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Tokyo Vice, one of the better series on streaming service Max, has officially been canceled, according to our Bad News Bears pals over at Variety.
Created by visionary J.T. Rogers and based off of a 2009 autobiography from wordsmith Jake Adelstein, Tokyo Vice was a crime drama of the highest order, following the story of an American newshound hot on the heels of a criminal syndicate in Tokyo. Featuring star-turns from an amazing cast that included Ansel Elgort, Ken Watanabe, Rachel Keller, Hideaki Itō, Show Kasamatsu, Ella Rumpf, Rinko Kikuchi, Tomohisa Yamashita, Miki Maya, and Yōsuke Kubozuka, this series felt like a glorious descent into the underworld of a very dark aspect of Japanese life as seen through the eyes of the Western culture. The fans and critics were always kind to it, if not those ever-elusive unicorns known as “ratings.”
The 10 episode sophomore season of Tokyo Vice made its premiere back in February and, according to Max Big Wheel – and programming chief extraordinaire – Sarah Aubrey, was always meant to mark the end of this particular part of the story.
For fans of the series (and there are a lot of you), be of good cheer: Though Tokyo Vice may have run its course iteration-wise at Max, more of the story might continue on at some future date.
“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,” maintained the creatives behind the series in a press release. “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.”
For their part, Max said of the cancelation that “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.”
Apparently there is a third season all plotted out on paper for Tokyo Vice, according to J.T. Rogers. Whether Max would eventually bring the show back or whether it might migrate to another streaming service such as Netflix remains to be seen. But in this day and age of revivals and major streaming services hungry for original content, expect to see Tokyo Vice in some form sooner rather than later; we’ll keep a light on for ‘em!
