The Box: Netflix Set to Premiere 'Hyper Knife,’ Showmax will release an adaptation of 'superstore'

South African Broadcasting channel

Africa: The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has teamed up with Brandsphere Media to develop solutions for advertisers in the video entertainment industry. Their collaboration aims to help brands engage meaningfully with South Africa's diverse and multicultural audience. This partnership allows Brandsphere Media to provide access to SABC's broad viewer base, allowing brands to connect with millions of South African viewers. Brandsphere’s CEO Piwe Motshegoa says,

"We are passionate about creating value-driven media solutions that resonate with audiences and adapt to the evolving media landscape." "Brandsphere Media is more than a media sales company; it’s a partner for brands seeking unique and effective ways to tell their stories while connecting with the diverse audiences the SABC offers," she adds.

Viu has selected Kagiso Media's Mediamark as its new sales partner in South Africa to let Mediamark handle sales for Viu's advertising video-on-demand (AVOD) service. Elouise Kelly, Viu South Africa's country manager, shared that the collaboration with Mediamark represents an exciting new chapter for both companies stating,

"Mediamark is a well-established business with an impeccable reputation, consistently demonstrating its ability to partner with brands and businesses alike to grow them profitably. Mediamark holds strong relationships with media agencies, which trust in its ability to bring exciting and effective avenues to reach new audiences to the table."

Showmax has commissioned a local adaptation of the NBCUniversal show Superstore, which originally debuted ten years ago when NBC picked up a pilot for the U.S. sitcom. The South African version will be in Zulu and produced by Barkers Media, known for shows like Killer Front Page, Shebeen Queens, and How to Manifest a Man, in collaboration with Universal International Studios. The original U.S. version, created by Justin Spitzer (The Office), ran for six seasons and featured a cast led by America Ferrera and Ben Feldman, focusing on the employees of the fictional Cloud 9 superstore in Middle America. Comcast-owned NBCUniversal played a key role in Showmax's relaunch in February 2024, with the Peacock streaming platform now powering the service. NBCUniversal holds a 30% stake in the streamer, and another Comcast company, Sky, was also involved in the revamp. Showmax's parent company, MultiChoice, is currently facing a $2.9B takeover bid from Canal+, with both companies seeking regulatory approval for the deal since October. However, South Africa's stringent foreign ownership regulations could block the transaction. Filming is set to begin this year.

Asia: Buried Hearts features a man desperate to survive hacks into a political slush fund worth 2 trillion won and a powerful but shadowy figure, who loses the same amount after unknowingly killing the person responsible for the hack. Seo Dong Ju (Park Hyung Sik), a leader in Daesan Group's chairman's secretary office, is known as the "Daesan Man" — a loyal servant to the company. However, he secretly harbors grand ambitions to take control of the group eventually. Yeom Jang Seon (Heo Joon Ho), a former National Intelligence Service director and current law professor, is the most influential figure in South Korean politics. He pulls the strings behind the scenes, controlling the kingmaker. Yeom thrives on wielding money and power, feeling truly alive when manipulating others like puppets.

In The Haunt Palace Yoon Gab (Yook Sung Jae) is a well-regarded government officer who becomes possessed by an Imoogi creature, leading people to believe he's lost his sanity. This Imoogi is linked to Yeo Ri (Bona), Yoon Gab’s first love and the granddaughter of a famous shaman, who has a divine gift but refuses to accept her fate as a spirit medium and works as a glasses craftswoman instead. The Imoogi seeks Yeo Ri’s body to ascend to Heaven, but she resists. After Yoon Gab's possession, Yeo Ri enters the palace, haunted by powerful female ghosts and evil spirits. Meanwhile, reformist monarch King Lee Sung (Kim Ji Hoon) seeks to strengthen Joseon while strange and disturbing occult events unfold in the palace. Yoon Gab, Yeo Ri, and King Lee Sung work together to uncover the secret behind these ghosts and end the haunting.

