It has been announced that five movies, one serial drama, and three special dramas from the hit "Bayside Shakedown" series, in which actor Yuji Oda plays a hot-blooded detective, will be broadcast on Fuji TV at once.
The series will be broadcast to commemorate the theatrical release of the first new movie in 12 years, "Muroi Shinji: The Unconquerable" (directed by Katsuyuki Motohiro) and "Muroi Shinji: The One Who Lives" (directed by the same company), on October 11th and 15th, respectively, as part of the "Dancing Project." All five previous movies will be broadcast on terrestrial television for the first time in 4K restored versions.
Bayside Shakedown, which aired as a serial drama in January 1997, depicts the protagonist Aoshima Shunsaku (played by Oda), an unusual detective who quit his job and was assigned to the Wangan Police Station Criminal Investigation Division. He is confused by the gap between the ideals of a detective and the reality, but he tackles cases sincerely, sometimes passionately and sometimes with humor.
The series not only touches on the passionate friendship between Aoshima and the police's career officer, Muroi Shinji (played by Yanagiba Toshiro), but also touches on the vertical divisions and hierarchical relationships within the police force, and has garnered overwhelming support, with the final episode recording an average viewership rating of 23.1% (viewership ratings according to Video Research, Kanto region, households).
In addition, "Bayside Shakedown THE MOVIE", released in 1998, was a mega-hit with a box office revenue of over 10 billion yen. The second film, "Bayside Shakedown THE MOVIE 2: Shut Down the Rainbow Bridge", released in 2003, made over 17.3 billion yen, and even now, more than 20 years later, it remains the number one live-action Japanese film. The total box office revenue of the six films in the series released so far has been 48.7 billion yen, and the total number of viewers has exceeded 35.98 million.
The broadcast times for the films and dramas are as follows (Fuji TV affiliates, dramas are Kanto local).
＜Movies＞
September 28th, 9pm = "Bayside Shakedown THE MOVIE" (released in 1998) ▽ September 30th, 9pm = "Suspect Muroi Shinji" (released in 2005) ▽ October 5th, 9pm = "Bayside Shakedown THE MOVIE 2: Close Off the Rainbow Bridge!" (released in 2003) ▽ October 12th, 8pm = "Bayside Shakedown THE MOVIE 3: Set Them Free!" (released in 2010) ▽ November 16th, 9pm = "Bayside Shakedown THE FINAL: A New Hope" (released in 2012)
＜Serial drama＞
"Bayside Shakedown" = Starts September 16th (Monday to Friday 1:50pm)
＜Special drama＞
"Bayside Shakedown" Year-end Special Alert Special" (broadcast December 30, 1997) = September 24th and 25th 1:50pm)
"Bayside Shakedown Extra Edition: Wangan Policewoman Story: Early Summer Traffic Safety Special" (broadcast June 19, 1998) = September 25th 2:48pm▽September 26th 1:50pm
"Bayside Shakedown Autumn Crime Prevention Special" (broadcast October 6, 1998) = September 26th 2:48pm▽September 30th 1:50pm
