EXCLUSIVE: House of Ninjas creator Dave Boyle and the star and co-EP of the Netflix series, Kento Kaku, are opening the doors to their new production company, Signal181.
The international nature of the venture is reflected in the name, which combines the country codes of Japan (+81) and the United States (+1). Signal181’s mission is to develop and co-produce projects with global partners on both sides of the Pacific including original movies and series for streaming and broadcast as well as theatrical titles. Signal181’s first projects will be Japanese-language originals. Their flagship office will be based in Tokyo, Japan with plans for expansion in the future.
Kaku tells Deadline, “At the time, I am thrilled to announce the formation of production company SIGNAL181 along with Dave Boyle. I look forward to bringing never-before-seen original stories to the world, made with boundless creative freedom, along with my comrade-in-arms Dave, who I first met on House of Ninjas. We are already on the move.”
“Even while making House of Ninjas, Kento and I were constantly trading new ideas and coming up with new stories, so I knew I didn’t want this collaboration to be a one-and-done,” added Dave Boyle in a comment. “Signal181 is like our own personal laboratory to cultivate the ideas we’re both passionate about — the irresistible stories that fit our common interests. I can’t wait to share what we’ve been cooking up.”
Kaku and Boyle’s first collaboration House of Ninjas began as an original story by Kaku, Yoshiaki Murao and Takafumi Imai. Kaku served as co-EP, and Boyle joined the team as showrunner, writer, and lead director. The series was released on Netflix on Feb. 15 and was an immediate hit — rising to No. 1 on Netflix’s Global Top Ten (Non-English) and hitting the Top Ten in over 90 countries.