The cancellation of second seasons for some of Netflix’s Korean and Japanese dramas has left fans in dismay. Amid the anticipation of thrilling new seasons for shows like Sweet Home and All of Us Are Dead, the sudden axing of dramas featuring popular actors like Ahn Hyo Seop and Ji Chang Wook is a bitter pill to swallow.
The discontinuation of K-dramas such as A Time Called You, Celebrity, Glitch, Mask Girl and The Sound of Magic, as well as the cancellation of Japanese dramas like The Days and First Love, has sent shockwaves across the international streaming giant’s avid audience.
Netflix reported a 6.6% year-over-year increase in APAC revenues to $948 million, accounting for 11.1% of its total revenues, with a paid subscriber base of 42.43 million in the APAC region. This move comes despite the addition of 1.88 million paid subscribers in the fourth quarter.
Consensus on Price and Performance
The decision to cancel the second season of these beloved Korean and Japanese shows comes in the wake of a successful 2023 for Korean dramas, with popular shows such as The Good Bad Mother, Crash Course in Romance, King The Land, Sweet Home 2 and The Glory. The move to discontinue these shows is expected to have a significant impact on Netflix’s financial performance in the Asia-Pacific region.
Content Pipeline to Offer a Respite
Despite the recent setback, Netflix is gearing up for an eventful 2024 with the return of sequels of popular shows and a lineup of new K-dramas across various genres such as rom-coms, murder mysteries, and action thrillers.
Among the shows lined up for release in 2024 are Squid Game Season 2, Sweet Home Season 3, All Of Us Are Dead 2, Mercy For None, Everything Will Come True, and The Bequeathed. The company is also working on producing an upcoming Korean drama, The Trunk, featuring A-listers from Korea, Gong Yoo and Seo Hyun-jin.
As part of its ongoing commitment to diversified content, Netflix has plans for an upcoming Japanese anime series, including THE ONE PIECE, Mobile Suit Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance and the first anime adaptation of Rising Impact. These initiatives are expected to fortify the company’s financial standing amidst competition from industry peers like Amazon, Disney, and Warner Bros Discovery.
Financial and Industry Performance
Netflix, currently a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company, has outperformed its sector, returning 10.3% over the past six months, driven by the success of its latest content and a promising pipeline for 2024. The company also performed better than Warner Bros Discovery and Disney, while falling slightly behind Amazon.
For the fourth quarter of 2023, the company forecasts earnings of $2.19 per share, a significant increase from 12 cents reported in the year-ago quarter.
