Netflix boosted its slate of Japanese broadcaster content this week, unveiling a deal to stream a rolling library of NHK drama titles and a separate pickup of Nippon TV’s long-running variety hit Monday Late Show for global catch-up viewing.
Beginning June 22, six NHK dramas will land on Netflix in the first wave of an ongoing rollout. The slate spans the three pillars of NHK’s signature drama production: the network’s Taiga series, sweeping historical epics traditionally aired during Japan’s Sunday-night slot; its morning serial dramas (known as asadora), 15-minute weekday installments that have been a fixture of Japanese daily life since 1961; and Drama 10, the late-evening primetime block known for tackling contemporary social issues.
The first batch of shows includes the Taiga series Strategist KANBE; the morning serial Mampuku; three Drama 10 titles — Descending Stories: A Life in Rakugo, The Science Club and Tokyo Salad Bowl; and the premium drama My Family. Subsequent titles will roll out across the remainder of the year and into early 2027.
Netflix has been steadily building partnerships with Japan’s major broadcasters in recent years, but the NHK deal is a particularly noteworthy drama-library acquisition. NHK’s drama output is a mainstay of mainstream Japanese pop culture: its Taiga series have aired continuously since 1963 and remain among the most widely watched productions in the domestic industry, while the network’s morning serials have launched the careers of multiple generations of Japanese stars.
“By bringing works nurtured by Japan’s broadcasters over many years to viewers in more than 190 countries and regions, Netflix will continue to champion Japan’s outstanding entertainment culture on the world stage,” the streamer said in a statement.
Separately, Netflix has acquired global catch-up streaming rights to Nippon TV’s Monday Late Show (Japanese title: Getsuyo kara Yofukashi, or “staying up late even on Monday night”), the streamer’s second pickup of a Nippon TV weekly variety series following Golden SixTONES. Episodes began streaming May 21.
Now in its 15th year on the air, Monday Late Show airs Mondays at 10 p.m. on Nippon TV and consistently leads its time slot among 13- to 49-year-olds. The show is built around comedic deconstructions of street interviews on hyper-local subjects, hosted by SUPER EIGHT idol Shingo Murakami and the veteran TV personality Matsuko Deluxe. A single 2026 episode drew more than 2.49 million views on national catch-up platform TVer, according to figures supplied by the network.
“The true charm of this show lies in how it delightfully shatters expectations of what Japanese people are like,” said Kensuke Sawada, the show’s producer at Nippon TV, in a statement. “It shines a light on ordinary citizens with extraordinary personalities, as well as unique facets of Japan that we’re eager to share with the world, all delivered with plenty of humor.”
Netflix’s content director Rie Sawaoka, who oversees the streamer’s Japan content slate, said in a statement that Monday Late Show had cultivated a notable overseas following despite a lack of official international distribution. “We’re excited to partner with Nippon TV to introduce this uniquely Japanese iconic show to Netflix members around the world,” she said.
The twin announcements come as Netflix continues to deepen its investments in Japanese content. Japan is one of the few mature streaming markets globally with significant room left for subscriber growth, and Netflix has continued to experiment and invest in live-action titles with strong local appeal — while waiting and hoping for the first Squid Game-style global breakout.
