The winter drama season kicks off right after the New Year, with "It's No Problem for My Husband" (Kantele/Fuji TV, Mondays at 10 PM), starring Nao Matsushita, starting on January 5th. Other hotly anticipated dramas include "Reunion: Silent Truth" (TV Asahi, Tuesdays at 9 PM), which will see Takeuchi Ryoma, who starred in the popular drama "Jaa, Anta ga Tsukutte Miro yo It" (TBS) last season, star for the second season in a row. Here, we'll introduce the most anticipated dramas from each commercial broadcaster, based on the number of favorite subscribers on TVer (all as of January 3rd), a barometer of attention.
First up is TBS, the "drama giant" that has also released popular fall dramas such as "Jaa, Anta ga Tsukutte Miro yo It " and "The Royal Family." The drama with the most favorite subscribers at present, with 190,000 people, is Sunday Theatre's "Reboot" (Sundays at 9pm), starring Suzuki Ryohei in a dual role. This suspense drama follows a kind-hearted pastry chef framed for the murder of his wife, who abandons his beloved family and past to pose as a corrupt detective at the Metropolitan Police Department in order to prove his innocence and find the real culprit. The all-star cast includes Suzuki, along with Toda Erika, Nagase Ren, Ito Hideaki, and Kuroki Meisa, and the original script was three years in the making by popular screenwriter Kuroiwa Tsutomu. It begins on January 18th.
Next up is TV Asahi. Excluding "Aibou Season 24" (Wednesdays at 9pm), which has been airing for two consecutive seasons since last fall and has 1.05 million subscribers, the show with the highest number of subscribers at the moment is the aforementioned "Reunion: Silent Truth" with 203,000 subscribers, the highest number of any winter drama. The series is based on a novel by Yokozeki Dai, which won the 56th Edogawa Rampo Prize. It is a heartbreaking human love mystery that begins with the fateful reunion between Hina Junichi (Takeuchi), who has become a detective, and his first love, Iwamoto Makiko (Inoue Mao), who is now a suspect in a murder case. It starts on January 13th.
Fuji TV's Monday Getsuku drama "Yandoku!" starring Kanna Hashimoto recorded 149,000 viewers. This thrilling medical entertainment follows Tagami Koonami (Hashimoto), a hardcore delinquent girl who, after her best friend dies in an accident, studies hard to become a neurosurgeon and brings a breath of fresh air to the medical field. The original work is based on a real doctor, and the script was written by Nemoto Nonji, who teamed up with Hashimoto on last year's NHK Asadora drama "Omusubi." Co-stars include Osamu Mukai, Ryubi Miyase, Uchida Rio, and Yoshida Kotaro Yoshida. The series starts on January 12th.
Nippon Television's "Punch-Drunk Woman: XX Days Left Until Prison Break" (Sundays, 10:30 PM), starring Shinohara Ryoko, is currently the most popular with 141,000 viewers. The original story is inspired by a true story from overseas about a female prison guard who helped a male inmate escape and escaped with him. It follows the escape drama in which female prison guard Fuyuki Kozue (Shinohara) meets murderer Kusaka Reiji (Jesse) and transforms into a "villain." The series begins on January 11th.
On TV Tokyo, "Former Forensic Investigation Housewife" (Fridays at 9pm), starring Marika Matsumoto, topped the list with 110,000 viewers. The original story, jointly developed by TV Tokyo and Kodansha, tells the story of a full-time housewife, Yoshioka Shiori (Matsumoto), who was once known as the "Ace of Forensic Investigation," who, along with her husband Michihiko (Yokoyama Yu) who has a keen intuition, and her inquisitive son Ryosuke (Tasuku Sato), mobilize the power and science of the entire family to uncover the truth. The series begins on January 16th.
With the exception of "Reunion: Silent Truth," all of the shows that have attracted a lot of attention from viewers are original works. In addition to the ones mentioned here, will there be a "dark horse" like "Jaa, Anta ga Tsukutte Miro yo It," which became a hot topic on social media after it began airing and became a huge hit? We look forward to the birth of a new masterpiece.
