It has been announced that a completely new special drama of the same name, based on the drama "Grand Maison Tokyo" which aired on TBS's "Sunday Theatre" (Sundays at 9pm) in October 2019 with Kimura Takuya playing an unconventional genius chef, will be broadcast on the same station at 9pm on December 29th, the day before the release of the film "Grand Maison Paris" (directed by Tsukahara Ayuko, released on December 30th). As with the drama series, the script will be written by Kuroiwa Tsutomu and directed by Tsukahara.
In addition, it has been decided that Kubota Masataka and Kitamura Kazuki will appear in the special drama. Kubota plays Yuasa Riku, chef at the French restaurant "Meilleur Kyoto," where Obana Natsuki (Kimura) and Hayami Rinko (Suzuki Kyoka) are reunited after they were supposed to have gone to Paris but lost contact, while Kitamura plays Akashi Sosuke, CEO of "NEX Management," a subsidiary of a major company that has a capital alliance with "Grand Maison Tokyo."
This special drama tells the story of what happened after "Grand Maison Tokyo" received three stars. "Grand Maison Tokyo" was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Thinking only about keeping the restaurant open, they formed a capital alliance with a major company. Because the food was only about looking good, "Grand Maison Tokyo" lost more Michelin stars, and eventually lost all of its stars... This is how the story unfolds.
In addition to Kimura and Suzuki, the cast also includes familiar faces such as Tamamori Yuta (Kis-My-Ft2), Kan'ichiro, Asakura Aki, Yoshitani Ayako, Onoe Kikunosuke, Tominaga Ai, Nakamura Anne, Oikawa Mitsuhiro, and Sawamura Ikki.
Kubota commented, "I was honestly happy to be able to take part in the sequel to Grand Maison Tokyo. Yuasa is a character who genuinely loves French food and approaches cooking with sincerity and honesty. This time, Yuasa is Obana's partner and is entrusted with his back, and Kimura taught me the manners, gestures, and hand movements of a chef, which gave me hints for playing Yuasa and was stimulating. There are many important elements scattered throughout the film that will serve as a bridge to the culmination of their work, so please look forward to it."
Kitamura said of his impression of the work, "It's a popular drama, and I felt like I got an offer from the Dodgers, so I was very happy (laughs). The beginning, development, twist, and conclusion are clear, and I thought it was a very interesting script and grandiose. The human drama surrounding cooking and the conflicting relationships centered around Obana are easy to understand, and it's an interesting story."
Regarding his role, he commented, "Akashi, who I played this time, has his own sense of justice, and I think that he was able to have employees and get a contract with 'Grand Maison Tokyo' because he does his job properly. I think that there are some young people in particular who think that Akashi's emphasis on efficiency is the right way of thinking, so I was conscious of each person's sense of justice during filming. The director also closely observed the set while creating the work, so I think everyone was able to act naturally and with a great atmosphere. I came up with various ideas for playing Akashi and added some quirks. I think it will add a lot of spice to the role, so please look forward to it!"
