The film company Zip, which produced major films such as Jeon Woo-chi, Broker and The Priests 2: Dark Nuns, is expanding into drama production.
On the 11th, Kakao Entertainment (co-CEOs Kwon Ki-soo, Jang Yoon-joong, hereafter Kakao Entertainment) said it will produce MBC's new drama Liar (writer Baek Jae-young, director Cho Young-min), to be broadcast in 2026, together with Studio Label film company Zip. Film company Zip has been recognized for both artistry and box-office success as a film production company that has presented works with fresh subjects and genres through outstanding planning, and attention is focused on its first drama production.
Liar is a psychological thriller in which two men and women present completely opposite claims about a single memory and clash fiercely in pursuit of the truth. Director Cho Young-min, who has delicately portrayed subtle emotional changes and psychology of characters in several works that have recently received global praise, including You and Everything Else, The Interest of Love and Do You Like Brahms?, will direct, promising an intense well-made psychological drama. Also, actors Yoo Yeon-seok and Seo Hyun-jin, who have drawn characters' charms in their own styles in each work, will reunite as leads after eight years. Expectations are high for the chemistry they will create. In particular, director Cho Young-min and actors Yoo Yeon-seok (King Kong by Starship) and Seo Hyun-jin (Management Soop) are all under Kakao Entertainment, and Kakao Entertainment's synergy with film company Zip is also attracting expectations.
Not only film company Zip but also Film Company Wolgwang and Sanai Pictures — Kakao Entertainment's studio label, which has outstanding film production competitiveness — have recently expanded their lineups from films to drama, drawing attention. It is interpreted that Kakao Entertainment's global content business network and planning capabilities, production companies with creative skills and solid production know-how, and management companies with a variety of distinctive and attractive actors are creating various synergies through organic cooperation. In particular, by promoting joint projects among production companies that each have know-how in planning and producing dramas and films and sharing their capabilities and expertise, it is evaluated that they are strengthening not only individual producers but Kakao Entertainment's overall production competitiveness.
Previously, Film Company Wolgwang, which produced films such as The Merciless: Age of Rebellion, A Violent Prosecutor, The Spy Gone North and Money, followed its 2022 Netflix series Narco-Saints reaching No. 1 on the global top 10 TV shows (non-English), and this year co-produced with Kakao Entertainment two series — the Netflix series Bad Relationship and Disney+'s original series Nine Puzzles — which gained great popularity at home and abroad. In particular, Bad Relationship, based on the popular Kakao webtoon of the same name, was co-produced by Baram Pictures, which has produced many webtoon-based dramas, and the performances of actors Park Hae-soo and Lee Hee-joon (BH Entertainment), Lee Kwang-soo (King Kong by Starship) and others added to the appeal, leading it to rank No. 2 on the global top 10 TV shows (non-English) immediately after release and to remain in the global top 10 for three consecutive weeks, generating a buzz. In addition, the film Victory, released this year, recorded cumulative admissions of 2.14 million and won the Best Screenplay Award at the 46th Blue Dragon Film Awards, among other honors, demonstrating Film Company Wolgwang's unmatched production competitiveness by earning both artistic and popular recognition for its films and series.
Sanai Pictures, which has produced strong, bold genre films such as Shinsegae, The Unforgivable and Hunt, is also demonstrating broad production competitiveness by producing various films and series. Disney+'s original series The Worst of Evil, first released in 2023, and Gangnam B-Side, released last year, combined Sanai Pictures' distinctive heavy and thrilling action and stylish direction to win praise as well-made crime action and gained strong popularity at home and abroad. Films such as Revolver and Cross, which contain the company's unique personality and color, have also achieved popularity domestically and internationally and reported awards at film festivals. By maximizing its distinctive genre appeal and moving between films and series, it has firmly established itself as a so-called 'action-noir house.' Recently, it is co-producing with Kakao Entertainment the Netflix series based on Kakao Entertainment's global IP Solo Leveling, and it is also producing the sequel Cross 2 to the Netflix film Cross, which was released in 2024 and ranked No. 1 on the global top 10 movies (non-English) for two weeks, drawing expectations.
Kakao Entertainment said, "Based on a stable multi-studio system, we are making various efforts so that production companies, creators and actors can fully concentrate on their work and freely expand their domains," and "through this, we will further strengthen Kakao Entertainment's global studio competitiveness and deliver emotion and laughter to viewers and audiences around the world with even richer well-made works."
[Photo] Provided by Kakao Entertainment.
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