,' 'Wonder Woman,' and 'Youth of May' as their first watched titles. Exclusively released Wavve originals like 'You Raise Me Up' and 'Now, We Are Breaking Up' also received fresh reviews.

Wavve continues aggressive investment this year as well. Since January, it has introduced new original dramas such as ‘Tracer’ and ‘Those Who Read the Minds of Evil.’ Dramas that began airing at the end of last year, including ‘When Flowers Bloom, I Think of the Moon,’ ‘Uncle,’ ‘Show Window: The Queen’s House,’ and the original variety show ‘Blood Game,’ are also currently airing. Early popularity is proven by numbers. According to mobile index data from big data platform company IGAWorks, Wavve’s monthly active users in January were about 4.92 million, an increase of 176,000 compared to the previous month.

Studio Wavve Fully Operational

Subsidiary Studio Wavve is also releasing other works following ‘Tracer.’ It debuted ‘Tracer’ as its first work earlier this year, achieving first place in Friday-Saturday viewership ratings. To support binge-watching, Studio Wavve will release all episodes of Season 2 of ‘Tracer’ at once on Wavve on February 18. ‘Crisis X,’ starring Kwon Sang-woo and Sung Dong-il, will also be released as a Wavve original drama this summer.

Works based on webtoons will be released in the second half of the year. The action growth drama ‘Weak Hero’ tells the story of a boy who is naturally weak but fights using his brain, tools, and psychology. Directed by Yoo Soo-min, who won the Best Short Film Award at the Mise-en-sc?ne Short Film Festival, and starring Park Ji-hoon as ‘Yeon Si-eun.’ The fantasy youth series ‘Guiwang’ will also be introduced as a Wavve series based on a webtoon. Additionally, the drama ‘Mission to Possible,’ which continues the story after the comic action movie ‘Mission Possible’ starring actors Kim Young-kwang and Lee Sun-bin, will be produced with Wavve’s investment.

Releases of ‘Gentleman,’ ‘Deadman,’ and ‘Brave Citizen’

Wavve’s first original film, ‘Gentleman,’ will be released in the first half of the year. It stars Ju Ji-hoon, who starts impersonating a prosecutor to clear his name, along with Park Sung-woong and Choi Sung-eun. The crime mystery thriller ‘Deadman,’ starring Kim Hee-ae, Jo Jin-woong, and Lee Soo-kyung, will be released in the second half of the year. ‘Deadman’ tells the story of a so-called figurehead ace who makes money with his name, who is falsely accused of embezzling 100 billion KRW and lives as a dead man while searching for the real culprit. The lifestyle-based hero series ‘Brave Citizen,’ a Naver webtoon, will also be released starring Shin Hye-sun and Lee Jun-young.

Variety programs such as the music documentary featuring girl group Mamamoo, ‘If I Do It, HIP,’ and the even stronger ‘EXO’s Ladder to the World Tour Season 3’ will also be released. In addition, Wavve plans to release many self-planned variety programs this year.

Expectations for Terrestrial Broadcasters’ and General Programming Channel Dramas

Various drama lineups from terrestrial broadcasters and general programming channels, which presented many hits last year such as the ‘Penthouse’ series, ‘The Red Sleeve,’ and ‘Lovers,’ are also on standby.

This year, KBS will present ‘Red Heart,’ starring Lee Joon, Kang Han-na, and Jang Hyuk. It tells the story of Yoo Jeong, who must become queen to survive, and King Lee Tae, who must abandon the woman he loves to survive. Other titles include ‘Speed to You 493km,’ a passionate sports romance about twenty-five-year-olds, and ‘The Present is Beautiful,’ a project about three brothers’ marriage to secure an apartment.

MBC will air the fantasy drama ‘Tomorrow,’ based on a popular Naver webtoon, starting in March. Starring Kim Hee-sun, Rowoon, Lee Soo-hyuk, and Yoon Ji-on, this drama is attracting attention with its glamorous cast and special effects. Other scheduled dramas include the magic-themed fantasy drama ‘Showtime from Now On,’ the masculine revenge drama ‘Doctor Lawyer’ starring So Ji-sub and Shin Sung-rok, the webtoon-based ‘Gold Spoon,’ and the daily drama ‘Secret House.’

SBS will begin airing the office romance drama ‘Business Proposal’ this month. Starring Ahn Hyo-seop, Kim Se-jeong, Kim Min-kyu, and Seol In-ah, it tells a thrilling story of a genius CEO and a matchmaking employee hiding her identity. SBS will then release ‘Again My Life,’ about a passionate prosecutor’s fight against absolute evil in his second life, and ‘Why Oh Soo-jae,’ about a cold lawyer Oh Soo-jae and law school student Gong Chan who tries to protect her.

Exclusive Supply to HBO, Peacock, and Others

Major overseas series will also be introduced. Last year, Wavve expanded its exclusive and first-release lineup with over 3,700 overseas series. It currently offers series from major overseas studios such as HBO, NBCUniversal, and Peacock, as well as Asian works from China and Japan.

Since last year, Wavve has provided major HBO series exclusively on a subscription basis. It has presented all seasons of ‘Game of Thrones,’ ‘Euphoria,’ ‘Watchmen,’ ‘Succession,’ and ‘Mare of Easttown.’ It also launched Peacock original series such as ‘Bayside Shakedown,’ ‘Dr. Death,’ and ‘Girls5eva’ for the first time in Asia. This year, new works such as ‘Endgame,’ ‘Resident Alien 2,’ ‘Angelyne,’ ‘Chucky Season 2,’ and ‘The Capture Season 2’ will be introduced.

Lee Chan-ho, Head of Content Strategy at Wavve, said, “We will build a well-made lineup through broad collaboration with broadcasters, production companies, film companies, and entertainment companies, creating a new media ecosystem led by OTT.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.