Netflix Ties ‘Tokyo Swindlers’ Director Hitoshi One To Five-Year Deal

Netflix has signed Tokyo Swindlers director Hitoshi One to an exclusive five-year deal.

The agreement means Netflix will produce and distribute all of One’s upcoming series and films for the period. The offer came two weeks after Tokyo Swindlers launched on the streamer, One revealed.

“I was surprised at how quickly I responded, but I realized that I was drawn to the distribution medium, a genre that is not yet as established as film and TV dramas,” he added.

Drama series Tokyo Swindlers follows a group of real estate scammers, who attempt to pull off a 10B yen scam without getting caught. It debuted on Netflix in July and hit the Global Top 10 (non-English) chart, while holding the #1 spot in the Top 10 chart for Japan for six weeks straight.

Netflix’s Vice President of Content in Japan, Kaata Sakamoto said: “Mr. One has generously demonstrated his creative talents in Tokyo Swindlers, a thrilling story with quirky characters full of humanity. The series has become one of the most-watched shows in Japan on Netflix. Through Mr. One’s one-of-a-kind perspective, we will discover stories that have yet to be told and deliver entertainment that will captivate viewers around the world.”

One made his directorial debut in 2011 with the theatrical version of Moteki, which won the Japan Academy Award for Most Popular Title. He later won the Best Director Award for Bakuman, as well as the Grand Prize in the TV category at the Galaxy Awards for Elpis: Hope or Disaster.

Other notable titles include SCOOP!, Tornado Girl, Sunny: Tsuyoi Kimochi Tsuyoi Ai, Kyouen NG and New Dimension! Crayon Shinchan the Movie: Battle of Supernatural Powers Flying Sushi.

Following a period during which many international creators landed exclusive deals with Netflix, such agreements have become relatively uncommon, making today’s deal all the more notable.