Nippon Television will bring two new scripted formats and its top scripted series and global strategy executives to the Series Mania Forum in Lille (March 24-26) for the first time. This is a sign that Japanese broadcasters are accelerating their expansion into international markets.
The company, which will be participating in the forum for the fifth time in a row starting in 2021, will offer “The Right to Judge” (10 x 60 minutes) and “Escape” (10 x 60 minutes) to potential co-production and format partners.
Attending the forum for the first time will be Shinji Enari, head of studio strategy, who oversees the development and greenlighting of scripted series at Nippon Television, and Masanori Kobayashi, head of global strategy.
The featured title of the forum was the suspense thriller “The Right to Judge,” which was broadcast on Nippon Television in 2025 and became the most-watched drama series on the broadcaster’s nationwide VOD service, with over 44 million views. The premise changes to a class reunion that disappears into the darkness. Twenty years after graduation, when former elementary school students gathered to open the time capsule, they found evidence that someone had held a grudge against the bullies in their class – and that person began taking revenge. The killings are patterned after childhood drawings made by the victims years ago, giving them a creepy, premeditated quality. At the center of the investigation is the man who led the bullying, and is forced into an unlikely partnership with the journalist who was once his victim. The story moves back and forth between the characters’ school days and the present day, gradually retracing the history that led to the murder.
“Escape,” which also made its international debut at the Forum, has a different sonic range: thriller, road story, and romance. The central character is a young woman raised in the strict and controlling world of a pharmaceutical dynasty who is kidnapped on the eve of her 20th birthday. She chooses to remain on the run with her kidnappers rather than seek rescue, due in part to her supernatural gifts. She can sense people’s emotional states as colors through physical contact, and what she senses in her father is far more frightening than her life as a fugitive. As the pair evade pursuit, their dynamics turn from adversarial to more complex, while long-buried secrets about the young woman’s past begin to emerge.
“Nippon Television has a proven track record of bringing dynamic stories to audiences around the world through scripted formats and co-productions. We are proud to introduce new formats, ‘The Right to Judge’ and ‘Escape,’ building on the success of award-winning titles like ‘Mother,'” Enei said.
Kobayashi added, “We look forward to exploring new opportunities to grow our scripted series internationally. The Series Mania Forum is the perfect place to connect with top players in the industry and foster new global partnerships.”
