Netflix To Create Animated Series Based On “Line Friends”

Netflix is poised to work on an original slapstick comedy animation series featuring the Brown & Friends characters, which started out as stickers on Japanese messaging app Line.

The animated series will be dialogue-free and feature five of the Line Friends characters. Los Angeles-based Kickstart Entertainment will be a co-producer on the series. More details are set to be announced in the future. Netflix has invested heavily in original local content in Japan, though this will be the first series in partnership with Line.

In Netflix’s announcement, it said the series will tell the story of a diverse set of friends living in the same town. Aram Yacoubian, the Director of Original Animation at Netflix, said in a statement: “The band of adorable Brown and Friends characters has been a part of many fans’ daily lives since they created as stickers on Line mobile messengers, and now we’re excited to develop the expanded world for screens of all kinds to delight new audiences everywhere on Netflix.”

“With an original animated series on Netflix, Line Friends will enhance its competitiveness in global content, and strengthen its presence in the entertainment industry,” said Line Friends vice president KD Kim.

While the characters are still associated with the Japanese messaging app, the Line Friends brand actually became a separate company in 2015. The show doesn’t have a premiere date yet, but the streaming giant will announce more details at a later date. Line and its South Korean parent company Naver have been trying into other forms of entertainment in the industry, leveraging on the IP of its popular characters from the service.