Japanese productions continue to shine overseas, with French-Japanese drama series ¡°Les Gouttes de Dieu¡± (¡°Drops of God¡±) taking home best drama at the International Emmy Awards on Tuesday.
Adapted by Quoc Dang Tran, the series is based on a 2004 manga by Yuko and Shin Kibayashi (under the pseudonym Tadashi Agi), and Shu Okimoto set in the world of wine and fine dining. It stars Japanese actor Tomohisa Yamashita in the lead role opposite French actor Fleur Geffrier.
The series was financed by French national public broadcaster France Televisions, America¡¯s Legendary Entertainment and Hulu Japan, with Apple TV buying the rights to air the series except for in France and Japan. Apple has reportedly signed on for a second season.
Several other Japanese entries were nominated across various categories, highlighting the country¡¯s growing prominence on the global television stage.They included ¡°Who I Am Life¡± (WOWOW Inc. / Wood¡¯s Office) in the arts programming category, a documentary series that highlights the lives of various top entertainers; ¡°Kenshiro ni Yoroshiku¡± (¡°Say Hello to Kenshiro¡±) (DMM.com LLC / So-ket Corp.), about a young man who swears revenge against the yakuza, for best short-form series; ¡°Who I Am Paralympic¡± (WOWOW Inc. / Acrobat Film) for best sports documentary; and ¡°Deaf Voice: A Sign-Language Interpreter in Court¡± (NHK ¨C Japan Broadcasting Corporation), which follows a sign-language interpreter entangled in a murder case tied to his past, for best TV movie/mini-series.
The International Emmys, presented by the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, honor exceptional television programming created outside of the United States. Unlike the national Emmys, which focus on American broadcasts, the International Emmys highlight outstanding global television from around the world.
FX¡¯s epic historical drama ¡°Shogun¡± earlier made history at the Creative Arts Emmys in September, taking home a record 14 awards. This achievement marked the most Emmy wins by a single show in one year, surpassing the previous record of 12 wins set by ¡°Game of Thrones¡± in 2015.
Hiroyuki Sanada and Anna Sawai also made history as the first Japanese actors to win in their respective categories at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards. In addition, ¡°Shogun¡± made history as the first series in a language other than English to win the best drama category.
Sawai, in particular, made a landmark achievement by winning the award for best drama actress, becoming the first actress of Asian descent to achieve the feat.
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