Crime drama Tokyo Underworld in the works at Legendary Global

Tokyo Underworld, a crime drama set in Japan, by Terence Winter (Boardwalk Empire) and Sherry Marsh (Pose) will be produced by Legendary Global. Tokyo Underworld is one of the first projects of Legendary Global, the television company of Legendary and Chris Albrecht that was launched last December and focuses on the development, financing and production of international, scripted, higher-class programs.

Tokyo Underworld is about the true story of Nick Zapetti, a 25-year-old Italian-American soldier who moved to war-ravaged Japan in the aftermath of World War II to become the undisputed king of the underground black market. Through a combination of violence, cunning and old-fashioned humor, Zapetti fought alongside his gang of Japanese criminals against the Yakuza and the government to become, among other things, a diamond thief, a professional wrestler and the head of the Tokyo underworld.

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Chris Albrecht

Like Winter, Marsh becomes an executive producer. In addition, Winter will write the series based on the book Tokyo Underworld: The Fast Times and Hard Life of an American Gangster in Japan by Robert Whiting, of which Legendary Global has acquired the rights. Since Tokyo Underworld was published in 2000, multiple attempts have been made to obtain the rights to the book for screen adaptations, which includes attempts made by Warner Bros. and Amazon.