Mei Nagano Struggles, Alice Hirose’s Fate? Is Monday 9 PM’s Debut Lead Route at its Limit?

“In recent years, not only in the Monday 9 PM slot but also in consecutive dramas, Fuji TV has actively employed actors in their debut lead roles. Regarding the Monday 9 PM slot, the last lead actor who wasn’t in a sequel series before the 2021 April term ‘Ichikei no Karasu’ was Takeshi Kaneshiro (53). (In the 2022 July term, ‘Guardians of the Competition,’ Ken Takakura (32) and Kyo, who have experienced Monday 9 PM lead roles, co-starred.)

Among the works since 2020, the highest average viewer ratings for all episodes with the first lead cast on Fuji TV’s Monday 9 PM slot was in the January term of 2022 with ‘Do Not Say Mystery’ starring Masaki Suda (31), which adapted a popular comic, recording 11.1%. The film adaptation was released in September last year and recorded a box office revenue of 4.8 billion yen, becoming a hit.

While that drama was successful, reaching double digits on average for all episodes was only achieved until that work. Since the 2021 April term ‘My Ex-Boyfriend’s Will,’ starring Haruka Ayase (38), up to ‘ONE DAY,’ there have been seven consecutive works with an average rating of less than 10% for all episodes.” (Same source)