"Drama 1 Week" introduces the main drama news of the week. This time (June 7-13), we talked about the sequel to TBS's Sunday Theatre drama "VIVANT" (2023) starring Masato Sakai, which will be broadcast in 2026, and Hina Kikuchi's appearance in the Kansai TV/Fuji TV "Monday 10pm Drama" "We Still Don't Know the School Rules of That Planet." We will cover these topics in two parts.
On June 11th, it was revealed that the sequel to "VIVANT" will be broadcast in the same Sunday Theater time slot (Sundays at 9pm) in 2026 (date to be determined). On the same day, lead actor Sakai made a live appearance on TBS's information program "THE TIME," (Monday to Friday 5:20am) to announce the news. The sequel will begin immediately after the last scene of the previous work, and there will be no changes to the setting of the main character, Yusuke Nogi, played by Sakai. The cast other than Sakai will be announced in the future. Katsuo Fukuzawa is in charge of the original story, direction, and production, and Kazutaka Iida will be the producer. The previous work was a hot topic for its grand scale location shooting in Mongolia, and the sequel will also travel around the world. The previous work "VIVANT" captivated viewers with its unpredictable storyline, luxurious cast, and overwhelming visual beauty, and the average household viewership rating for the final episode was 19.6% (Video Research survey, Kanto region). It became a social phenomenon.
On the 11th, it was revealed that the new drama "Replica: Revenge of the Ex-Wife" will be broadcast on TV Tokyo's "Drama Premiere 23" slot (Mondays at 11:06 pm). The heroine's pre-surgery appearance with special makeup was revealed in advance, which caused a buzz, but it was also revealed that her true identity is Triendl Reina. The original work is a manga of the same name by Tanaka Tomo and illustrated by Hirai Hacchi (Zenon Comics/Core Mix). The main character, Fujimura Aoi (Trindle), who was plain and quiet since childhood, was bullied by her classmate Karin. As an adult, she finally meets her ideal man, Kippei, and marries him. However, her husband cheats on her with another woman, forcing her to get a divorce. What's more, the woman he cheats with is Karin, who has bullied Aoi since childhood. Karin's schemes also take away not only her husband, but also her job and friends. Determined to get revenge, Aoi undergoes plastic surgery to change her face, body, and even correct her dominant hand, becoming a completely different person named "Ito Sumire," and grows closer to Karin and Kippei.
On the 11th, Fumino Kimura attended a press conference for "TV Asahi Drama Premium 'The Prison Guard's Way'" (June 21, 9:00 pm) held at TV Asahi (Minato-ku, Tokyo). She appeared on stage in an elegant all-black outfit. This is her first time acting with lead actor Ryoma Takeuchi. "Takeuchi-san is very good at communicating. He is very kind and has a sense of distance between us, like a sibling. (When we were filming the drama) I had been away from acting for a while, so I was nervous about coming back after a long time, but thanks to Takeuchi-san, I was able to be on set and talk happily without any problems. I learned that this is what it means to be the lead actor." Kimura announced the birth of her first child in July 2023. It has been announced that filming for "The Prison Guard's Way" took place about two years ago.
On the 12th, it was revealed that Fuma Kikuchi of "timelesz," who has been appearing in the role of "Blue Fuma Kikuchi since the first installment of the drama "Occupy" starring Sho Sakurai, " Broadcasting Station Occupy " (Nippon TV, Saturday 9:00 pm), will be continuing to appear in the third installment of the drama "Occupy" (Nippon TV, Saturday 9:00 pm). Kikuchi said, "I'm very happy to be appearing this time more than in "New Airport Occupy." Yamato, played by Kikuchi, was the leader of the armed group "Night Parade of One Hundred Demons" in the "Large Hospital Occupy" incident, and fought a deadly battle with detective Musashi Saburo, played by Sakurai. The hospital occupation was a crime committed in order to uncover the truth behind the suspicious death of his younger sister, Kotone, but he was eventually arrested and imprisoned. In the "New Airport Occupy" incident the following year, he gave Musashi and the others hints from the detention center, but escaped at the end. The last scene was him talking to someone on the roof of a high-rise building, smiling fearlessly, and walking away, so it was expected that he would continue in the role.
