Mamiya Shotaro leads a Japanese remake of CJ ENM‘s Korean hit drama “Quiz From God,” which will stream exclusively on Prime Video from Dec. 4.
The Prime Original series casts Mamiya as Hatsushima Haruto, a neurosurgeon turned forensic pathologist whose brilliance has earned him a reputation as a heaven-sent genius.
Having quit neurosurgery for reasons that remain unexplained, Haruto now works at the National Forensic Autopsy Center, where he reads the clues the dead leave behind. The cases that land on his table are among Tokyo’s strangest: a divisive underground idol who dies during a performance, a young man who ends up dead after accepting illegal side work, and someone who dies without warning on a first date.
Each investigation leads Haruto to uncommon diseases concealed behind deaths that at first seem to defy explanation, and to the social problems that sit beneath them.
Haruto has a puzzle of his own to solve. He lives with a rare illness and never knows how much longer his body will hold up. A secret buried in his past could also turn everything on its head.
The Korean original, fronted by Ryu Deok-hwan, was a major success at home and got viewers talking. It went on to run for five seasons. The Japanese version keeps the elements that made the original popular while giving the story a new setting, a different mood and its own point of view.
Mamiya said his manager had first floated the idea of him starring in the drama more than a decade ago, when he was in his early 20s, prompting him to seek out the Korean series. “After many twists and turns, the project finally began moving forward last autumn, and before I knew it, we were already filming,” he said.
“I’m especially happy that we were able to bring this project to life with the three producers, all of whom have known me well for many years,” Mamiya added. “This was my first time working with the director, but we were able to build a relationship of trust through our meetings, script readings, and filming. I hope you enjoy watching the drama.”