Chinese streamer iQiyi has sold its hit suspense thriller The Bad Kids to Japanese premium satellite TV operator Wowow.
The deal marks the first time that Wowow has directly acquired a Chinese show and it will be the first contemporary Chinese drama to be broadcast on its channel. Wowow is planning to air the 12-episode show in early 2021.
Produced by iQiyi and Eternity Pictures, The Bad Kids revolves around three kids in a small coastal town in southern China who accidentally witness a murder. The show is streaming on iQiyi as part of its Mist Theater library dedicated to original suspense dramas.
First released in June 2020, the show has been receiving rave reviews and has an average score of 9.2 out of 10 on Douban, making it the highest-rated Chinese series of 2020. It has also picked up five nominations for the Asia Contents Awards, hosted by Busan International Film Festival, which will be live streamed from the festival on October 25.
The other four shows under Mist Theater have also been achieving success in international distribution. Kidnapping Game has already aired on Singtel TV in Singapore, which is also planning to air Sisyphus and The Long Night soon.
The Mist Theater shows are also being broadcast on iQiyi’s HD channel on Malaysian pay-TV operator Astro. Some of the series will be also aired on mainstream TV stations in overseas markets such as Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Macau.