Merry Berry Love arrived on October 7, 2026 with a big name attached. Ji Chang-wook plays a ruined Seoul designer who lands on a small Japanese island, and Japanese star Mio Imada plays the strawberry farmer whose land he has just inherited. Four days later, the South China Morning Post called the show a hollow romantic comedy. So if you have seen the headline, two questions are probably on your mind: where can you actually stream it, and is it worth your time?
This guide answers both. You will find where Merry Berry Love streams in your region, what the official release schedule really is (several sites have it wrong), who is in the cast, and a fair look at the bad review next to the good early numbers. Everything below is spoiler-light and covers the first episode only.
Merry Berry Love streams on Disney+ worldwide and airs on Nippon TV in Japan, with one new episode every Wednesday. The SCMP review found it shallow, but it also entered the Disney+ worldwide TV top 10 within a day. Watch it if you want a light, low-stakes romcom; wait a few weeks if you prefer to binge.
What Merry Berry Love is about
Merry Berry Love is a Korea-Japan romantic comedy co-produced by CJ ENM and Nippon TV. The official Disney+ title page describes Lee Yubin as a star Korean spatial designer who loses everything overnight. He heads to Charo Island, a small and beautiful Japanese island, and meets Shirahama Karin, a strawberry farmer who keeps going despite a mysterious illness.
A second couple fills out the island. Park Kunam is a working holiday visitor who stays after falling for Mizuno Mari, a tarot reader who cannot predict her own love life. The setup is a classic fish-out-of-water romance, built around a city man forced to share a farm with a woman who wants nothing to do with him.
What critics say: the SCMP review in brief
SCMP critic Pierce Conran reviewed the opening episode on October 11, 2026. He said the show aims “squarely for low-hanging fruit at every turn,” and argued that its scenes look polished one by one but drift into parody when stacked together. He also found the two leads thin, built from familiar romcom types with little underneath.
The review had one more practical point. Yubin does not speak Japanese, yet the language gap barely changes the story, which Conran called oddly inconsequential. The verdict is based on episode one only, so it is an early judgment rather than a review of the full series.
The case for watching anyway
Early audience numbers point the other way. Tenasia reported on October 10, 2026 that Merry Berry Love ranked 9th in the Disney+ worldwide TV show chart as of October 8. It also reached the top 10 in 11 countries and regions, including South Korea, Japan, Finland, Iceland and Estonia.
Even the critical review called the show effortless and easy-going. That matters if what you want is something gentle to watch after work. A light romcom does not need to reinvent the genre to be a pleasant weekly habit, and the cast has real star power on both sides of the sea.
Where to watch Merry Berry Love
Merry Berry Love is a Disney+ release outside Japan. The Disney+ title pages for the US and the UK both list the series, and the hulu.com series address now redirects to Disney+, as Hulu content moves into the Disney+ app. Fan site What’s On Disney Plus listed the show for both Disney+ and Hulu. In Japan, Nippon TV broadcasts it on terrestrial TV, and the official Nippon TV site lists Disney+ streaming plus live and catch-up viewing on TVer.
Availability can change by country, so check your local Disney+ page before you subscribe. The table below reflects the official pages as of October 12, 2026.
| Where you live | Where to watch | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| United States | Disney+ (Hulu content in the Disney+ app) | Listed on the US Disney+ title page; hulu.com redirects to Disney+ |
| United Kingdom | Disney+ | Listed on the UK Disney+ title page |
| South Korea | Disney+ | Korean title: 메리 베리 러브 |
| Japan | Nippon TV, Disney+, TVer | Terrestrial broadcast on Nippon TV network stations, with TVer live and catch-up streams |
| Other Disney+ markets | Disney+ | Streams globally on Disney+, per the official announcements |
| Countries without Disney+ | No confirmed legal option | Avoid unofficial streaming sites |
Merry Berry Love release schedule
Merry Berry Love premiered on October 7, 2026, on Disney+ and in Nippon TV’s Wednesday drama slot on the same day. New episodes follow every Wednesday. As of October 12, the US and UK Disney+ title pages list only Episode 1, and Nippon TV lists Episode 2 for October 14. The release pattern is one episode per week, which the SCMP review also describes.
