Merry Berry Love Reaches No. 2 on Disney+ Global TV Chart After Two Episodes

A strawberry farm romance finds a worldwide audience

Merry Berry Love, the Japanese and Korean romantic comedy starring Ji Chang-wook and Mio Imada, has reached No. 2 on FlixPatrol's worldwide Disney+ television chart after releasing just two episodes. As of October 15, 2026, the series had entered the platform's television Top 10 in 72 countries and regions, including France, Spain, Poland and Mexico.

Disney+ has also announced a more narrowly defined viewing record: among Japanese live action titles released on the service in 2026, Merry Berry Love had the highest global viewing total during its first five days. Within Asia Pacific and Japan, it led Japanese scripted titles released that year over the same opening period.

The drama premiered on October 7 and released its second episode on October 14. Its early success brings together two audiences: viewers following a weekly Japanese television drama and subscribers discovering a romance that pairs a Korean designer with a Japanese strawberry farmer.

Ji plays Lee Yu-bin, a successful professional whose career and finances collapse after a betrayal. Imada plays Shirahama Karin, who is trying to keep her strawberry farm going on Japan's Charo Island. His plan to recover his money through inherited land collides with her determination to protect the place where she works.

Behind the romance is a collaboration involving Nippon TV, Korean entertainment company CJ ENM and Disney. The production combines Korean creative staff, Japanese broadcasting and distribution through Disney+, while the story makes work, property and family connections the reasons its central couple cannot simply walk away from each other.

What the viewing records measure

FlixPatrol's chart position and Disney+'s viewing announcement describe different parts of the show's performance. FlixPatrol tracks streaming rankings across markets. Disney+'s announcement compares viewing during a fixed opening window with other titles in specified categories.

The No. 2 worldwide chart position was already recorded on October 9, two days after the premiere. At that point, Merry Berry Love was No. 1 in Brazil, Japan and Hong Kong. Its early Top 10 markets also included South Korea, the United Kingdom, Germany, Taiwan, Finland, Iceland and Estonia.

Disney+'s record uses the first five days after release as its comparison period. The global category covers Japanese live action productions released in 2026. The regional categories cover Japanese scripted productions released that year, measured separately across Asia Pacific and within Japan. A scripted production follows a written story, unlike a reality or competition programme.

Japanese viewers also watched through TVer, a service carrying television programmes online. Episode one's TVer play count exceeded 2 million by October 13, according to TVer DATA MARKETING. That figure counts plays on TVer; Disney+'s announcement concerns viewing on its own platform.

An early audience score offered another sign of enthusiasm: the series had a 9.5 out of 10 rating on IMDb on October 9. The chart placements, platform viewing comparisons and audience rating each capture a different kind of response, from where a programme ranks to how participating viewers score it.

The first two weeks, date by date

Merry Berry Love built its initial audience across a short stretch between the premiere and the release of episode two. Its main early milestones were:

• October 7: The series premiered on Disney+ and began its weekly Wednesday release.
• October 8: It entered FlixPatrol's worldwide Disney+ Top 10 within a day of release.
• October 9: It reached No. 2 worldwide and No. 1 in Brazil, Japan and Hong Kong.
• October 13: Episode one's TVer play count had passed 2 million.
• October 14: Episode two aired, and the opening five days viewing records were announced.
• October 15: The series was listed at No. 2 worldwide, with Top 10 placements in 72 countries and regions.

The Wednesday schedule gives the series a fresh episode each week rather than releasing the entire story at once. In Japan, Nippon TV broadcasts it at 10 p.m., while Disney+ carries the weekly streaming release.

A land sale becomes a job on the farm

Yu-bin arrives on Charo Island looking for a financial escape route. Once a successful spatial designer in Seoul, he loses his position and wealth after a betrayal by someone close to him. His profession involves planning how physical spaces are arranged and used, a very different kind of work from tending strawberries.

His remaining opportunity is land left by his late father. Yu-bin hopes to sell it, but Karin's farm and her connection to the property complicate that plan. She is carrying on the work of her late grandfather and is determined to protect what he left behind.

Episode one turns their meeting into a chain of arguments and misunderstandings. A dispute over a boarding ticket starts the friction, and Karin later mistakes Yu-bin for someone stealing strawberries or damaging the field. By the time they understand more about each other, neither has much reason to trust the other.

Episode two changes their relationship through an immediate practical problem: Karin has no workers to help her. Yu-bin volunteers to become a farmhand, placing the former city professional under the authority of the woman whose land arrangements he had hoped to resolve.

Karin tests him with demanding work. He struggles, but keeps going. Their new positions as employer and worker give the romance a concrete source of tension: she knows the farm and sets the tasks, while he must learn to be useful in a place where his former status carries little weight.

