Apple Lands ‘Drops of God’ Series From Legendary; Marks Rare TV Acquisition For Streamer
23.01.2023 - 21:17
/ deadline.com
EXCLUSIVE: Apple TV+ has picked up Drops of God, a series set in the world of fine wine based on a Japanese manga property, from Legendary Entertainment.
Deadline understands that the streamer beat out a number of suitors to land the international series, which is in multiple languages including English, French and Japanese.
However, the most interesting element of the deal is that it marks one of the first times that Apple has dipped its toe into international co-productions and licensing; the majority of its scripted series to date have been fully owned originals. We hear that the first season of Tehran and Losing Alice were picked up in a similar manner.
Drops of God is written by Quoc Dang Tran, who wrote on French series Call My Agent and created Disney+’s Parallèles, the streamer’s first French language series, and directed by Oded Ruskin, who has directed episodes of Amazon’s Absentia and Hulu’s No Man’s Land.
It stars Fleur Geffrier (Elle) and Tomohisa Yamashita (The Head) and filmed in France, Japan and Italy.
The eight-part series is a co-production between Legendary Television, Dynamic Television, France Televisions and Hulu Japan, and in partnership with Adline Entertainment.
Deadline hears that it has a budget of around $30M and Legendary deficit financed much of this. As a result, it handled worldwide sales for all territories apart from France and Japan, where Nippon-owned Hulu Japan, which is a separate company to the Disney streamer, will premiere it.
The series is set in the world of gastronomy and fine wines, which are in mourning as Alexandre Léger, creator of the famous Léger Wine Guide and emblematic figure in oenology, has just passed away at his home in Tokyo at the age of 60.
He left behind a