Some streaming guides say two episodes drop each week and that the finale lands on November 4. The official listings do not match that claim, and Disney+ and Nippon TV have not published a total episode count or a finale date.
Several listings report 10 episodes, and if that is right and there are no breaks, the run would end in early December. Treat that as a projection, not an announcement.
| Item | Status as of October 12, 2026 | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Premiere | October 7, 2026 (Wednesday) | Disney+, Nippon TV |
| Episode 2 | October 14, 2026 | Nippon TV episode page |
| Release pattern | One episode per week, every Wednesday | Disney+ listings, SCMP |
| Episode runtime | About 45 minutes | SCMP review |
| Total episodes | Not officially announced (10 in some listings) | No official source yet |
| Finale date | Not officially announced | November 4 reports conflict with the weekly pattern |
Merry Berry Love cast and creative team
Ji Chang-wook, credited on Disney+ as Ji Changwook, leads the Korean side. He is known for The Worst of Evil on Disney+ and appeared in the Netflix period drama The Scandal in September 2026. Mio Imada, known for Tokyo Revengers and Trillion Game, plays opposite him.
| Actor | Role | Who the character is |
|---|---|---|
| Ji Chang-wook | Lee Yubin | Korean spatial designer who loses everything |
| Mio Imada | Shirahama Karin | Strawberry farmer on Charo Island |
| Nam Yoon-su | Park Kunam | Working holiday visitor who settles on the island |
| Rinka Kumada | Mizuno Mari | Tarot reader who cannot read her own love life |
| Yasunori Danta | Supporting role | Listed in the Disney+ cast |
| Lee Hyo-in | Supporting role | Listed in the Disney+ cast |
Behind the camera, Kim Soojung (Semantic Error) and Noh Youngsub (My Lovely Liar) co-direct, and Lee Jaeyoon (Divorce Insurance) wrote the script. The project was first announced on November 13, 2025, at Disney’s APAC content showcase.
Should you watch Merry Berry Love now or wait?
Your answer depends on what you want from a romcom. The SCMP review and the early chart numbers are both real, and they measure different things. One judges the writing; the other shows how many people pressed play in the first days.
- Watch now if you are a Ji Chang-wook or Mio Imada fan and simply want to see the two together on screen.
- Watch now if you like slow, cosy settings such as farms, small islands and seaside villages, and you do not mind familiar romcom beats.
- Wait a few weeks if you prefer to binge. One 45-minute episode a week is a slow drip, and a backlog will feel more satisfying.
- Skip it if you want sharp writing, complex characters or a story that takes cross-cultural differences seriously. That was the core complaint in the SCMP review.
If you are building a Disney+ watchlist, Merry Berry Love sits alongside several other Korean titles that you will not find on Netflix. Our guide below covers the Disney+ K-dramas worth knowing in 2026.
Merry Berry Love FAQ
Where can I watch Merry Berry Love?
Outside Japan, Merry Berry Love streams on Disney+, including the US and UK Disney+ title pages. In Japan it airs on Nippon TV and also streams on Disney+ and TVer.
When did the Merry Berry Love K-drama come out?
The series premiered on October 7, 2026, on Disney+ and Nippon TV on the same day. New episodes arrive every Wednesday, one at a time.
How many episodes does Merry Berry Love have?
Disney+ and Nippon TV had not announced a total as of October 12, 2026. Some streaming listings report 10 episodes, but no official episode count has been published yet.
Does Merry Berry Love end on November 4?
That date comes from guides that assume two episodes a week. The official listings show one episode per week, and no finale date has been officially announced.
Is Merry Berry Love worth watching?
It depends on your taste. The SCMP review called it a hollow romcom after episode one, yet it reached the Disney+ worldwide TV top 10. It suits viewers who want light, easy comfort viewing.
Who stars in Merry Berry Love?
Ji Chang-wook plays designer Lee Yubin and Mio Imada plays farmer Shirahama Karin. Nam Yoon-su and Rinka Kumada play the second couple, Park Kunam and Mizuno Mari.
