Filming has started in Tokyo, and the TV premiere is scheduled for autumn on NHK TV channel.
An all-star cast is working on the remake. The role of the Sniffer called Shinichiro Hanaoka in the adaptation is played by Hiroshi Abe, one of the most successful Japanese actors, the best actor according to the 36th Japan Academy Prize. Abe participated in over 70 TV and film projects, including the internationally acclaimed Still Walking, Chocolateand Godzilla Millennium. According to NHK version, colonel Lebedev serves in Tokyo internal affairs department and is called Tatsuro Komukai. The role of Komukai is played by Teruyuki Kagawa, film and kabuki actor, awarded at the 33rd Japan Academy Prize for the best supporting role.
In the adaptation, just as in the original format, Hanaoka and Komukai investigate sophisticated crimes together; however, the plot line has some additions to it. Apart from the characters we already know, there will be new ones: for example, Kazuko Yoshiyuki will play Komukai’s mom. Besides, each episode will feature guest stars from Japanese cinema.
The filming will last till mid-autumn, and the first episode is scheduled to be premiered on NHK in late October.
It is the first adaptation of foreign drama series by NHK and the first international format adaptation for Ukrainian series The Sniffer. The agreement on production rights for The Sniffer Japanese version was signed by FILM.UA Group and NHK in the autumn of 2015.
The format rights were sold to Japan and France; negotiations with several more countries are in process. In the course of three years, the rights to broadcast the original version have been sold to more than 60 territories, including Japan – in July 2014 AXN Mystery TV channel premiered The Sniffer on Asian territory.
The Sniffer made it to the screens for the first time in 2013. The project topped the series ratings both in Ukraine and Russia. According to air results in December 2013 on Channel One in Russia, the share of the series reached 30 per cent, and The Sniffer became the highest rated series in Russian television during the last five years.
Synopsis:
They call him The Sniffer. He's the proud owner of an extraordinarily acute sense of smell. He can detect things about you that you desperately want to conceal. He'll find that needle in the haystack. Don't ever doubt his extraordinary skills! But the truth is that his sense of smell is as much a curse as it is a gift. This guy can solve a mystery by having a single sniff around but what happens when all these myriads of smells force their way into his private life? Let's just put it this way – he’s not exactly a happy camper.
