BBC Buys HBO Max’s Ansel Elgort-Starring ‘Tokyo Vice’ From Endeavor Content
The BBC has acquired HBO Max’s Ansel Elgort-starring Tokyo Vice from Endeavor Content.
Written and created by Tony Award-winning playwright J.T. Rogers, the 8 x 60-minute crime drama series co-produced by HBO Max, Endeavor Content and Japanese broadcaster WOWOW is based on U.S. journalist Jake Adelstein’s non-fiction first-hand account of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police beat.
It is one of HBO Max’s most high-profile early bets and also stars Academy Award nominees Ken Watanabe and Rinko Kikuchi alongside Rachel Keller, Ella Rumpf, Hideaki Ito, Show Kasamatsu and Tomohisa Yamashita.
The show, which counts Michael Mann as exec and pilot director, is the latest in a string of high-profile BBC buys including State of the Union, Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens and Luca Guadagnino’s We Are Who We Are.
The BBC has Tokyo Vice’s second window in UK and will air the show later this year, with HBO Max not set to launch in the territory for at least a couple of years.
“The BBC is delighted to be the exclusive Free TV home of Tokyo Vice,” said Sue Deeks, BBC Head of Programme Acquisition. “With the first episode superbly orchestrated by Michael Mann, the series is a fascinating and immersive dive into the neon-lit underbelly of 1990’s Tokyo and a crime world dominated by the yakuza.”