In today’s episode of Bingeworthy, our TV and streaming podcast host Mike DeAngelo investigates Max’s hit series “Tokyo Vice.” Based on the book of the same name, the series follows the true story of reporter Jake Adelstein, the first American to join the staff of a prominent Japanese newspaper, The Yomiuri Shimbun, in Tokyo, Japan. He quickly gets wrapped up in a story of corruption & murder with the Yakuza and falls in with a local detective. The show stars Ansel Elgort (“Baby Driver,” “West Side Story”), Ken Watanabe (“Godzilla,” “Inception,” “The Creator”), Rachel Keller, Sho Kasamatsu, and more.
Joining Bingeworthy to discuss the series are creator/showrunner J.T. Rogers (“Oslo”) and director Alan Poul (“Six Feet Under”). During the chat, Rogers, an award-winning playwright, discussed knowing Jake Adelstein, the real reporter on which the series is based, since childhood.
“Yeah, we grew up together,” Rogers said of his real-life relationship with Jake Adelstein. “The inciting incident for the memoir that becomes a shadow and a force through the first two seasons of the show is when he finds out bad things about the worst Yakuza in Tokyo in real life, and he is threatened. You know, the opening moment of season one is that, but also people closest to him – they tracked down their phone numbers and threatened them, and I was one of those people back in America.”
Before Michael Mann, Alan Poul, and Ansel Elgort jumped on board, Rogers initially wrote “Tokyo Vice” as a film with none other than Daniel Radcliffe to star in, which ultimately fizzled.
“Yeah, Dan [Radcliffe] was gonna do it,” Rogers said. “I mean, obviously, it was quite different. I wrote this screenplay on my own, and it was basically, ‘Well, let’s make it like this, make it like that.’ So they’re very different versions, but ultimately, and this is no disrespect to Dan, who I would work with in a heartbeat -and his work ethic and kindness is justly celebrated, but it’s just better as a series.”
The show is performing very well for HBO with American audiences; however, it was J.T Rogers and Alan Poul’s goal for the show to work especially well for another audience – the people of Japan.
READ MORE: Japan & No iPhones? Ansel Elgort On What Drew Him To ‘Tokyo Vice’ [Interview]
“It means so much to them, our partners [in Japan] because they feel like they’re making an incredible peak TV, Japanese TV show, which it is,” Rogers said. “And also, the great goal for us, which is not immediately apparent to American viewers, was to make sure that the show would work for Japanese viewers, as well. Because we’re the first American show ever to shoot entirely in Tokyo, but there have been other shows that have had big sections that have been set in Japan, and they work all over the world, but often not in Japan because if you don’t take the extra labor to get the dialogue right, to get the relationships between the people right, to get the nuances right, it bumps for the Japanese audience.”
Fans are already asking if Season 3 is green-lit, even before Season 2 has fully aired. According to Rogers and Poul, they’re ready for both outcomes.
“We will wait to see what the audience feels for the show. The [third] season is here. If we get to do [season 3], great. But the plane is landed for season two if need be. So I feel like we’re in a good place. But yes, yes, we want to go back.”
The second season of “Tokyo Vice” is airing new episodes each Thursday through April 4th only on Max. Listen to the full interview with J.T. Rogers and Alan Poul below:
Bingeworthy is part of The Playlist Podcast Network, which includes The Playlist Podcast, Deep Focus, The Discourse & more. We can be heard on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, and most places where podcasts are found. You can stream the podcast via the embed within the article or click on the lead image at the top page. Be sure to subscribe and drop us a comment or a rating, as we greatly appreciate it. Thank you for listening.