Hard work brings the characters closer

Ji's performance moves between Yu-bin's confidence and his obvious lack of farming experience. The comedy comes from the gap between what he expects to manage and what the work actually demands. Early promotional images showed that contrast through his cheerful arrival and his later exhaustion under a heavy rucksack.

The production team described episode two as the beginning of a different relationship between the leads, with Yu-bin's sudden unemployment pushing him into an unfamiliar life.

In Episode 2, viewers will see Yu Bin begin a new life after suddenly becoming unemployed overnight. The relationship between Yu Bin and Karin, which began with a misunderstanding, is also set to enter a new phase.

Yu-bin's effort gradually changes Karin's response. He takes care of the strawberry field and digs for clams on a mudflat as part of his attempt to find nutrients for the crop. The mudflat scene places his awkwardness alongside a growing willingness to do difficult work for her.

Karin begins to lower her guard because she can see what he does. Their attraction develops through shared tasks and small acts of care, giving their arguments a different meaning from the hostility of their first meeting.

Family history and health complicate the romance

Yu-bin's inherited land becomes more personal when he learns that his father once stayed at Karin's home. His father's connection to the island also reaches into the work of Karin's late grandfather. The property he initially sees as a way to raise money is tied to a family history he is only beginning to understand.

Episode two also brings vulnerability into the relationship. Thunder triggers a trauma response in Yu-bin, and Karin stays beside him. Her presence changes the balance between them again: the demanding employer becomes someone he can rely on during distress.

Karin has a health problem of her own, with dizziness and a collapse adding urgency to her situation. The nature of her illness has not yet been disclosed. Her difficulty managing the farm therefore carries a personal burden alongside the shortage of workers.

A corporate storyline involving Masato Kurokawa, played by Yasunori Danta, and Green Nova Corp. introduces another strand beyond the couple's daily work. Together, the family connection, Karin's health and the corporate plot give the series several pressures to resolve as the romance develops.

A supporting romance reflects the wider collaboration

Nam Yoon-su plays Park Gu-nam, a young Korean on a working holiday who takes a job at Charo Island's Asahi Store supermarket. His arrival introduces a supporting romantic storyline involving Mizuno Mari, played by Rinka Kumada.

Nam discussed the production during an October 14 interview in Samcheong-dong, Seoul. Asked about the drama's global success, he credited directors Kim Su-jeong and Noh Young-seop with managing a demanding schedule involving actors from both countries.

I did not know so many people would like it. First of all, I am grateful to the two directors who worked so hard.

Nam said he stayed in Japan for three to four months during filming. Japanese pitch accents, the changes in vocal pitch that help words sound natural, were a particular challenge. A friend who had lived locally for decades helped him practise.

He also thanked the Japanese crew, saying a small number of staff had carried a difficult workload. His account gives a practical view of the collaboration: beyond casting stars from two countries, the production required language preparation, coordination and direction across different working backgrounds.

Nam's promotional schedule also included his film debut, Killing Time, which was scheduled to open on October 21. For Merry Berry Love, his supermarket character provides another perspective on a Korean newcomer finding a place in the island community.

Who made the series and when to watch

Merry Berry Love is presented as the first joint project between Nippon TV and CJ ENM. Production credits identify CJ ENM Japan and Nippon TV, while development and production also involved Disney. Nippon TV provides the Japanese television broadcast and Disney+ carries the international streaming release.

Directors Kim Su-jeong and Noh Young-seop work from a screenplay by Lee Jae-yun. Their central pairing joins Ji, known for The Worst of Evil and The Manipulated, with Imada, whose screen work includes Tokyo Revengers.

The music also brings Japanese performers into the production. SEKAI NO OWARI supplies the main theme, Supermarket, and Lilas Ikuta performs the insert song Toki ga Tomatta Hi, meaning The Day Time Stopped.

New episodes arrive on Wednesdays through Disney+ and air on Nippon TV at 10 p.m. in Japan. TVer carries the Japanese broadcast live and offers catchup viewing for a limited period. Its episode one window was scheduled to close at 9:59 p.m. on October 14, just before the second episode's television broadcast.

A published series listing gives the drama a run of 10 episodes from October 7 through December 9, 2026. With the opening two episodes released, the story has established its main conflict: Yu-bin came to sell land and rebuild his former life, but working beside Karin is giving him reasons to reconsider what he wants from the island.

Key Points

• Merry Berry Love reached No. 2 on FlixPatrol's worldwide Disney+ television chart.
• As of October 15, it had entered the television Top 10 in 72 countries and regions.
• Disney+ said it led Japanese live action releases of 2026 in global viewing during their first five days.
• Episode one's TVer play count exceeded 2 million by October 13.
• Ji Chang-wook and Mio Imada play a Korean designer and a Japanese strawberry farmer whose lives become entangled over inherited land.
• New episodes stream on Wednesdays, with Nippon TV broadcasting at 10 p.m. in Japan.