TBS Sunday Theatre's "Caster" (Sundays at 9pm) starring Hiroshi Abe will begin on April 13th. Set in a TV news program, this socially conscious entertainment drama pursues the truth buried in the dark and punishes evil. Abe plays the unconventional newscaster Shindo Soichi.
Soichi Shindo, a man of conviction that "the truth moves the world!", is a reporter and newscaster for the social affairs department of a public broadcasting station, but is poached by the president of the commercial television station JBN to become the main newscaster for the news program "Newsgate," which is struggling with low ratings. In order to convey the truth, he uses any means necessary to report and investigate according to his own rules, and draws in those around him with his overwhelming presence.
Nagano Mei will play Mei Nagano's Michieda Shunsuke will play Naniwa Danshi Yusuke, a rookie assistant director aspiring to be a journalist who respects Shindo.
Emma Miyazawa, Okabe Takashi will play the news bureau chief, Takashi Okabe, and the program's sub-caster, Koike Kanato Tsukishiro, will be played by Tsukishiro Kanato, a former top star of the Takarazuka Revue's Moon Troupe.
Episode 1: Soichi Shindo is appointed as the new anchor of the commercial TV station JBN's evening news program "Newsgate." Although it is a flagship program with a 40-year history, its ratings have been sluggish in recent years. In an effort to turn things around, JBN's Chairman Sadao Kunisada (Hideki Takahashi) recruited him from the public broadcasting station.
On his first day in the position, Shindo declares to the staff, "I'm here to fix this program." Hana Sakikubo, who has just been appointed general director of the program and introduced a series of unconventional styles, finds herself caught between Shindo and the veteran staff.
The highlight of the first episode of the new series is a live appearance by Chief Cabinet Secretary Tsuyoshi Hanyu (Kinya Kitaoji). However, his secretary suddenly cancels the appearance. While the staff panics, Shindo heads to a certain location with new AD Yusuke Motohashi and confronts Hanyu about the reason for the cancellation and its connection to the bribery allegations. The allegations are about a scoop that Shindo has been secretly pursuing. Furthermore, an unexpected event occurs on the spot, and the program goes live without the main caster!
