NHK, Japan’s mighty public broadcaster, has picked up both seasons of Northern Pictures’ live-action series Hardball for an April 2024 launch. 

The Australian Children’s Television Foundation distributes this 23 x 24-minute comedy for eight- to 12-year-olds about a group of kids in the super-competitive world of schoolyard handball. Sydney-based Northern Pictures produced Hardball for commissioning broadcaster ABC Australia, which premiered it domestically in 2019. ACTF has since sold it to broadcasters in 19 other territories, including the UK (BBC), France (France Télévisions), Germany (KiKA) and Spain (Clan TV). 

In season one of the series, young Mikey moves from New Zealand to Australia, where he is introduced to the fast-paced sport of handball. And in the second season, Mikey and his newfound teammates embark on a mission to win the state championship. Both seasons will launch on NHK’s linear channels and streaming platform NHK Plus. 

The show’s arrival in Japan has been a long time coming, according to NHK senior producer Takako Hayashi. According to a release, she first saw “and fell in love with” the series in 2020 when it won NHK’s Japan Prize for best program in the primary age category (eight to 12). In 2021 and 2022, Hayashi was also behind NHK picking up both seasons of Aussie-born live-action tween drama First Day, which centers around a transgender girl starting high school.