DEADLINE:The series last aired in 2022.
Why has it taken so long for season 2 to begin?
ALAN POUL: it was due to a lot of things.
Remember, the first season was shot in the middle of Covid.
Just when the show was airing, Warner Brothers Discovery was going through a reshuffling.
So all the pickups were put on hold until the new landscape was more clear.
So we aired in April of 2022 and thank God the show did well out of the gate.
At the end of May, we got our pickup for season two.
Theres just no rushing things there.
We had to go back and put together a new plan for production and find the locations.
And in Japan, you need a solid six months of prep.
So we were back in Japan at the end of 2022.
And then we decided to do 10 episodes this time.
So its a much bigger bite.
And then I guess the fourth and final piece is the SAG strike.
We had to wait until the strike settled to get all of the ADR completed.
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DEADLINE:So does the action pick up right where you left off?
POUL: We do pick up where we left off.
It hits all the high points and it will leave viewers fully prepared to plunge into the new season.
Is that story the one about the loan sharks and rampant suicides?
Its a new story which will become clear in the course of watching season two.
We recreate that scene and extend it, but it doesnt happen until considerably later in the season.
And then youre caught up.
DEADLINE:Will we see him write that story about the loan sharks?
POUL: No, this is a much bigger story than the loan sharking story.
Once we get into season two, thats no longer an issue.
DEADLINE:Does it have anything to do with the warring gangs?
POUL: It does.
DEADLINE:Lets talk about Sato.
One, will he live?
And two, hes starting to feel like the moral center of this drama.
And as a result, Sato did become the conflicted moral center of the shows universe.
And that very much continues in season two.
DEADLINE:Does Tozawa, played by Ayumi Tanida, have cancer?
DEADLINE:What can we expect fromKen Watanabes character, Hiroto Katagiri, in the new season?
POUL:We ended season one on a whole pile of cliffhangers.
When we come in where we left off, not everything is resolved right away.
DEADLINE:Will we hear more from Jakes family in the new season?
POUL: We will not only hear more from them, we will go visit them.
But no decision comes without a cost in this show.
DEADLINE:Does the show stream locally in Japan?
POUL: In Japan were on a premium satellite service known as Wowow.
The show did very well.
Netflix is in every household in Japan.
DEADLINE:Whats it been working with Ansel?
POUL:Ansel surprised us all by mastering the Japanese language.
We had shot exactly six days of principal photography before we got shut down by Covid.
We were shut down for eight months.
Im completely fluent in Japanese.
My college degree was in Japanese language and literature.
I began my film career in Japan many years ago.
Remember, we only have two native English speakers in the cast, Ansel and Rachel Keller.
So with the rest of the actors, I work with them in Japanese.
Its just easier, its better for them and its immensely rewarding.
Episodes 201 and 202 ofTokyo Vicedrop at 12 a.m. PT on Max on February 8.
