Netflix’s Straight to Hell to Star Erika Toda as Kazuko Hosoki, Exclusive Global Release in 2026

Netflix announced that Erika Toda will star in the upcoming series Straight to Hell, a worldwide exclusive release set for 2026. The series dramatizes the life of Kazuko Hosoki, the legendary fortune teller who captivated Japan from the Showa through Heisei eras.

Hosoki, renowned for her bold phrases like “You will die” and “You’re going to hell,” became a cultural phenomenon through her appearances on variety shows and her record-breaking fortune-telling books. The series explores both her public persona and the unconventional past that shaped her rise to fame, revealing the charisma and magnetic personality that drew both admiration and controversy.

Toda brings Hosoki to life on screen, embodying her fearless pursuit of desire and inescapable charm. The series is directed by Tomoyuki Takimoto (House of Ninjas) and Isao Oba (Gannibal Season 2), with a script by Monaka Manaka. Comments from Erika Toda, Takimoto, and Netflix executive producer Makiko Okano have been released alongside the announcement.

I knew of Kazuko Hosoki, but I didn’t know what kind of person she really was.  I just thought a flashy fortune-teller had shown up on TV.  People must really like fortune-telling — that was all it meant to me.  Who would have imagined that I’d be the one to play this loud, big-laughing fortune-teller I had no interest in? She felt like someone far away, nothing like me at all. Some of you may think it’s amusing that I’m playing her, but this story portrays the real life of Kazuko Hosoki from not so long ago — one you don’t know —  and I’m certain it will draw you into this world and toss you around.  I want you to witness why this fortune-teller became a social phenomenon and captivated so many.

Erika Toda

I disliked Kazuko Hosoki. Whenever she appeared on TV, I changed the channel. And yet I accepted this reckless project for two reasons. Hosoki wrote an autobiography titled “Onna no Rirekisho” (“A Woman’s Résumé”). There are plenty of exaggerations and untruths, but taken together, her little-known rise from post-war poverty is immensely compelling and overflowing with classic drama: love, betrayal, ambition, ill intent, and self-preservation. In today’s world, bound so tightly by compliance, the energetic figure of a woman who lived true to her desires at each moment looked incredibly magnetic to me. 

The second reason was the powerful partner I had in Erika Toda. It’s no easy task for an actor to convincingly embody someone’s life—let alone Hosoki’s, from age 17 to 66. She delivered even more ferocity than I expected. Through her performance, I discovered how that once-in-a-generation trickster came to be. When you finish the finale, I promise you’ll be overwhelmed by the duel between two monsters: Kazuko Hosoki and Erika Toda.

Tomoyuki Takimoto Comment