The Disney+ Korean drama Hyper Knife, starring Park Eun-bin and Sul Kyung-gu, is set to premiere on March 19. This medical crime thriller follows Jeong Se-ok (Park), a once-promising neurosurgeon forced to work as a shadow doctor in an underground clinic after being ousted by her mentor, Choi Deok-hee (played by Sul). Their paths cross again, sparking a tense and emotional rivalry between the doctors. Park, known for her roles in the hit dramas Extraordinary Attorney Woo and Castaway Diva told Deadline

“When I read the script for Hyper Knife for the first time, I was very amazed by this very strange and weird relationship between Se-ok and Deok-hee. They are teacher and apprentice, but this script provided a very different dynamic that I have ever seen”.

IU (Hotel Del Luna) and Byun Woo Seok (Lovely Runner) will star in the upcoming Korean drama Wife of a 21st Century Prince. Set in a fictional Korea with a constitutional monarchy, IU will portray a chaebol heiress, while Byun Woo Seok will play a prince as the drama centers on the romance between a chaebol heiress who seemingly has it all, but faces challenges due to her commoner background, and a prince with nothing who hides his true identity. Wife of a 21st Century Prince is slated to air in the second half of 2025 on MBC.

Additionally, on Valentine’s Day, Netflix will release the romantic drama series Melo Movie starring Parasite star Choi Woo-shik with Strong Girl Bong-soon lead Park Bo-young. The story centers on a film critic (Choi) who reconnects with an aspiring director (Park) years after a mysterious event caused them to part ways. The cast also features Mask Girl's Lee Jun-young and Parasyte: The Grey's Jeon So-nee, who portray another couple facing the complexities of love and career. Directed by Hotel del Luna's Oh Choong-hwan and written by Our Beloved Summer's Lee Na-eun, the series blends romance and personal growth. Melo Movie adds to Netflix's growing catalog of Korean originals, following recent successes like A Killer Paradox and Daily Dose of Sunshine, which also starred members of the Melo Movie cast.  The series will be available worldwide starting February 14.

Japanese entertainment company Remow has announced a TV anime adaptation of the popular shojo manga With You, Our Love Will Make It Through ("Kimi To Koete Koi Ni Naru" or "KIMIKOE"), set to premiere in fall 2025. The manga has sold 1.2 million copies and garnered 53 million page views on the Manga Mee app by December 2024 which tells the story of a human high school student and a beast folk transfer student navigating an interspecies romance. Written by Chihiro Yuzuki, the manga has been serialized on Shueisha’s Manga Mee platform since May 2019, with English translations available via Yen Press.

Juande Mellado - ANDRES TORREADRADO/CSMEDIA RTVA

Latin America: Juande Mellado has replaced Raquel Fuertes as the president of the Aragonese Radio and Television Corporation (Cartv) and Forta. Fuertes, who led Forta for the past six months was praised for her efforts which coincided with the federation's 35th anniversary. Mellado who previously served as president in early 2020, emphasized the importance of advancing digital transformation within regional public radio and TV stations stating

"In a determined way on working with all of us who are part of Forta to continue with the digital transformation of regional public radio and television stations. I believe that this should be one of the lines of action to compete, which will give us guarantees in an increasingly competitive audiovisual market, with more players and other forms of on-demand consumption." 

Mohammed Al Gergawi - Minister of cabinet of affairs UAE

Middle East: The UAE has launched the Creators HQ at Emirates Towers in Dubai during the 1 Billion Followers Summit, positioning the country as a global hub for digital media. This initiative, supported by an AED 150m Content Creators Support Fund, aims to attract 10,000 influencers and empower content creators by offering resources to grow the creator economy. Creators HQ will nurture talent through bespoke training, mentorship, and funding, with support from major organizations like Meta, TikTok, and X. The launch coincided with the 2025 summit, which gathered over 15,000 creators and industry leaders. Focused on attracting diverse talent—from social media influencers to digital creators and industry enablers—Creators HQ also plans to collaborate with tech companies to build a fully integrated creative ecosystem.