Sherlock reinvented as a woman & Asian

TAIPEI — Japanese stars Yuko Takeuchi and Yukiyoshi Ozawa were in this city on Monday to promote HBO Asia’s first Japanese original drama titled Miss Sherlock.  

Takeuchi and Ozawa met ASEAN and Taiwan reporters during a presscon at W Taipei before gracing a red-carpet gala fan event at SPOT Huashan Cinema.

A co-production with Hulu in Japan, the eight-part, hour-long series boldly reinterprets Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, the world’s most iconic private detective and possibly most adapted fictional hero on TV and in movies, as a woman and Asian with Takeuchi cast in the titular role. 

Takeuchi is joined by Shihori Kanjiya as Dr. Wato Tachibana, the female version of Sherlock’s dependable partner Dr. John Watson.

Ozawa, on the other hand, plays Kento Futaba, Sherlock’s older brother and the executive secretary to the Prime Minister. 

Yuko Takeuchi and Yukiyoshi Ozawa at last Monday's red-carpet gala fan event at SPOT Huashan Cinema in Taipei, Taiwan to promote HBO Asia's Miss Sherlock

What will this reinvention of the enduring literary character-turned-pop culture symbol offer to viewers? How will she, in the words of Sherlock, be employing the art of deduction and making it her “business to know what other people don’t know?”

Miss Sherlock will premiere globally today, April 27, at 9 a.m. on HBO, with a primetime encore at 9 p.m. New episodes air same time every Friday. The series will also be streaming on HBO GO.

In a media release from HBO Asia, non-subscribers and subscribers of HBO across Asia, including the Philippines, can watch the premiere episode of Miss Sherlock (with English subtitles) for free and without any registration required. They will only need to download HBO Asia’s online streaming app HBO GO (www.hbogoasia.com), which is available on iOS and Android from April 28 to May 11.

Set in present-day Tokyo, Miss Sherlock tells the crime-solving adventures of Sherlock and her partner Dr. Wato. Their girl power tandem is born when the surgeon, who just returned to Japan after a medical mission in Syria, finds out that her mentor has suddenly died after his stomach explodes at the airport. She meets Sherlock, the London-born investigation consultant for the local police, who will work on the case. 

In the presscon, Takeuchi who starred in such Japanese films as Dog in a Sidecar and Flashforward said that she read the books and watched some earlier versions of Sherlock. But she chose not to read and watch some more because “I’m afraid they will influence my interpretation of the character.”

Takeuchi as the female and Asian Sherlock in a scene from the Japanese drama series

“I want to interpret a brand-new Sherlock,” she explained through a translator. 

Having female leads would already spell a huge difference for this HBO series, but Takeuchi said there are personal characteristics and issues her character has to deal with, plus some surroundings and situations where the cases unfold, that will remind fans of the original Sherlock. 

Meanwhile, Ozawa (The Forest, Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders) said that he joined the show because “I wanted to act with this beautiful lady,” referring to Takeuchi. “We’ve known each other for a long time but it’s the first time we’re acting together.”

Other cast regulars are Kenichi Takito (Rhythm and Police, Hanzawa Naoki) as the crafty Inspector Reimon who tries to leverage Sherlock’s talents to advance his own career; Tomoya Nakamura (Spinning Kite, The Never-Setting Sun) as Sergeant Shibata, a conservative male chauvinist who works under Inspector Reimon; Ryohei Otani (Gunman in Joseon, We Married As Job) as Dr. Wato’s potential love interest; and Ran Ito (Garden of the Wind, Doctors: The Ultimate Surgeon) as Sherlock’s widowed landlord, Kimie Hatano.

Other big-name Japanese stars are set to appear in the series, including Asami Mizukawa, Shuntaro Yanagi, Kazuya Kojima, Houka Kinoshita, Haruka Kinami, Mahiru Konno, Kei Tanaka, Yumi Adachi, Tsutomu Takahashi, Megumi, Rika Izumi, Yasushi Fuchikami, Yuki Yamada and Rinko Kikuchi, who also stars in HBO’s Westworld Season 2.

Miss Sherlock is HBO Asia’s 11th original production since its first one in 2012. Forthcoming original productions by HBO Asia include Folklore, a horror anthology spanning six Asian countries.