ONE DAY”, “Ichiban Sukina Hana”… Why Fuji TV is betting on “multiple starring roles” as a trend

In the July season, Fuji Television’s golden prime time slot (GP slot, 7:00pm-11:00pm) aired four productions: “Cinderella in Midsummer” in its signature Monday 9 slot, followed by “The Demon King of Changing Jobs” in the Monday 10 slot, “Barakamon” in the Wednesday 10 slot, and “This Wonderful World” in the Thursday theater slot. However, the average household viewership ratings after the first episode were in the 3-6% range, which is a rather harsh figure to face in the GP band, and a turnaround is expected in the October season.

In addition to the previous four slots, the October season will see the return of the Friday 9 p.m. slot for the first time in about 54 years for dramas in the GP zone, with “My Lawyer is a handful” starring Muro Tsuyoshi (47). But the focus will be on the two slots, Tsuki 9 and Thursday Gekijo, both of which will air dramas starring multiple actors in original productions.

The first is “ONE DAY – Seiyoru no Kara no KARAKUZA～,” a Monday 9 drama starting on October 9, starring Kazuya Ninomiya (40), Miki Nakatani (47), and Takao Osawa (55), all of Arashi fame.

It is a story of mystery, love, and miracles that follows three men and women, who have no connection to each other, as they simultaneously take place on “just one day,” Christmas Eve, over the course of a single season. Ninomiya plays a man with amnesia who is suspected in a murder, Nakatani plays a news anchor, and Osawa plays a stubborn and solitary chef.

The story will be watched closely by TV magazine writers to see how the three will interact with each other and how the story of a single day will be portrayed in a single season.

Meanwhile, Mikako Tabe (34), Kohei Matsushita (36), Kamio Fūju (24), and Mio Imada (26) will star in “Ichiban Sukina Hana” starting on October 12 in the Thursday theater.

The film is a remarkable work in which Ken Murase, who produced “silent,” which aired in the same Thursday theater slot as this film last October and was called a social phenomenon, and screenwriter Miku Ikata are teaming up again. The film depicts “friendship” and “love” spun by four men and women who have led different lives, and the “feelings” that emerge between them.

Tabe plays a teacher at a cram school, Matsushita is an employee at a publishing company, Kamio is a childhood friend of Tabe’s character who works at a convenience store while pursuing his dream of becoming an illustrator, and Imada is a hair stylist. But why did Fuji Television produce two such films with multiple leads in the October season?

It has been common to see double leads in the past, but three or four lead roles is quite a “strange” move. However, since Fuji was on the precipice, it had no choice but to come up with a novel project. Even in the same drama series with multiple leads, the story progression is different, with Geki 9 starting out with a drama featuring each of the three main characters, while in Ki10, the story suddenly crosses over between the four leads.

Fans can enjoy each drama in its own way. In addition, when there is more than one main character, the story can be portrayed from multiple angles from the viewpoints of several cast members, allowing viewers to become emotionally involved with each of the main characters. The aim would be to keep viewers from getting bored without making the story monotonous.

Although not starring multiple actors, “Quartet” (TBS, 2005), starring Takako Matsu (46) and involving four actors, Hikari Mitsushima (37), Issei Takahashi (42), and Ryuhei Matsuda (40), was also a popular drama that won various The “success” of this drama series is its “success story. The production side may have been able to take on the challenge of a drama series with multiple leads because of that “successful example.

The TBS drama “VVIVANT,” which reached its final episode on September 17, had a superb cast at a high production cost, and viewers became very excited by their discussions on the Internet, leading to high viewer ratings.

There is no longer a “right” way for a drama to be a hit. Once Fuji’s two new dramas with multiple leads become hits, other stations will naturally try similar projects. In the future, dramas with two or more leads may become the drama world’s trend.