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Wavve’s ‘The Deal’ to reach wider audience

Nov. 16, 2023 - 16:31 By Lee Si-jin
"The Deal" (Wavve)
Yoo Seung-ho plays Jun-sung, a young man in his 20s, in "The Deal." (Wavve)

Mystery thriller series “The Deal” is set to be released on a global streaming service and screened at an upcoming international film festival.

The eight-part series, which premiered locally Oct. 6, spurred a rise in the number of paid subscribers and unique visitors to domestic streamer Wavve in the four days following its release. The series also secured the top spot on Taiwanese streaming platform FriDay.

“‘The Deal’ is set to be released globally via Rakuten Viki, showcasing the crime thriller story to more than 200 European, North and South American and Oceanian countries,” said Wavve in its latest press release Thursday. According to a Wavve official, the exact date of the release on Rakuten Viki has not yet been decided.

The local streamer added that the show’s lead actor Yoo Seung-ho will star in a Rakuten Viki live broadcast called “K-drama Day” to promote the upcoming series to global fans on Nov. 29.

The show will also make its premiere in Saudi Arabia via the Red Sea International Film Festival, becoming the first Korean drama series to screen at the country’s film festival.

“The Deal” director Lee Jung-gon and Yoo are scheduled to take part in one of the screenings and visit as guests.

The third edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival runs from Nov. 30 to Dec. 9.

Adapted from a popular webtoon series of the same title by Woonam20, the show revolves around three friends from high school holding a reunion at a restaurant.

After the three spend the night drinking together, Jun-sung (Yoo) and Jae-hyo (Kim Dong-hwi) suddenly decide to kidnap their friend Min-woo (Yoo Su-bin) and make his mother come up with 10 billion won ($7.7 million) in ransom.