Disney+ has boarded The Perfect Lie, MBC’s South Korean adaptation of the UK drama Liar, as its international streaming partner. The 12-part series will take over MBC’s Friday-Saturday evening slot on October 30 and stream on Disney+ inside and outside Korea.
The title comes from a collaboration among MBC, Kakao Entertainment and Zip Cinema. Filming wrapped in August. Kakao acquired the remake rights from All3Media International; the original Two Brothers Pictures drama aired on ITV in 2017. The series also reunites Seo Hyun-jin and Yoo Yeon-seok a decade after they shared the screen in Dr Romantic, giving the launch a built-in audience.
An output deal, not a one-off
The acquisition sits within a broader MBC-Disney+ relationship that gives Disney+ a first option on MBC dramas. That arrangement has already produced Perfect Crown, another Kakao Entertainment project, which MBC reports became Disney+’s most-watched South Korean series globally with more than 43 million viewing hours.
“Perfect Crown has been one of the most popular international series on Disney+ this year,” Jean Hur, MBC’s director of format sales and international, said at BCWW in Seoul.
Hur said MBC still works with other OTT platforms, but many dramas are now being developed in collaboration with Disney+.
Why the financing matters
For MBC, Disney+ is increasingly an upfront production financier rather than simply a downstream buyer. Hur said securing production budgets in advance is critical for bigger-budget projects. The alternative has become less reliable: Wavve, where MBC is a shareholder alongside KBS and SBS, has slowed drama greenlights while its merger with TVing drags on for almost three years.
- Higher budgets: Hur said global OTT platforms “input higher budgets compared to Wavve.”
- Wavve pause: The local streamer has been cautious about big drama decisions during the merger process.
- IP retention: Under new president and CEO Lee Sung-joo, MBC wants smaller, exportable dramas so it can retain IP and build longer-term business.
What the numbers signal
With 43 million viewing hours for Perfect Crown, Disney+ has evidence that MBC’s slate can travel beyond Korea. The Perfect Lie combines that distribution muscle with a proven UK format and well-known leads, which reduces the programming risk for a global rollout.
For buyers and planners, the broader shift is clear: Korean broadcasters are using global streamer budgets to fund higher-margin scripted projects while holding onto IP where possible. A domestic premiere is no longer a waiting period for international audiences; it is the start of a coordinated global window.
Source: C21media
