Ukrainian crime drama The Sniffer continues to hold the position of a television leader both in Ukraine and abroad, Film.UA reports. As of today, four seasons of the original series have been released (32 episodes in total).

AK Entertainments, one of India’s largest integrated film production houses based in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and led by an established Indian filmmaker Anil Sunkara, is planning to adapt the format for an as-yet-unnamed Indian OTT service.

AK Entertainments are the latest producers to option the rights to adapt The Sniffer. The format is currently under option in the USA and has been previously optioned in France by TF1. The Japanese version of The Sniffer was produced by Japan’s leading broadcaster NHK, where it became the first scripted format adaptation for the channel. Apart from the series, NHK also produced a feature length TV special. Filming of the Japanese The Sniffer took place in Tokyo. The role of the Sniffer was portrayed by Hiroshi Abe, one of the most successful actors in Japan, the best actor according to the 36th Japanese Film Academy awards, starring in more than 70 television and film projects. Japan's NHK was the first to release the Japanese version of The Sniffer in 4K.

In Ukraine The Sniffer premiered on ICTV, and the series was officially extended for the second season ahead of season one premiere. In Russia The Sniffer aired on Channel One and at the time of broadcast became not only the highest-rated project of the TV season 2013-2014, but also the highest-rated series on Russian television in 5 years. The Sniffer has been holding leading positions ever since. The original idea was created by Artem Litvinenko, who also co-wrote and directed all four seasons.

The achievements of The Sniffer outside Ukraine are no less impressive: the Ukrainian series was sold to more than 60 countries and became the first Ukrainian project picked up by Netflix. The first three seasons of The Sniffer are also available on Amazon Prime, with the 4th due to be released next week.

Kateryna Vyshnevska, Head of Development and Co-Productions at Film.UA Group, said:
“The Sniffer is without a doubt the crown jewel of our catalogue. As we are looking to strengthen our presence in international markets, we are happy that The Sniffer will find a new home in India - the market with high volume and growth potential. India is known for adapting some of the best of American, British and Israeli scripted formats, so we are happy a Ukrainian series will now join the roster. The deal is momentous for us as a company, as never before have we sold one of our formats in this territory. But it is also good news for our industry as a whole: Covid-19 pandemic has created a content void that needs to be filled fast, so this sale is a good marker of impeding recovery.”