One of the most critically acclaimed shows on Max (formerly HBO Max) is coming to an end, with it revealed today that Tokyo Vice’s second season will be its last. The show starred Ansel Elgort as American journalist Jake Adelstein, upon whose memoir the show was based. In it, Adelstein, a crime reporter, relocates to Tokyo and becomes embroiled in the world of the Japanese Yakuza. Ken Watanabe played his mentor, a detective investigating organized crime in the city, while Rachel Keller, Sho Kasamatsu and Rinko Kikuchi co-starred.
The pilot episode for the show was famously directed by the great Michael Mann, who also served as one of the show’s executive producers. It was originally commissioned at a time when Warner-Discovery was hoping to make HBO Max a hub for high-end series, only for many of their shows, including Raised by Wolves, The Flight Attendant, and now Tokyo Vice being axed after two seasons. Virtually all of their dramas have been cancelled by this point with the exception of their Pretty Little Liars reboot. On the comedy side, they’ve had more success, with Hacks being a word-of-mouth hit. To note, the show was a critical hit (season one made our best TV of 2022 list) with many thinking the recent second season (which aired this winter after a long delay) was even better.
Despite the cancellation, which didn’t sound unexpected, in a statement creator J.T. Rogers and executive producer Alan Poul sounded happy with the way the show ended:
“Over the last five years Max has made sure we got to tell our story. They have supported us through thick and thin. Not only did they give us these two seasons, they said yes when we asked to end season one with a series of cliffhangers, and they said yes when we asked for two extra episodes so we could land the plane in the way J.T. had always envisioned.
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. 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.”
Are you bummed that Tokyo Vice is over? Let us know in the comments.