Ayase, Ninomiya, Alice Hirose… Spring Drama “The Real Winner” Deciphered by Secret Stories!

One of the hottest topics among spring dramas is the increase in the number of productions. Fuji Television, TBS, TV Tokyo, and NHK have all established new slots. Drama watcher Masahiro Kitagawa welcomes “Fuji’s long-awaited return to three slots for its own drama productions,” and one drama in particular is “Goto no Isanjikan” (Fuji), which has the stations all excited.

The first episode of the series received a 12.1% household viewer rating and a 4.2% core viewer rating (among men and women aged 13-49), but the distribution of the series is going very well. The first episode actually recorded 3.36 million views. The fact that Haruka Ayase (37) plays the main character is enough to attract attention, but the semi-leading role is played by Hiroshi Oizumi (49), who is currently playing a major role in the NHK historical drama “Kamakura no Dono no 13binin”. I am looking forward to seeing what kind of performance he will give.

According to this producer, “Fuji has definitely changed its strategy.

Overall viewer ratings are declining, but only people in their 50s and older are watching dramas in real time anymore. The number of viewers is rather increasing when those watching via recordings or streaming are included, reaffirming the growing need for drama productions due to the Corona disaster. Fuji is launching a major campaign with its own distribution platform that allows viewers to watch both past classics and current broadcasts. They have steered away from ratings and toward distribution.”

Mr. Kitagawa emphasizes the fact that Masayuki Suzuki, who directed “King’s Restaurant,” “Shomuni,” and “Hero,” has joined the production team for “The Testament of the Ex-Boyfriend.

The fact that they have brought in an ace director from the golden era shows how much effort Fuji has put into its drama productions. The newly established Wednesday night 10:00 p.m. slot for “Nanba MG5” is being handled by Katsuyuki Motohiro of “Odoru Daisousasen” (“Bayside Shakedown”) fame.

The W No. 1 in viewer ratings was “My Family” (TBS). Writer Kumao Oyama praised the show for its “high-speed development and thrilling lack of scheduled harmony.

Kazunari Ninomiya (38) and Mikako Tabe (33) are convincing in their performances. Only Sunday Gekijo’ can use leading actors such as Kento Kaku (32) and Hiroshi Tamaki (42) in supporting roles.

A TV journalist analyzes that “There are clear similarities” between “My Family” and “The Testament of My Ex”.

Kazutaka Iida, the producer of “My Family,” said, “In order for a TV drama that can only be viewed once a week to beat a drama that is distributed, it is important to have a sense of development and speed that will not bore viewers. Both dramas solve their cases with a rush. The scriptwriter Tsutomu Kuroiwa, who has had hits with “Grand Maison Tokyo,” responds to Mr. Iida’s order, and the productions are made with the 2021 audience in mind, as video distribution services such as Netflix have taken root in the area.

Mio Imada (25), in her first starring role, starred in “Bad Girl: Who Said Working Was Uncool? 〜(NTV) is also doing well.

The lead actress, Imada, is better than expected. It’s clear that the protagonist required in this day and age is someone with the mental toughness to not give in to anything,” said Oyama.

The core viewer rating was 2nd. Imada and Hamabe Minami (21) are the twins in terms of appeal to teenage viewers,” says a staff member at a production company.

Imada’s appeal to teenage viewers is unmatched by Hamabe Minami, 21. She has an astounding 3.88 million followers on Instagram. Although “Bad Girl” is a remake, it is a chance for adults to enjoy the differences from the previous film and for young people to see how she is making great strides as an actress, so it has attracted a great deal of attention.

NHK on the offensive, commercial broadcasters on the defensive

Another characteristic of spring drama productions is the splendid casts. It is a common belief in the industry that drama productions in the spring and fall seasons, when drama productions are undergoing a reorganization, are the focus of all the drama networks. For example, “Is it a Sustainable Love? 〜(TBS), for example, “Juri Ueno (35) plays a yoga instructor in a very revealing role” (Kitagawa).

