It has been announced that the fifth season of the detective drama series "Emergency Interrogation Room" (TV Asahi), starring actress Yuki Amami, will be broadcast in the Thursday drama slot (Thursdays at 9 PM) in October. It was also announced that the final installment of the series, "Emergency Interrogation Room: The Final Movie," will be released on December 26th. The film was originally scheduled for release on June 16th, 2023, but was postponed due to Toho's "comprehensive judgment," and it was announced last year that the series would be rebooted with some cast changes.
"Emergency Interrogation Room" is a popular series in which Amami plays Yukiko Makabe, a veteran interrogator, and other members of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's First Investigative Division's "Emergency Case Response Interrogation Team (commonly known as Kintori)" engage in a back-and-forth psychological battle with violent criminals. The series began airing in 2014 and has since gained popularity with four serial drama series (January 2014, April 2017, April 2019, July 2021) and two special dramas (September 2015, January 2022).
Kintori unexpectedly disbanded in the fourth season, but will be reuniting in the fifth season. Led by Makabe, the ironclad team of Supervisors Kajiyama Katsutoshi (Tetsushi Tanaka), Tamagaki Matsuo (Tsukaji Muga), Hishimoto Susumu (Denden), and Koishikawa Haruo (Fumiyo Kohinata) will face off against the "strongest suspects in the series' history."
Familiar faces from the series will also appear, including the famous First Investigation Division duo "Motsunabe" played by Hayami Mokomichi and Suzuki Kosuke, and Deputy Superintendent General Iwaki Kazuhisa played by Okura Koji. An episode linked to the movie version will also be depicted, featuring a showdown with the Prime Minister played by Kanji Ishimaru.
Amami commented, "We are finally able to release the movie version. In the midst of all this, I would like to say 'Thank you. We've kept you waiting' to all the fans who have loved Kintori for 12 years, and who have been waiting for the release...and I want to give it another boost! That wish has come to fruition, and I have been given the 'chance' to start Kintori again as a TV series."
"We are also feeling positive and want to make sure that everyone's wishes are fulfilled, and we want to work hard with even more energy," she said enthusiastically, adding, "We hope that the combined force of these 12 years... all of Yuki Amami will bring together the older men, and that the broadcast will be filled with the team spirit that is unique to Kintori and our gratitude to everyone."
