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

Summer dramas are difficult to watch because of the many opportunities for travel, fireworks displays, festivals, etc. In addition, the Paris Olympics, the “most powerful behind-the-scenes program,” is on the schedule this year, so each station is taking countermeasures, such as “Laughing Matryoshka” (TBS), which began broadcasting on June 28, one month before the opening of the Olympics.

Even so, viewer ratings have been low overall as many people are watching the Olympics. The impression is that many productions stall after achieving the highest viewer ratings for the first time. The trend this summer is to watch the Olympics in real time and watch dramas on the missed distribution channels,” said a producer at a key station.

TV people are using the number of registered TVer favorites and core viewer ratings (ratings among men and women aged 13-49) as their compass this summer, and broadcasters are analyzing that “Fuji TV and TBS’s signature slots, ″Geki 9″ and ″Sunday Gekijo″ are finally taking root.

One of the top two, Gekkan 9 “Umi no Hajimari” (The Beginning of the Sea), has by far the largest number of TVer subscribers at 1,596,000, thanks to its early start on July 1 and a strong cast including Ren Meguro (27) of Snow Man and Kasumi Arimura (31). The core viewership rating was also a success, coming in second place.

The lineup of Meguro, producer Ken Murase, director Taiki Kazama, and scriptwriter Miku Ikata is the same as that of “silent,” which became a social phenomenon. The most noteworthy among them is director Kazama. As can be seen in the TV series, “A virgin until 30 can become a magician” (TV Tokyo), which catapulted Eiji Akachu (30) and Keita Machida (34) to stardom, Kazama is the number one director of his generation in terms of capturing male weakness and inner turmoil as an “endearing presence. (Drama watcher Mihiro Kawada)

As noted by another drama watcher, Masahiro Kitagawa, a number of middle-aged male viewers have been knocked out by the overly cute performance of Sena Izutani (7), who plays the 6-year-old daughter, Umi, and this may also be a factor in the success of the series.

Although it may have given up the top spot in terms of viewers, Sunday drama “Blackpean Season 2” (TBS) is the only drama to have a household rating above double digits, and its core rating is also stable at No. 1.

The drama is as rich as Korean dramas in terms of its visuals, including a large scale location shoot in Australia and a guest appearance by Choi Ji-woo (49). The lead actor Kazuya Ninomiya (41) is flanked by Ryoma Takeuchi (31), Masaaki Uchino (55), Kotaro Koizumi (46), Shuri (33), and Minami Tanaka (37). This alone makes it worth watching,” said a producer at a key station.

One thing in common between the top two is that the leading actors are former Johnny’s. In “Mr. Saionji Does Not Do Housework” (TBS), which is a favorite of TV people , Hokuto Matsumura (29) of “SixTONES” is also making his presence felt.

He is not too old compared to Wakana Matsumoto (40), the lead actor, who is very popular with the older generation, so Matsumura’s fans can watch him without worry. The casting of Kenjiro Tsuda (53), who has many female fans and is also active as a voice actor, was also a big factor. The original story is a romantic comedy, but it has been successfully dramatized as a story that matches modern Japan,” said a broadcaster.

Along with viewership ratings and number of views, TV people place importance on “the response on social networking sites. Mr. Kawada says, ” Takashi Fujii, 52, who plays Matsumoto’s boss, has been effective.

His presence reminds many people of ‘Escape is Shameful but Useful,’ which was broadcast in the same time slot. Many people are reminded of “My Househusband Nagisa-san” because of the main character who is not good at housework. Both of these dramas have received positive reviews, with many saying, “It’s just like that fun drama. I think it’s a really good strategy for using the time slot.

Nippon TV & TV Asahi “Reasons for the Struggle”

The “Shinjuku Field Hospital” (Fuji), scripted by Kankuro Kudo (Kudo Kankuro, 43), is slow-paced, the setting and development have a sense of déjà vu, and the lead actress Eiko Koike’ s English is terrible ……, etc,

The theme of “Shinjuku Field Hospital,” which is to “treat everyone’s life equally and messily,” is effective in raising the issue of a self-responsible society in which “it is natural that those who have not done 00 can’t be helped. It is interesting to compare it with “Blackpean 2,” which sifts through human lives and saves them artistically,” said writer Kumao Oyama.

The film is highly rated by watchers.

Incidentally, the film is set in Kabukicho, but the main location is Yokohama.

Kudo-kan, as expected, avoided the absurdity of filming the entire movie in Kabukicho,” said a production company executive.

The success of the show was in having Sho Sakurai (42) play the role of a politician who has a good outer appearance but is empty on the inside. The viewer ratings are also increasing,” said Oyama, who recommended “Laughing Matryoshka,” but the production side is negative, saying, “I don’t think you can immerse yourself in the overall falsehood.

The political supervisor is a former TBS radio reporter in charge of Diet affairs, the Prince of Diet, who used to do political commentary on “Sunday Japon. After causing trouble and disappearing from the public eye, he left the company. He is now working as a freelancer, but some people within TBS are wondering if it was a mistake to ask him to do the job. Some people are saying, “Maybe it was a mistake to ask him to work for TBS.

Nippon TV and TV Asahi have been struggling this season. An executive at a production company cited “a reaction to their close ties with the former Johnny’s’s office” as one factor.

Perhaps fearing public criticism, they are reluctant to use former Johnny’s celebrities. Nippon TV’s signature Saturday night 9:00 p.m. slot, which was once known as the “J slot” and reserved for them, is now occupied by “Go Home: The Metropolitan Police Department’s John Doe Consultation Room,” starring Fuka Koshiba (27) and Yuko Oshima (35).

Nippon TV is also facing another problem in the form of the suicide of the author of the popular manga “Sexy Tanaka-san” in connection with the drama adaptation.

Nippon TV has been forced to create original dramas when it became difficult to dramatize the popular original work. The scriptwriter of “Hanzawa Naoki” participated in the earlier “GO HOME,” and “Maru-hi no Mikiko-san” was written by the scriptwriters of “Blackpean” Season 1. However, it is struggling in terms of numbers.

TV Asahi, which had a good relationship with the former Johnny’s office, has been avoiding the use of former Johnny’s celebrities in prime time.

A TV Asahi source muttered, “In the April season, the number of “sex-addicts” is still low.

In the April season, the 65th anniversary drama “Believe – Kimi ni kakeru hashi” starring Takuya Kimura (51), which was cast before the sexual assault issue broke out, became a hot topic. Koibito! and remakes of “Minami-kun ga Koibito! This is also a kind of countermeasure against the Olympics.

TV Asahi’s “Sky Castle,” a remake of the popular Korean drama ” Sky Castle,” has “a great cast with Nao Matsushita (39), Fumino Kimura (36), andAi Higa (38), and is very impressive,” Kitagawa said, but the household viewership ratings, which were second for the first episode, were down significantly.

However, the household viewer ratings, which were second for the first season, dropped significantly. “The richness of the locations, costumes, and props, as well as the quality of the artwork, is far poorer than the original. It is not a work that can be made by muddying the tea. ……” (Mr. Oyama)

We hope that you will enjoy this good work while learning about the intentions of the various stations.

From the August 23 and 30, 2024 issue of “FRIDAY