NHK Launching Japanese Version of The Sniffer

NHK-Japan has done a Japanese version of the Ukrainian drama series The Sniffer, which went on air in prime time last month.

The local treatment will broadcast on NHK’s main terrestrial channel. The series will start airing in 4K on NHK’s Super Hi-Vision 4K/8K channel three weeks later. The Japanese 4K version will be distributed throughout Asia by NHK Enterprises (NEP). The 4K series has already been sold to Hong Kong’s TVB.

NHK senior drama producer Tomoaki Iso said: “More than 20 drama serials are aired in Japan every week, so competition for ratings is intense. Detective dramas are very popular in Japan, but so many have been made that producers are running out of stories. We wanted to create something completely new by adding the spirit of a Japanese detective drama to the framework of a great show from overseas.”