Director Naoki Tamura talks about the behind-the-scenes story of the drama "The Great Chase"

The TV Asahi drama series "The Great Chase: Metropolitan Police Department SSBC Violent Crimes Unit" (Wednesdays 9pm) will enter its final chapter with the eighth episode airing on August 27th. Ahead of the final chapter, director Naoki Tamura, who will be directing this series, shared some behind-the-scenes stories from the production.

The drama stars Nao Omori, Masaki Aiba, and Nao Matsushita. It depicts the activities of the newly established "SSBC Violent Crimes Unit" at the Metropolitan Police Department's Criminal Investigation Support and Analysis Center (SSBC), which is responsible for collecting and analyzing security camera footage, as well as smartphone and PC analysis. Streaming has been going well, with over 12.2 million views of the first seven episodes on TVer (as of August 25, according to TVer DATA MARKETING).

This series is the first new series in about 10 years to air on TV Asahi's Wednesday 9pm time slot. Director Tamura recalls, "I had many discussions with the producers about how to proceed within the traditional framework." He commented, "As a result, I think we've successfully mixed the Showa-era charm of good old-fashioned detective stories, the speed of digital, and the quality of the characters written by screenwriter Yasushi Fukuda, resulting in a new form of entertainment."

Regarding what he was conscious of in terms of directing, he revealed, "Because it's a detective story, the case has to be solved, so we proceeded steadily in that regard, but we also added elements of humour to the characters created by Fukuda and the producers, consciously creating a balance between strengths and weaknesses."

Speaking of comedy elements, the character of Yaegashi Masao, Chief of the First Investigative Division, played by Kenichi Endo, is popular. Director Tamura also directed the TV Asahi series "Doctor X: Surgeon Daimon Michiko," in which Endo starred. "Because I've been working with Endo for a long time, since 'Doctor X,' I wanted to make sure that Endo's unique characteristics were brought out without creating a sense of déjà vu. Endo is very good at acting in a way that makes the viewer think he's cute while still being serious and scary. It seems that he arrived at his current form through trial and error, and I think he's happy that he's become so loved by everyone (viewers)."

He has worked on a variety of productions, including "Doctor X," but said he struggled with directing the subject of this latest production, which is security cameras. He analyzed, "I can see why this project hasn't been done before (laughs). But I think that's why viewers find it new and enjoy watching it."

He introduced that the eighth episode will unravel the "mystery" held by Nanami, played by Aiba, and Chief Cabinet Secretary Kuze, played by Koichi Sato. "It's going to be quite a voluminous and worthwhile production, and although it's hard, it's funny and I think it's going to have a climax that you won't get bored of," he said.