It has been revealed that the number of viewers (simultaneous or catch-up streaming) for the first episode (broadcast on June 21st) of the NHK drama series "Hitori de Shinitai" (General TV, Saturday 10pm), starring actress Ayase Haruka, on NHK Plus was the highest of any drama series in the station's history, excluding its Asadora and taiga dramas.
The drama is an unprecedented social comedy about "end-of-life planning," based on the manga of the same name by Kaoru Curryzawa, which has been praised as a "laughable gag manga about end-of-life planning." The main character, unmarried and childless, was enjoying life alone, but after her beloved aunt dies alone, her search for a husband is unsuccessful. From there, she makes a 180-degree turn and starts thinking about end-of-life planning...
The script was written by Omori Mika, who also wrote the Asadora drama "Asa ga Kita" in the second half of 2015 and the taiga drama "Seiten wo Tsuke" in 2021.
Production manager Takagi Asako commented, "We were able to achieve this great feat thanks to the original author, Curryzawa Kaoru, who has been hyping the show every day as the 'promotional captain,' the fantastic performances by the stellar cast including Ayase Haruka, and the loving support and spreading of the word from our viewers. Thank you so much! Having come this far, we can probably 'aim to surpass the Asadora and taiga drama' (grins). The story will continue to gather pace. Please continue to support us!"
The third episode of the drama will air on July 12th.
