Max series Tokyo Vice has ended after two seasons. The news was revealed today during a Produced By panel at the Fox Studios with participants Max Head of Original Content, Sarah Aubrey, Tokyo Vice creator J.T. Rogers and EP/director Alan Poul.
Said a Max spokesperson in a statement in regards to the series farewell, “From Tokyo Vice’s richly written material to the gorgeously composed shots to the lived-in performances, the care and creativity of this enormously talented cast and crew shines in every frame of the show. We thank J.T., Alan, Ansel, Ken, Fifth Season, and Wowow for their partnership on this wholly unique modern noir thriller.”
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Added Rogers and Poul, “Over the last five years Max has made sure we got to tell our story. They have supported us through thick and thin. Not only did they give us these two seasons, they said yes when we asked to end season one with a series of cliffhangers, and they said yes when we asked for two extra episodes so we could land the plane in the way J.T. had always envisioned.
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We’re grateful not only to Max, but to our partners Fifth Season, who sold the show around the world, and made it a global success story. They were in the trenches with us always, guaranteeing that we could make the show we wanted to make. The response from both the press and from fans, in particular to Season 2, has been overwhelming. It’s been thrilling to find out how deeply viewers have engaged with our characters, and to hear how they are clamoring for more.
We know there is more story to tell. Of course we’ll see what the future holds, but we are indeed grateful to have been able to share this story on Max until now.”
In Tokyo Vice, Elgort played a western journalist who works for a newspaper in Tokyo. He winds up taking on one of the city’s most powerful crime bosses.
Tokyo Vice first aired in 2022, and was originally shot during Covid. The delay between seasons stemmed from the ramp-up of production in Japan per Poul and the bigger episode order of ten.
Aubrey mentioned today that Tokyo Vice was one of the first series she bought for HBO Max. For Rogers, he was friends with the author Jake Adelstein, the two having met during drivers ed. Adelstein, like the Elgort character, covered the Yakuza as a journalist in Japan. Poul shared the challenges of shooting in Japan, an experience that goes back to his days on the set of the 1980s Michael Douglas movie Black Rain.
Aubrey also spoke with Hacks co-creators Lucia Aniello, Jen Statsky and Paul W. Downs.
In addition today, Jeff Schaffer and John Wilson of How to With John Wilson had a chat with Amy Gravitt, EVP and Head of HBO and Max Original Comedy Programming.
Just another terrible programming decision. Really stupid people at MAX. I view with my subscription and after two months, having caught up with three years of HBO, I will bid MAX sayonara.
I gotta be honest, I thought the show was only meant to be 2 seasons. The S2 finale provided satisfying conclusions and wrap-ups for every major character arc and plot thread, which is more of a rarity than it should be. As cool as it would have been to see where the three protagonists lives lead following the events of the finale, the 2 season arc stands as a solid contained story.
WB hire Hideaki Anno to make Shin Godzilla 2 or a Shin Godzilla anime, fund a new Garo toku, and get Anno to make Shin Gamera. If he wants try making Shin Goeranger.
This is a very strange decision by HBOMax after the critical success of Emmy-bound Shogun. People want to see multi-language dramas, especially ones set in places like Japan. Big mistake by HBO, but look at who owns them now and how they make these kinds of bonehead decisions.
Tokyo Vice was much better than the hot garbage that was True Detective season 4. I discovered Tokyo Vice after watching the last season of TD and it was a total palette cleanser. Amazing cast, great storyline, great crime drama, and the amazing backdrop of Tokyo. Will miss it.
Wow, five years – I didn’t know they’d been around that long.