A TRUE NOVEL: Post-WW II Japan-Set TV Drama In The Works
L.A.-based Upgrade Productions is pairing up with Japanese production label Shochiku (Tora-san franchise) to produce eight-part series drama, A True Novel. Acclaimed writer Riko Sakaguchi (The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, Mary and the Witches Flower, After The Rain) is penning the series.
Based on the best-selling Japanese novel from Minae Mizumura, which won the Yomiuri Prize for Literature in 2003, A True Novel is inspired by Emily Bronte’s “Wuthering Heights”. A sweeping narrative set in the decades after World War II in Japan and the US, this series will bring to life a love story spread over three generations as told by different characters.
Shochiku’s Shuhei Akita is tapped to produce the series alongside Matt Brodlie and Jonathan Kier from Upgrade Productions, the label itself exec producing the series.
The move marks a new one for Upgrade as it aims to produce premium local language productions for a global audience, per their partnership with Germany’s Constantin Film. Their development slate also includes the TV series “Twenty Faces” with The Clockworx and producer Akiko Funatsu and based on the work of iconic author Edogawa Ranpo, writer/director José Luis Montesinos’s fantasy horror series “La Jaula” (“The Cage”) from DeAPlaneta and Minoria Absoluta, and original Australian comedy “Sausages” (working title), from comedian Ryan Shelton.
“The extraordinary team at Shochiku, one of Japan’s most innovative and successful studios, is the perfect partner on this show. ‘A True Novel’ is a beautiful story with universal themes and to be collaborating with the incredibly talented Riko Sakaguchi is a dream come true. It’s an epic story which is appealing to global audiences,” commented co-presidents Brodlie and Kier; For her work on Mary and the Witches Flower, Sakaguchi won the Annie Award nomination for Outstanding Achievement for Writing in an Animated Feature Production.
“We are excited to be adapting this powerful story, based on a prestigious and popular Japanese novel – collaborating with Upgrade will help us bring this series to the world. We are confident in Riko Sakaguchi’s ability to bring the beauty of this novel to a series which will be equally as dynamic and engaging,” said Akita and Shochiku Head of Sales Meri Koyama.
Native New Yorker. Been writing for a long time now, and I enjoy what I do. Be nice to me!