Apple Lands ‘Drops of God’ Series From Legendary TV – Deadline

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 daughter, Camille, who lives in Paris and hasn’t seen her father since her parents separated when she was nine years old. When Camille flies to Tokyo and Léger’s will is read, she discovers that her father has left her an extraordinary wine collection – the greatest collection in the world according to the experts. But, to claim the inheritance, Camille must compete with a brilliant young oenologist, Issei Tomine, who her father took under his wing and is referred to in Léger’s will as his “spiritual son.” But is his connection to Issei only spiritual?

It is based on Japanese manga series ​​神の雫 (Kami, no Shizuku), written by Yuko and Shin Kibayashi with artwork by Shu Okimoto and published by Kodansha.

Yamashita is represented by Gersh, Satch Watanabe, and Activist Artists Management, Geffrier is represented by Dorothée Grosjean at Cinéart, Tran is repped by Range Media Partners and Ruskin is repped by Verve.