Pachinko Producer Tells Why Diverse Shows Are Streaming Hits

For producer Theresa Kang, everything comes down to perspective.

Kang, the CEO of Blue Marble Pictures, was born in the United States, but her sister and parents were immigrants born in South Korea, resulting in her growing up in a multicultural household. Her upbringing has always played a major role in her life and the type of stories her company produces, fostering a strong interest in Asian and Asian American projects.

“The perspective in my home was never just one perspective. There were always many perspectives. That’s definitely been part of my company and what and who I choose to represent, even as an agent,” said Kang, who worked at WME for 17 years before launching Blue Marble Pictures and its management arm in 2020.

Fueled by Kang’s focus on telling stories from different perspectives, the company has gone on to produce high-profile streaming TV hits such as Pachinko, based on the bestselling novel by Min Jin Lee. The series debuts its second season finale on Oct. 11 on Apple TV+.

The company also represents Mexican filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón, who directed the series Disclaimer, starring Cate Blanchett, which premiered this year at the Venice Film Festival and is also now airing on Apple TV+.

In addition to her company’s own hits, Kang noted that—from FX’s Shōgun to Netflix’s Squid Game—global storytelling is fueling today’s streaming demand. According to Kang, consumers are flocking to storytelling that expands beyond their regular worldview, and viewership is evolving, with audiences, especially younger ones, becoming more comfortable watching films and shows with subtitles.

“Because of that, TV, film, and short-form content will be more expressed or should be more expressed from different perspectives and not just from an identity or rightness point of view. I’m actually talking about from an entertainment point of view,” Kang said. “There are so many stories we haven’t even heard of yet.”

Beyond the storytelling, Kang explained how promotion should also take on a global lens.

For example, Pachinko, which is a global story of clashing cultures, also has a global marketing team behind it. The producing team is from the United States, but some of the production took place in Korea and Canada. Kang said there were also several translators and historical consultants on set. 

Promoting a series like Pachinko may seem like a daunting task given its generational storyline, but the team leaned into an organic marketing strategy to promote the second season, looking for opportunities to reach the show’s global audience.

For instance, Apple TV+ and Blue Marble worked with BLACKPINK member Rosé to record a cover of Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida” for the final episode of the show, but they were so blown away by it that they asked if they could use the song in the trailer.