Influences of Rival Programs’ Paris Olympics Strategies on Must-See Summer 2024 Dramas

With many opportunities for outings such as travel, fireworks festivals, and other events, summer dramas are difficult to watch carefully. Especially this year, with the “Strongest Rival Program,” the Paris Olympics, each station is taking measures, such as “Laughing Matryoshka” (TBS) starting its broadcast on June 28, one month before the Olympics begin.

“Even so, many people watch the Olympics, and overall, the ratings are sluggish. It feels like many works that achieve their highest ratings in the first episode lose momentum afterward. Watching the Olympics in real-time and catching up on dramas via missed broadcasts is the trend this summer,” said a key station producer.

Therefore, TV professionals are using the number of TVer favorites and core viewership ratings (viewership among men and women aged 13-49) as their compass this summer. A broadcast writer analyzes, “The two major powerhouses, Fuji TV’s ‘Getsuku’ and TBS’s ‘Sunday Theater,’ are finally solidifying their dominance.

One of these two powerhouses, the Getsuku drama “The Beginning of the Sea,” which began airing early on July 1, features a strong cast with Ren Meguro (27) from ‘Snow Man’ and Kasumi Arimura (31). It has a standout TVer registration of 1,596,000 people and has also achieved success by ranking second in core viewership ratings.

“The lineup of Meguro, producer Ken Murase, director Hiroki Kazama, and scriptwriter Miku Ubukata is the same as the team behind the social phenomenon ‘Silent.’ Among them, director Kazama is particularly noteworthy. As seen in ‘Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?’ (TV Tokyo), which propelled Eiji Akaso (30) and Keita Machida (34) into stardom, Kazama is undoubtedly the number one director of our time when it comes to capturing the vulnerability and emotional fluctuations of men as ‘endearing beings,'” says drama watcher Mihiro Kawada.

As pointed out by fellow watcher Masahiro Kitagawa, the overwhelming response from middle-aged male viewers, who have been completely charmed by the adorable performance of 7-year-old Sena Izutani, who plays the 6-year-old daughter, Umi, is likely a key factor in the show’s success.

Although it ceded the top spot in TVer registrations, the Sunday Theater drama “Black Pean Season 2” (TBS Network) is the only show to achieve double-digit household ratings, and it also maintains a stable high, holding the number one spot in core viewership ratings.

“They pulled off a large-scale location shoot in Australia and featured Choi Ji-woo (49) as a guest star, making the visuals as rich as a Korean drama. The cast supporting the lead, Kazunari Ninomiya (41), is also impressive, including Ryoma Takeuchi (31), Seiyo Uchino (55), Kotaro Koizumi (46), Shuri (33), and Minami Tanaka (37). This alone makes it worth watching,” says a key station producer.

A common factor among these two powerhouses is that the lead actors are former Johnny’s talents. In TBS’s “Mr. Saionji Does Not Do Housework,” which TV professionals highly recommend, Hokuto Matsumura (29) of SixTONES also makes a strong impression.

“Since the lead, Wakana Matsumoto (40), who is popular among older men, is significantly older, Matsumura’s fans can watch with peace of mind. The fact that they were able to cast Kenjiro Tsuda (53), who has a large female following and is also active as a voice actor, is significant. Although the original work is a romantic comedy, it has been successfully adapted into a story that fits modern Japan,” says a broadcast writer.

In addition to ratings and view counts, what TV professionals are paying close attention to is the reaction on social media. Kawata notes, “Takashi Fujii (52), who plays Matsumoto’s boss, is making an impact.”

“Many people are reminded of ‘We Married as a Job,’ which aired in the same time slot, because of his presence. The protagonist’s struggles with household chores also remind many viewers of ‘My Housekeeper Nagisa-san.’ Both shows evoke memories of those enjoyable dramas, leading to positive evaluations. I think it’s a very clever strategy utilizing the time slot,” he says.