Netflix Inks Exclusive Five-Year Partnership with Hitoshi One

Netflix will exclusively produce and distribute new series and films by acclaimed Japanese director Hitoshi One for the next five years.

Hitoshi One's Tokyo Swindlers received a tremendous response when it debuted in July this year, ranking in the Netflix Global Top 10 TV (Non-English) for five consecutive weeks and holding the No.1 spot in the Netflix Top 10 TV in Japan for six consecutive weeks.

In 2022, his drama Elpis: Hope or Disaster won Japan's highest honor for drama, the Galaxy Award. His first film as a director, Love Strikes! (2011), won the Japan Academy Award, cementing his reputation as a leading figure in the entertainment industry.

On the announcement of this exclusive deal, Hitoshi One said, "Two weeks after Tokyo Swindlers started streaming, I received a proposal from Netflix for an exclusive contract. I was surprised at how quickly I responded, but I realized that I was drawn to the distribution medium, a genre that is not yet as established as film and TV dramas."

He continued, "The high level of awareness toward filmmaking among the Netflix staff, whom I worked with for the first time on Tokyo Swindlers, and the ideal creative environment they presented, which I had never experienced in films or TV dramas before, left a strong impression. I am very excited about the new projects and productions that I will create with Netflix."

On the success of Tokyo Swindlers, Netflix's Vice President of Content in Japan, Kaata Sakamoto commented: "Mr. One has generously demonstrated his creative talents in Tokyo Swindlers, a thrilling story with quirky characters full of humanity. The series has become one of the most-watched shows in Japan on Netflix. Through Mr. One's one-of-a-kind perspective, we will discover stories that have yet to be told and deliver entertainment that will captivate viewers around the world."

Stay tuned for the upcoming original series and films from Hitoshi One, exclusively on Netflix.

About Hitoshi One

Born in 1968, Hitoshi One made his film directorial debut in 2011 with the theatrical version of Love Strikes!. He received the 35th Japan Academy Award for Most Popular Title for Love Strikes! and the Best Director Award at the 39th Japan Academy Awards for Bakuman., as well as the Grand Prize in the TV category at the 60th Galaxy Awards for Elpis: Hope or Disaster.

His notable titles include:

Bakuman. (2015)

SCOOP! (2016)

Tornado Girl (2017)

Sunny: Our Hearts Beat Together (2018)

Kyouen NG (2020)

Elpis: Hope or Disaster (2022)

New Dimension! Crayon Shinchan the Movie: Battle of Supernatural Powers ~Flying Sushi~ (2023)