"Drama Week" brings you a roundup of major drama news from the past week. This time (January 31st to February 6th), the topic of discussion was the announcement that "Yamada Todoroki Law Office," a spin-off drama of the NHK morning drama "Wings of the Tiger," which will air in the first half of 2024, will be broadcast on March 20th, and that Abema will be producing an original drama themed on gravure idols from the Heisei era, "Gravure." This will be covered in two parts.
On February 4th, the cast of "Yamada Todoroki Law Office," a spin-off drama of the NHK morning drama "Wings of the Tiger" (2024), was announced. It was revealed that Sayaka Akimoto will play Yamada Natsu, the long-lost sister of Yamada Yone (played by Shiori Doi). She visits the cafe "Lighthouse" where Yone worked and proposes a new business venture to the occupying forces to the cafe owner, Masuno (Yusuke Hirayama), but is met with unreasonable violence. Also appearing in the drama were Ei Morisako, Taku Suzuki, and Ryosuke Otani. Morisako will play Terada Shizuko, an interpreter for GHQ; Suzuki will play a detective at Ueno Police Station who is in charge of the case that Natsu is embroiled in; and Otani will play Mizutani, the man who controls the Ueno area behind the scenes. "Yamada Todoroki Law Office" will air from 9:30 PM to 10:42 PM on March 20th.
On the 4th, the 50th Elan d'or Awards ceremony, which recognizes actors and producers who have made outstanding contributions to film and television dramas, was held in Tokyo. Award recipients Amane Okayama, Kaho, Jiro Sato, Akari Takaishi, Hokuto Matsumura of the popular group SixTONES, and Kyoko Yoshine attended. The Elan d'or Awards are an awards system that began in 1956. This year's recipients of the Producer's Award were Chieko Murata of the film "National Treasure," Ayaka Sugita and Izumi Maruyama of the TBS drama series "So, You Make It," while the Producer's Encouragement Award went to Shota Okada of the film "Bomb" and Rena Oda of the Nippon TV drama series "Hot Spot."
On the 4th, the 15th episode of the popular detective drama "AIBOU Season 24" (TV Asahi, Wednesdays at 9 PM) aired, and Kamen Rider fans responded to guest appearances by Sayaka Namiki. Namiki, now 18, gained attention for her role as the villainous Belova in the special effects drama "Kamen Rider Geets" (TV Asahi, 2022-2023). On social media, comments like "Is that Namiki from Belova in AIBOU?!", "Namiki's image has changed completely with her new hairstyle from when she was Belova," and "Ayaka Namiki is taking on another difficult role. It's no wonder she played a 350-year-old person from the future in Belova!" were posted one after another.
On the 5th, it was announced that ABEMA will be producing an original drama series, "Gravure," themed around gravure idols of the Heisei era. The series will be planned and produced by Megumi, who won the Blue Ribbon Award for Best Supporting Actress as an actor and is the producer behind the Netflix romance reality show "Love First" and the film "FUJIKO," due for release this year. This will be Megumi's first time planning and producing a streaming drama. Auditions will be held for the lead actor, with the aim of streaming in 2027. The drama is set in the entertainment world, where the lingering scent of the bubble economy of the 2000s mixes with the recession, and the original story is inspired by episodes that Megumi herself has witnessed and experienced.
On the 5th, Daichi Mao celebrated her 70th birthday with a birthday ceremony held on the set of the TV Asahi drama "Okome no Onna - National Tax Agency Materials Investigation Division, Miscellaneous Country Room" (Thursdays 9pm), in which she is currently appearing. Lead actress Nanako Matsushima and others, who were on standby during a break in filming, appeared singing "Happy birthday to you" and presented her with a large bouquet of flowers, saying, "Happy birthday!" A special cake modeled after Iijima Sakuko, the "raid witch" played by Daichi, was also prepared. An emotional Daichi commented with humor, "This will be a truly wonderful 70th birthday. I'll be careful not to break any bones (laughs)."
On the 6th, Fuji TV's vertical short drama app "FOD SHORT" began streaming "The Young Lady Wants to Be a Night Butterfly," starring former Hinatazaka46 member Shiho Kato. The coming-of-age story follows Yuriko (played by Kato), a daughter of a wealthy family who, for some reason, hides her identity and enters the "nightlife" world. She overcomes brutal bullying and other hardships while taking on the challenge of becoming a hostess at a cabaret club. Each episode is about one minute long, with a total of 70 episodes. Kato commented, "I was offered this role while I was still in the group, and it was my first time taking on a new role. I also tried on costumes from a genre I'd never worn before, and filming in unusual locations made every day incredibly exciting."
