SLL unveils TV series, film lineup for second half of 2023

SLL, also known as Studio LuluLala, announced a brand-new list of releases slated for the second half of the year and picked "popular appeal" as the keyword for its content in a press event Thursday. "SLL's strategy for developing content has...

Park Joon-suh, head of the production business unit at SLL (Studio LuluLala) speaks during a press event held at the Korea Press Center in Jung District, central Seoul, on Tuesday. [SLL]

SLL, also known as Studio LuluLala, announced a brand-new list of releases slated for the second half of the year and picked "popular appeal" as the keyword for its content in a press event Thursday.

"SLL's strategy for developing content has seen an internal change," Park Joon-suh, head of the production business unit of SLL, said Tuesday during an event held at the Korea Press Center in Jung District, central Seoul. "We acknowledge that previous drama series produced by JTBC Studios had a reputation for being well-made but quite dark and lacking popular appeal."

JTBC Studios was SLL's name before rebranding last year.

"With SLL, we have shifted focus on popular appeal and making stories that are just as well-made but brighter."

SLL houses 15 different multimedia, television and film production studios, including Drama House Studio and B.A. Entertainment. Studios under SLL have been behind a number of hit dramas and films such as "My Liberation Notes" (2022), "Reborn Rich" (2022) and "The Good Bad Mother" (2023). SLL currently has 209 creators and 383 cumulative titles under its name.

Park Joon-suh, head of the production business unit at SLL (Studio LuluLala) speaks during a press event held at the Korea Press Center in Jung District, central Seoul, on Tuesday. [SLL]

Most recently, "The Roundup: No Way Out," produced by B.A. Entertainment, under SLL, saw massive success at the box office and became the first film since the wane of the Covid-19 pandemic to sell more than 10 million tickets, a marker of a film's commercial success in Korea.

Park and other SLL executives, including Park Sung-eun, director of the first production division and Kim Gun-hong, director of the second production division, spoke on the success of SLL-made content in the first half of this year.

"Dramas made by our studios, including 'The Interest of Love,' 'Doctor Cha' and 'The Good Bad Mother' have seen high viewership ratings and positive reactions from viewers," Park said. "Films produced by studios under SLL like 'Cobweb' and 'Hopeless' have also been invited to prestigious awards such as Cannes."

A viewer-customized content planning and development system, bold investment in new creators and screenwriters, as well as the "label system" are the main driving forces behind SLL's continued success, according to Park.

"Under the viewer-customized system, we plan content based upon viewers' streaming habits and allocate dramas to different time slots, based on if they're best suited for group viewing or watching alone," Park said.

"Investment in new creators is how we have made the bet to greenlight content from new writers and directors and have seen success with this strategy. The label system is SLL's 15 different labels working with each other and creating synergy for new content."

For the second half of this year, SLL has planned a total of 15 new works. They include "Strong Woman Kang Nam Soon," "Welcome to Samdalri" and "Sing Again 3" for major broadcasters, and films and dramas such as "Ballerina," "D.P." season two and "Daily Dose of Sunshine" for Netflix. "The Crime Scene Returns" will be streamed through domestic streaming service Tving, while "The Summer I Turned Pretty" season two will be available on Amazon Prime.

A number of films by SLL studio labels are also lined up for release in the second half, including "Concrete Utopia," "Cobweb," "Road to Boston" and "Hijacking."

"No one has experienced the kind of drama production structure that we have going on now before," Park said. "With the advent of streaming services and more attention received by Korean dramas and content, it will be up to market leaders to find out how to produce content in this changed environment and how to maintain platforms for production and viewing."

Noting the 3 trillion won ($2.3 billion) investment over three years SLL announced last year, Park added, "SLL will continue to seek new and innovative ways to survive and fit into the trends of global market competition."

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]