The strategies of each station and their secret episodes are also revealed!　The “Drama Series You Really Need to Watch” for Fall 2024!

Small and subdued, but with some good productions that are enthusiastically supported – this is how this year’s fall dramas can be summed up in a few words.

After the various figures were gathered (see the table above), what became clear was the strategy of each station. A producer of a key station analyzes the situation.

TBS has the spirit of competing with original works, while “Sexy Tanaka-san” is a drama with a storyline of a single episode. On the other hand, NTV, hoping to dispel the tragedy of “Sexy Tanaka-san,” is boldly tackling original works this season, such as “Houkago Karte” (After School Medical Records). However, they are also dabbling in “Wakakusa Monogatari,” a work from 156 years ago, and I get the sense that they are somewhat lost. TV Asahi is returning to its roots. TV Asahi is going back to its roots, and in order to capture household viewer ratings, which is their forte, they have come up with a solid sequel to a popular work.”

The film was almost put on hold for a while.

In this cool season, “Diamonds in the Sea” (TBS) ranked first in core viewer ratings (ratings among men and women aged 13-49) and third in household viewer ratings, which are used as benchmarks by each station.

The degree to which the lively coal-mining island of Hashima (Gunkanjima) has been recreated is amazing. Only Sunday Gekijo, TBS’s signature slot, could have done such a good job in a commercial drama. The production team consists of Akiko Nogi, who won numerous awards for “Unnatural” and “MIU404″ (both on TBS), who wrote the script, Ayuko Tsukahara, who directed, and Junko Arai, who produced. The story and themes are gradually revealed, and the numbers should rise from here,” said writer Kumao Oyama.

However, it is not widely known that there was a “pinch” behind the good start.

Hashima Island was once requested to have its World Heritage registration cancelled on the grounds that the Japanese government’s handling of the forced labor of people from the Korean Peninsula was inadequate. The production team was not fully aware of this, and the drama was being made without any groundwork, and it was almost put on the shelf. The drama was almost put on the air, but the production team had urgent discussions with all parties concerned and managed to get it on the air.

Fuji’s signature series, Tsuki 9’s “Lie Unraveling Rhetoric” is also struggling, ranking third in the core.

It is based on a popular girls’ manga and is highly rated by fans of the original. This is probably because they spent as much money as they did on the Sunday theater and were able to recreate the world of the original story beautifully. Osamu Suzuka (24), who has often played the role of the “cute junior and younger brother” in terms of looks, gives a good performance as an attractive detective with a depth of humanity,” said drama watcher Mihiro Kawada.

Co-starring Hoka Matsumoto (27). Some feared that the main cast was weak and that the drama would be too adventurous, but the director of a commercial TV station believes that “the beauty of Gekijuku in recent years is that it can take on new challenges.

The previous season was “Umi no Hajimari” (The Beginning of the Sea) by the “silent” team. It is the complete opposite of the trendy dramas of the past. It was neither a family drama nor a romantic drama, but it was very popular among the fans. It became a slot that allowed us to compete with freshness, which is not possible in the Sunday theater, which is expected to produce heavy productions.

Two Commonalities” of Favorable Productions

Mr. Kawada says that there are “two things in common” with ” Buddy” and “The Travel Nurse” (both on TV Asahi), which are doing well.

Buddy” series are thriving. Fuji has been producing “Lie Unraveling Rhetoric,” Takashi Sorimachi’s “Okura,” and “Zenryoku Anomalous Solution Room,” among others. The best of all is “Zenketsu”. It is an original work by Tsutomu Kuroiwa, a screenwriter of note in the industry who has worked on a number of high-profile productions, including “My Family” and “The Last Man” (both on TBS), and was talked about even before it aired as having something in common with the “SPEC” series directed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi. Although the setting and cast are completely different, “SPEC” fans are getting more excited on SNS with each episode, and there are already expectations for a film adaptation.

A director of a commercial TV station believes that “there is one more thing in common among this season’s productions.

There are no films starring former Johnny’s celebrities in the prime-time slot. Jesse (28) of “SixTONES” is the second star of “Monster” (Fuji), and Yuta Tamamori (34) of “Kis-My-Ft2” is the second star of “I want to punch that bum” (TBS). In order to cast a big-name talent from the former Johnny’s in a lead role, the schedule basically has to be set aside a year in advance. This cool season was more or less affected by the sexual assault issue, which reached a major milestone last fall.”