On the 12th, the visual of Song Jiang, the leader of Liangshan Marsh, played by Oda Yuji, was released for the TV drama "Kitakata Kenzo Suikoden" (WOWOW, broadcast in 2026), which is a dramatization of Kitakata Kenzo's historical epic novel starring actor Oda Yuji. The scene shows Song Jiang taking up his brush and writing "Kaiten Gyodo", a book vowing to "reform the world". These four characters mean "to do justice on behalf of heaven", and in the story, they are a flag of ambition and a light of hope for those who are cornered by an unreasonable world. The friends scattered all over the country read this book, their hearts tremble, and they rise up. In the released visual, the gaze of Song Jiang, played by Oda, holding a brush, is filled with hidden resolve and quiet heat. The original work is the first in Kitakata's "Great Suikoden" trilogy, which has sold over 11.6 million copies and was later followed by "Yang Lingden" and "Yue Fei Den."
On the 12th, it was announced that Mackenyu will be playing his first role as a doctor in the TBS Sunday Theatre drama " The 19th medical record " (Sundays at 9pm) starring Jun Matsumoto , which will begin airing in July. This will be Arata's second time in nine years since "Aogeba Totoshi" (2016). He plays Kojiro Togo, a surgeon and the son of the head of surgery at Uotora General Hospital, where the story takes place. Kojiro has performed numerous surgeries at a young age, and is highly regarded within the hospital for his reliable skills and calm judgment. Arata commented, "The character I play, Kojiro Togo, is the polar opposite of Tokushige (Akira), played by Matsumoto (a general practitioner in the newly established general medicine department at the hospital), and is a character who deals with things rationally. The source of his character is his father, who is the head of surgery at the same hospital. Please look forward to watching Kojiro Togo grow as a doctor."
On the 12th, it was announced that Maryjun Takahashi and Mori Kasumi will appear in the TV Asahi drama series "Ubai Ai, Manatsu" (Fridays 11:15pm *excluding some regions), which will start in July. They will play two celebrity sisters who stand in the way of the heroine. This is the latest in the "Ubai Ai" series, and the script is by Suzuki Osamu. After losing her mother in an accident and breaking up with her boyfriend who she had promised to marry, the protagonist Umino Manatsu (Marika Matsumoto) makes a fresh start in life by changing jobs to a watch manufacturer. However, the company president, Sorachi Taimu (Ken Yasuda Ken), looks just like her ex-boyfriend, and Manatsu throws herself into a forbidden love with the married man. Takahashi plays Taimu's wife, Sorachi Mirai. She loves Taimu so much that she becomes suspicious of her husband's love for her. When she finds out about Manatsu's existence, she is overcome with anxiety and jealousy, and becomes hostile. Meanwhile, Mori plays Hanabi Yamagami, Mirai's younger sister and Manatsu's colleague. She's cheerful, innocent and sociable, but behind the scenes she's a troublemaker who causes trouble.
On the 13th, it was announced that Futo Nozomi will appear in the drama series "The Kidnapping Day" (TV Asahi, Tuesdays at 9:00 pm), which starts on July 8th. This is the first time that Nozomi, who left the company in 2021, will appear in a terrestrial TV series. She will play Fujisawa Kaori, the head nurse at Eishin Memorial Hospital, where the daughter of the main character, Shinjo Masamune (Saito Takumi), Megumi, is hospitalized. The story is based on the drama of the same name (2023), which became a hot topic in Korea. Shinjo, who gets involved in kidnapping to cover the cost of surgery for his daughter with heart disease, and the kidnapped genius girl with amnesia, Nanase Rin (Nagao Yuno), go on the run while being pursued by unidentified men. Nozomi commented, "After I heard about the role, I watched the Korean version, and it was so interesting that I was drawn into the story, and I was very happy to be a part of the work and wonder how it would be remade into a Japanese version."
On the 13th, it was announced that Kikuchi will be appearing in "We Still Don't Know the School Rules of That Planet." Visuals of Kikuchi in uniform as Hori Marika, a third-year student at Hama Solaris High School, a school where a boys' and girls' school have just merged, were also released. Hori Marika is a member of the volleyball club and is the type of person who can get along with anyone, regardless of gender. She starts dating Fujimura Shogo (Hinata Wataru) after he confesses his love to her, and also helps take care of her grandmother. Kikuchi commented, "The school drama is told from the perspective of law, and I thought it was interesting how the parts that were not in the spotlight are brought to light by the introduction of adult and societal rules into the school. The problems and instability that arise only during the sensitive period of being a student are vividly depicted, so I would like to carefully portray the worries, conflicts, and courage that arise from them."
