Cold Case Set for Japanese Adaptation

TOKYO: Japanese premium pay-TV broadcaster WOWOW has reached a deal with Warner Bros. International Television Production (WBITVP) for its own version of Cold Case, the Jerry Bruckheimer Television–produced procedural that ran on CBS from 2003 to 2010.

This is the first international format deal for the crime drama. WOWOW, through its original series label DRAMA W, will co-produce with WBITVP ten episodes for premiere this October. The deal follows the success of the U.S. series on the platform. Cold Case followed a homicide detective in Philadelphia who focused on unsolved cases that were no longer being pursued by the police department. The Japanese version will follow similar story angles.

WOWOW’s version will be directed by Takafumi Hatano (SP Series), with Yamada Kosuke (Thin Godzilla) serving as the director of photography. Writers on the show include Takahisa Zeze, Yasuhiro Yoshida, Ryuta Hourai and Hiroshi Hayashi. The series will be shot in 4K HDR.

“Our intentions are to offer WOWOW subscribers the highest quality television series and Cold Case is a perfect example of our approach in doing so,” said Akira Tanaka, the president of WOWOW. “We look to find the best partners, like Warner Bros. International Television Production, and find a way to work together to create something special for our audience. We believe we are achieving this with Cold Case in Japan and look forward to introducing this spectacular new series this October.”

Andrew Zein, senior VP of creative, format development and sales, at WBITVP, noted, “Warner Bros. is delighted that WOWOW has identified Cold Case as being the ideal scripted format to adapt for the Japanese audience.”