This film is about the search for a form of love and marriage that suits one’s way of life and circumstances, and I felt it was new. The co-stars, including Kei Tanaka (37) and Yutaka Matsushige (59), are also very stable,” said Oyama.

Takuya Kimura (49) plays a “rotten” (according to him) middle-aged man with no dreams or hopes in “10 Counts to the Future” (TV Asahi).

I thought I was going to see a new Kimura Takuya, but it turned out to be more of a “cool Kimura Takuya” drama than usual (laughs). Surrounding him are a solid cast of actors including Hikari Mitsushima (36), Haru (30), Akira Emoto (73), Tomohito Yashima (51), and Akira Yasuda (48), making this a drama in which you can enjoy Kimutaku at his best.

Watchers say that the “way to enjoy” this drama is to pay attention to Anna Yamada (21), who plays the role of Kimutaku’s student.

She is a young actress who combines transparency with acting ability. She is a young actress with transparency and acting ability. The initial household viewer ratings for this film exceeded double digits. This should be a good debut for her,” said Kitagawa.

The industry is also paying attention to the presence of a “woman of character” who was selected to play the heroine in “17-Year-Old Empire” (NHK).

After working on “Quartet” at TBS, she moved to Kantele and was in charge of “Soyota Tomoko and Her Three Ex-husbands”. The film is an aggressive science fiction story about a 17-year-old who is chosen by AI to become the prime minister of an experimental city, with a great performance by Marika Matsumoto (37) as a newspaper reporter, and the use of Gen Hoshino (41) is extravagant. I have a feeling that this film will be a hit,” said nonfiction writer Masashi Hosoda.

A commercial broadcaster in charge of programming adds, “’17-Sai no Teikoku’ is a good example.

NHK is going on the offensive with “17 Sai no Teikoku” and “Masanao Fudosan,” in which Tomohisa Yamashita (37) is given the role of the third male character. On the other hand, the commercial broadcasters have only assembled a cast and that’s it. Because of the TV recession and the Corona disaster, production costs are being slashed, and they are extremely afraid of making a mockery and having their sponsors run away. ……

The cutbacks in production costs have contributed to the increase in the number of drama slots. A senior executive at a production company said as much.

It takes time and money to start a new variety show. It is also difficult to get sponsors. Drama programs are more sponsor-friendly, and since a team is created for each production, it is easier to accommodate changes in work styles. Because filming can be accelerated, the tragedy of “Yangonaki Kazoku” (Fuji), whose broadcast was delayed by a week due to Corona, can also be avoided. Variety productions are consumed and then finished, but drama productions can be expected to be profitable in the long run. If content can be created that can be made into a series, made into a movie, or distributed through subscriptions, it can make a great deal of money.

However, production costs are limited, so while producing productions with a splendid cast, the number of broadcast slots is increased and inexpensive experimental productions using young actors are introduced one after another, in search of dramas that can turn into reality.

There is a disadvantage, too. The offers are concentrated on actors with high cost performance, and the number of lead roles that actors such as Alice Hirose (27) have to play concurrently increases, increasing the risk that they will fall ill.

The risk of health problems increases as more actors like Alice Hirose (27) are offered the lead roles. (Fuji), starring Hirose, was cranked up six months ago, so that helped. However, the script, which is like an old-fashioned Showa-era love story about six beautiful men and women who fall in and out of love, was heavily criticized, and the numbers are in a big pinch. ……

Although there are more chances for good works to be produced, “the way viewers look at works is becoming much more severe,” says Hosoda.

The new model for viewing drama productions is to watch them on social networking sites and then catch up on the productions that have been missed. If a drama is well-received, it will get a lot of views, but if it’s boring, people won’t pay attention to it.

For viewers, though, this is a good trend.

From the June 3, 2022 issue of FRIDAY