The absence of the old Johnny’s had a particularly large impact on online distribution.

The number of views on TVer changes dramatically depending on whether or not the former Johnny’s, especially the members of Snow Man, appear, and the number of views on YouTube’s drama discussion channel also differs by one zero,” says broadcaster Aida Purin.

The director of a commercial TV station said that although the ratings for “Monster” have not been good, “there are signs of a hit on the Internet.

The promotional video on TikTok is creating a buzz, and TVer has less than 700,000 registered favorites, but the number of views of the missed streaming of the first episode has exceeded 2 million. The film is also available on Netflix, where it ranks high every time.

Reiwa’s “Erotic Drama Strategy

The only TVer favorite to have more than 1 million subscribers was “My Treasure” (Fuji).

The theme of this drama is “mendicancy,” in which a woman gives birth to a child she had with another man, pretending it is her husband’s, and raises it as her husband’s. The main character is Wakana Matsumoto (40), who has starred in two consecutive TV dramas and is on the rise. Producer Reiko Mangan, who worked on “Lunch Faces” and “Even If You Don’t Do It for Me,” presents a tingling, sordid story that touches on the taboo of housewives and married couples struggling with the line they must not cross.

Tatsuya Fukazawa of Snow Man Tatsuya Fukazawa (32) of “Snow Man” plays the role of the “beloved one,” Aida says, “There is another strength of this work that makes it popular on TVer.

As there was a bed scene between Matsumoto and Fukazawa from the first episode, eroticism is a key point. In the past, TV users could not watch TV dramas with their families, so they would put on extreme erotic dramas during the daytime when their husbands were away at work, but now that Reiwa is in full swing, the trend is to watch TV dramas on smartphones whenever they want. That’s why the TVer viewership is doing very well, even though the ratings aren’t doing so well.”

Coming in second in the number of favorite subscribers was “Lion’s Lair ” (TBS).

Yuya Yagira (34) and Ryota Bando (27) are just wonderful. Yagira is very restrained in his performance, but every once in a while he makes a comment that really touches your heart. The film depicts the courage and hardship of being kind to someone while many people are just trying to make ends meet. The mystery part is also authentic and works well as a device to make you want to watch the next episode as soon as possible,” said Oyama.

The most popular program that many said was “the best for enjoying without thinking” was “Min-Oh R” (TV Asahi).

Some people pointed out that “Masaki Suda (31) and Issei Takahashi (43), who were in the main cast of the previous episode, left the show and their power went down,” said Mr. Oyama. Kenichi Endo (Enken) (63), who starred in the film, was also said to be overjoyed. Kazuya Ohashi (27) of “Naniwa Boys” sang “Under the Big Chestnut Tree” and danced to the debut song of “Naniwa,” which also created a buzz. The satire on the well-timed House of Representatives election and the U.S. presidential election was also very effective,” said a commercial broadcaster executive.

The team that produced “Occupy the Main Hospital” and “Occupy the New Airport” (both on Nippon TV), both starring Sho Sakurai, 42, received mixed reviews for “Undercover Siblings ” (on Nippon TV).

In the “Occupy” series, Sakurai’s character is forced to say “No way,” which is a habit of the detective in the series, and I was not so sure about it. The V-Cinema style atmosphere is not suitable for weekend viewing,” said Kawada.

The “discussion group” is in a frenzy. A new way to enjoy drama productions has recently been established among drama watchers: “consideration,” in which they examine the characters’ lines and predict the identity of the culprit or the mastermind.

VTuber yumelive, one of the watchers of this drama, who likes to make predictions, praised this work highly.

He says, “This film is the quintessence of a drama of consideration, as the identity of the fraudulent group ‘Phantom Beast’ is gradually revealed and there is a mysterious inside man. The great thing is that the official website uses Morse code to give a whiff of ″what happens next″. There are many things that have to be checked, such as the official website, the official X, and the X of the producer in charge, but the exhilaration of recovering the foreshadowing is irresistible.

The trial-and-error process of TV people is likely to continue for some time to come.

From the December 6, 2024 issue of FRIDAY