Charlize Theron is behind the first live-action Webtoon series in English — a mafia nanny romance with 338 million views
Hulu’s adaptation of Violet Matter’s Webtoon, with 338 million views, follows an elite nanny guarding a Venetian mafia underboss’s son. Max Gill is writing.
Here we go: Charlize Theron is jumping into the world of Webtoon adaptations with a new Hulu project called The Mafia Nanny. She's on board as executive producer, which suggests Hulu are taking this one pretty seriously, and — let's be honest — the source material has a massive following already. If you haven't heard of Webtoon, it's a ridiculously popular digital comics platform — and apparently there's an itch for English-language live-action adaptations now, not just the usual K-drama suspects pulling from these stories.
The Mafia Nanny has racked up more than 4.4 million subscribers and over 338 million views on Webtoon.
A First for Webtoon Adaptations
According to Deadline, The Mafia Nanny will be the first-ever English-language live-action series to adapt a Webtoon original. For years, platforms in South Korea and Japan have been nabbing these comics and turning them into hit series, while the Western world mostly watched from the sidelines. Now, with this Hulu project, there's finally a studio betting big on one of these stories outside of Asia. Frankly, it's long overdue, given how massive some of these titles are with English readers.
The comic itself was created by Violet Matter and features art from sh00, Roususu, and Drawniels. The series started back in 2023 and hasn't slowed since — over 100 episodes and counting, if you can believe it. It's one of the big romance titles on Webtoon, but it isn't just a hearts-and-flowers story. It's got crime, action, and a proper bit of intrigue as well.
Who's Making This Thing?
Charlize Theron is joined by a sizable team on the production end: Max Gill (who's also writing the adaptation), AJ Dix, Matt Maher, David Madden, Beth Kono, Dawn Olmstead, and Sera Tabb are all listed as executive producers. It's a proper lineup. And given Hulu's recent moves, they seem determined to bring more of these digital comics to telly. In fact, their next Webtoon-based project, The Remarried Empress, is already set to launch on 4 November 2026.
The Story (And Why It's Not Just Babysitting)
So, what's The Mafia Nanny actually about? The main character is Davina, classed as an Elite Nanny — that is, highly-trained protection for children in dangerous families. Her first proper placement is watching over Mikey Angelini, whose dad, Gabriel, just happens to be a major Venetian mafia underboss. Not exactly your standard nursery gig.
- Davina must keep Mikey safe amidst constant threats from Gabriel's criminal world.
- Gabriel handpicks Davina, and — predictably — things get tricky when he takes a bit too much of an interest in her.
- Davina's supposed to keep it all professional, but that's easier said than done with Gabriel hovering (and with baddies coming after Mikey).
- The role quickly turns from childminding to full-on bodyguarding, with romance and buried secrets thrown in for good measure.
As the stakes rise, Davina's forced to keep a step ahead of Gabriel's enemies while unravelling her own mysterious past. The story weaves together mob drama, budding romance, and the relentless tension of living under constant threat — all the bits that make for a binge-worthy drama if they get it right.
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