Actor Atsushi Ito appeared on stage with main cast members Nao Omori, Masaki Aiba, and Nao Matsushita at the "Great Thanksgiving Event" for the TV drama series "The Great Chase: Metropolitan Police Department SSBC Violent Crimes Unit" (TV Asahi, Wednesdays 9pm) held at Nao Omori Hills Arena (Minato Nao Matsushita) on August 13th. At a press conference held after the event, he was asked about his "18-minute exit from the start of another network's drama series, "DOPE" (TBS, Fridays 10pm).
In the first episode of "DOPE" that aired on July 4th, the character played by Ito was shocked to die just 18 minutes into the episode. When asked by a reporter, "In another network's drama, he left just 18 minutes into the episode, but will that be okay in this one?", the entire cast burst into laughter.
Ito, who plays Kizawa Osamu, a member of the SSBC Violent Crimes Division, said, "I want to believe that everything will be okay in this series, but I don't know yet (laughs)," and while it's difficult to predict what the future holds as filming is still ongoing, he added, "I hope that if there's a season 2, they don't just say that I've been transferred or something like that, and then they stop using the narration as a way to explain it." He added, "Right now, I'm completely focused on this series (laughs)."
The drama stars Aiba, Omori, and Matsushita. It is an original detective drama set in the newly established "SSBC Violent Crimes Unit" at the Metropolitan Police Department's Investigation Support and Analysis Center (SSBC), which is responsible for collecting and analyzing security camera footage and analyzing smartphones and computers. Aiba, Omori, Matsushita, Ito, Ken Mitsuishi, Kenichi Endo, and Koichi Sato attended the event that day wearing yukata robes.
