When "Drops of God" debuts in 2023, new ground will have been broken almost everywhere and for most everyone involved in the eight-episode co-production commissioned by France Televisions and Hulu Japan.

Director Oded Ruskin ("Absentia"), for one, spent his career so far knee-deep in thrillers, war films, "and a lot of people exploding in the Middle East". 

"Drops of God" was, he says, a 'big step aside from my comfort zone into something I’ve never done before".

French-Vietnamese writer, Quoc Dang Tran (“Call My Agent,” “Marianne”), was also way out on a limb, which is exactly where he strives to be. 

"Ruskin says he was out of his comfort zone. That's what I look for in every project that I do," Dang Tran says. "I think there is nothing worse for a writer and director to stay on the same battlefield forever. We do that because we are curious and we want to try new things". 

"Drops of God", which Dang Tran created from the original 44 Japanese manga volumes, is his first drama series after a string of comedy, sci-fi, horror shows.

"I didn't know if I could pull it off, but I had to try," he says.   

The TV series is the story of Camille (played by Fleur Geffrier), who inherits an extraordinary wine collection from her estranged father, and a brilliant young oenologist, Issei Tomine (played by Tomohisa Yamashita), who was her father's protege.

Dang Tran says he knew it would be impossible to adapt the original manga faithfully, which is where his "goldfish memory" came in handy.

Having read all 44 volumes, he then "forgot about the details and remembered only the essentials," he says.  

The result is a TV story that, while different from the manga, remains true to the spirit of the original, has the same DNA, like "the essence of a perfume".

One of the core themes – the relationship between father and daughter – is something of a Dang Trang trademark. 

"It's a recurring them in my last four or five shows," he says, talking about, among other things that fascinate him, "love before it's too late". 

"I have a fascination with anything that has to do with filial love, missed opportunities, regrets that you may have at the end of your life," he adds. 

"Those are the things that haunt me, and I thought it would be great material for the show. That's the heart of the story. Of course it’s about wine... but it’s also about love, grief, mourning… and it's a romance, so not all gloomy and dark. It's uplifting and upbeat at times. That’s what I loved about writing the show," Dang Trang says.

Speaking from Tel Aviv, where some of the scenes were shot, Ruskin says his biggest challenge was treating all the layers of the story equally, "keeping a lot of small balances". 

"The story has so much depth, so many layers... and then on top of that all your have to make it exciting, and dark, and funny, and keep the tension," he says.  

"It you don't read these right, the whole house of cards will fall down. This is not a genre show... if things don't click even for one second, it all breaks down". 

Covid travel restraints presented a bigger challenge than the multi-lingual, multi-cultural cast shooting in multiple locations around the world.  

"Drops of God" was shot in France/Paris, northern Italy, Japan/Tokyo, Thailand and Israel, with a cast and crew speaking English, Japanese, French, Hebrew, Arabic, Greek, Hungarian... 

"We re-defined an international show. There were people from so many countries," Ruskin says. 

This sprawling landscape is among the reasons he was approached for the project. 

"I'm very used to directing in languages I don't understand," he says, mentioning his graduation film in Arabic, Russian and Hebrew, and 2020 thriller, "No Man's Land" (Hulu) in French, Arabic and Kurdish.  

"If an actor is good, intelligent, thinks like you... you don't need to talk that much. Most directors will tell you that," he adds, admitting that he "had a lot of luck with this particular cast".

The big early question – "What am I doing here?" – has dissipated. Mostly. "I still feel like they made the worst mistake ever [choosing me to direct]... But from my side, I loved it". 

"Little by little," he adds, "I realised this is the place for me, and I was wrong the whole time before."