Actress Shinohara Ryoko will star in the Nippon Television drama series "Punch-Drunk Woman: Only XX Days Left Until Prison Break" (Sundays at 10:30pm), which will begin airing on January 11th. The suspense story revolves around a prison escape between a female prison guard and a murderer, and Shinohara plays the role of Fuyuki Kozue, a disciplined and earnest female prison guard who imposes rules on herself.
The drama is an original story inspired by a true story from overseas, in which a female prison guard helped a male inmate escape and then ran away with him. Veteran female prison guard Fuyuki Kozue has always lived a disciplined and diligent life, but her life is turned upside down when she meets Kusaka Reiji, a pretrial detainee (a suspect or defendant whose guilt has not yet been determined) who has been charged with robbery and murder and who is closely connected to Kozue's secret. The script is by Izumi Yoshihiro, who has worked on "Laughing Matryoshka," and is directed by Nakakuki Tsuyoshi, who has worked on "The Unforgettable 'I'" and "Secret Mitsuko-san," and Nagumo Seiichi, who has worked on "Waru" and "The Reluctant Preacher."
Jesse from SixTONES will play Kusaka Reiji, a pretrial detainee who has been charged with robbery and murder and transferred to Hikawa Detention Center, and Naoto Fujiki will play Saeki Yusuke, the detective in charge of Kusaka Reiji's case.
Also appearing in the cast are Koseki Yuta as Ebiwara Hidehiko, a prison guard at Hikawa Detention Center who is in charge of the women's section below Kozue, Jiyoung as pretrial detainee Park Ha Yoon, Takahashi Tsutomu as pretrial detainee Tokai Kenji, Ichika Osaki Maka as pretrial detainee Haneda Minami, Kashiwagi Yu from Bullet Train as Hikawa Detention Center prison guard Haru Kashiwagi, and Sawamura Rei from ONE N' ONLY as pretrial detainee Uchimura Yu.
Also appearing in the cast are Shinya Niiro as Sekigawa Shinya, the head of Hikawa Detention House; model Kajiwara Kanna, the eldest daughter of comedian Kajiwara Yuta from the comedy duo "King Kong," as Reiji's younger sister Kusaka Suzu; Takezai Terunosuke as Kusaka Haruomi, vice president of Kusaka Holdings and Reiji's father; and Ukaji Tsuyoshi as Koyanagi Taisuke, the head of the treatment department at Hikawa Detention House.
◇ Story of Episode 1
Hikawa Detention Center has a section called the "Women's Ward" where only women are held. Kozue Fuyuki, a prison guard who serves as the ward chief, has always been disciplined, calm, collected, and honest in her work, not interfering with others or letting her emotions get the better of her. All of this is to maintain order within the closed walls. She was meant to have lived a strict life, both with herself and others. Until that man showed up...
One day, a murderer, Kusaka Reiji, is transferred to the prison on suspicion of murdering her own father. Kozue gasps at the familiar face. The prison guards keep a close eye on Reiji, who intimidates those around him with his sharp gaze. Kozue tries to hide her agitation and maintain a resolute attitude, but Reiji causes one problem after another, which seems to upset Kozue.
Memories come back to her. Something inside Kozue begins to crumble little by little, and she is swept up in a turbulent whirlpool together with Saeki Yusuke, a detective from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's First Investigative Division who is in charge of Reiji's case. Before long, the strict female prison guard transforms into a "villain"...
