EXCLUSIVE: Fox has taken in for development Before The Coffee Gets Cold, based on the bestselling Japanese time-travel novel by Toshikazu Kawaguchi, with a significant script plus penalty commitment. The project comes from The Spy creator Gideon Raff, who will serve as writer and showrunner, Gail Berman’s Jackal Group (Wednesday) and Sony Pictures Television where the company is under an overall deal.
In the heart of Japantown, San Francisco, a family-owned café offers more than just coffee—it serves as a bridge between past and present. Visitors line up, drawn by the chance to relive a moment that changed their lives, knowing they must return before their coffee grows cold. Though the past cannot be rewritten, the act of letting go in the present can open the door to a future filled with hope. But this barista family, whose selfless gift has brought solace to so many, must now confront the shadows of their own mysterious past—one that may cost them everything.
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The setting has been changed from the book which takes place at a Tokyo back-alley café.
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Raff executive produces alongside Berman and Hend Baghdady of The Jackal Group, Marcy Ross as well as SK Global’s Chloe Dan and Matt Aragachi. Sony Pictures Television will co-produce with Fox Entertainment.
The project originated in 2021 when, in a competitive situation, SK Global (Ginny & Georgia) acquired the rights to Kawaguchi’s book — which had started as a play — and teamed with Berman’s The Jackal Group to develop, finance and produce a series adaptation. (Ross was at the time President of SK Global Television.)
It now marks one of the first major sales for Berman under the overall deal she signed at Sony TV last year. It also reunites Berman with Fox where she was previously based. One of the series she developed while there, the Jon Hamm-led animated comedy Grimsburg, is in its second season on the network and expected to be renewed for a third.
If Before the Coffee Gets Cold goes to series, it would follow in the footsteps of such time-travel broadcast drama series as Quantum Leap, Timeless and Jorneyman.
Raff created the acclaimed Israeli series Prisoners of War and executive produced its American adaptation, the Emmy-winning Homeland, which ran on Showtime for eight seasons. He also created FX’s Tyrant and Netflix’s The Spy and co-created USA’s Dig. Raff is repped by CAA, Lenore Entertainment Group and Goodman Genow Schenkman.
Outside of her Sony TV deal, Berman executive produces the Malcolm In the Middle revival for Disney+ and Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot pilot for Hulu.
At Fox, Sony TV has three drama series, Doc, which has been renewed for a second season, as well as Accused and Alert.