It has been revealed that the viewership rating for the first episode of the extended special of the popular detective drama "Aibou season 23" (TV Asahi, Wednesdays at 9pm), which started on October 16th, was the highest for the first episode of this primetime commercial TV drama. The average household viewership rating was 12.6%, and the individual viewership rating was 7.0% (Video Research survey, Kanto region, same below).
"Aibou" is a detective drama in which Ukyo Sugishita (Yutaka Mizutani), a member of the Metropolitan Police Department's "Special Investigation Unit", a side-line unit, solves many difficult cases with his partner, using his genius mind to solve them. Since the series began in 2000, four partners have been created so far: Kameyama Kaoru (Yasufumi Terawaki), Kobe Takeru (Mitsuhiro Oikawa), Kai Toru (Hiroki Narimiya), and Kanjo Wataru (Takashi Sorimachi). In "season 21", Kaoru, the original partner, returns to the Special Investigation Unit, and the pairing of Ukyo and Kaoru has now entered its 10th season.
The first episode sees the murder of Ashiya (Namiki Shiro), a former National Public Safety Commission chairman and member of the House of Representatives. Then there's a terrorist bomb attack targeting Prime Minister Fujiwara (Shiba Toshio)... and so on. This is the first of a two-part series, with the second episode to air on October 23rd. Guest appearances by Kato Seishirō and Denden are also featured.
