Disney+ to Triple Local Shows, Name New Australia Commissioner
Disney+ is about to name a new commissioner in Australia as it moves to triple its local-language shows around the world. The update came from Jon Wax, executive vice-president of international original television at Disney Entertainment.
He was speaking at a fireside chat, an on-stage interview, at the Park Hyatt Busan during the Busan International Film Festival. His remarks were reported by Variety.
Wax said the goal is three times as much local-language output. That means series made in the language of the audience watching them, not American shows brought in from elsewhere. It covers both scripted drama and unscripted entertainment, meaning reality and competition shows made without a script.
Wax started with Australia. He said a new commissioner is about to be appointed there. A commissioner is the executive who finds local ideas, orders new series and works with production companies to get them made. Wax said local original spending in Australia is ramping up alongside the hire.
Wax then discussed Indonesia. He said Disney+ is exploring specific titles there. Production in Indonesia is "absolutely on the menu", he said. He did not name the projects under discussion.
Wax then turned to Korea. He highlighted Battle of Fates, a Korean unscripted series built as a reality competition. He said it was the biggest series premiere ever on Disney+ in Korea. The show has already led to House of Fates, a spinoff, meaning a second series built from the first.
Now that format is travelling. Local versions of Battle of Fates in other markets are now in prep, meaning teams are casting, staffing and getting ready to film. Wax did not say which countries will make their own editions first.
For viewers, this means a more familiar front page. More Australian stories in Australia and more Indonesian ideas in development. The catalogue starts to sound like the street outside.
It also means work. A local order keeps writers, crews and studios in jobs from first pitch to final edit. Short version: more local writers' rooms kept open, more crews hired, more endings that actually get filmed.
