"Drama Week" summarizes the main drama news of the week. This week (March 28th to April 3rd), we'll cover the fact that a sequel to the TBS Sunday drama "VIVANT" (2023), starring Masato Sakai, will air for six months starting in July 2026, and that Tomoko Yamaguchi and Yuta Tamamori of "Kis-My-Ft2" will appear as mother and son in the TBS Sunday drama "GIFT," which starts on April 12th.
These were some of the topics that became popular. We will cover them in two parts.
On March 28, it was revealed that Kohei Matsushita was appearing in the drama "Stove League," starring Kazuya Kamenashi, which began airing and streaming on Lemino and WOWOW on the same day. He plays an important character involved in the rebuilding of the baseball team, and commented, "I had always wanted to work with Mr. Kamenashi on a drama set someday, so my wish has come true." He added, "I think 'Stove League' is a work for all people who love sports, and at the same time, it is a work that encourages people who are working hard at something. It is packed with various emotions such as the wonderfulness of dreaming and the difficulty of not giving up. I was really happy to be a part of this work."
On the 29th of the same month, Takumi Kitamura made a surprise appearance on the TBS Sunday drama "Reboot" (Sundays at 9pm) which aired that day. Kitamura played the rebooted version of Kou Fuyuhashi (Ren Nagase), and the two have a close relationship, having co-starred in the movie "Courtroom Game" and other projects. Kitamura commented, "I thought to myself, 'If it were Ren, he would do it like this. With this timing. Standing like this.' Etcetera, etc... I tried to portray Ren as best as I could. It was an honor to be involved in the end of this story." Producer Keigo Higashinaka said, "As the grand finale of the rebooted series, I was convinced that only Kitamura could embody the character of 'Fuyuhashi' in such a short time. That's why I offered him the role."
On the 30th of the same month, it was announced that Eikichi Yazawa will be performing the theme song for the TV Asahi drama "Borderless ~Wide Area Mobile Investigation Team~" (Wednesdays at 9 PM), which will begin airing on April 8th. He wrote a new song, "BORDER," specifically for the drama. The lyrics were written by Yukinojo Mori. The song is described as a mature rock and roll number featuring a piercing guitar riff. The song will be unveiled in the first episode airing on the 8th. Yazawa commented, "When I heard the image of the program, I thought of a world of minor chords... I wrote it with that in mind. Please give it a listen."
On the 30th of the same month, it was revealed that Tomoko Yamaguchi and Yuta Tamamori of "Kis-My-Ft2" will appear as mother and son in the TBS Sunday drama "GIFT" (Sundays at 9pm), which will begin airing on April 12th. This will be Yamaguchi's first appearance in a Sunday drama in approximately 32 years, since "Sweet Home" in 1994, in which she co-starred with Hiroshi Fuse. It will also be her first time co-starring with Shinichi Tsutsumi, who plays the lead role in this drama. Yamaguchi will play Hiroe Sakamoto, an artist with a bold and fearless personality who is not afraid to take on new challenges. Tamamori will play Sora Sakamoto, Hiroe's son, who works as a manager for a composer.
On the 31st of the same month, it was revealed that a sequel to the TBS Sunday drama "VIVANT," starring Masato Sakai, which aired from July to September 2023 and became a hot topic, will be broadcast for six months starting in July 2026 in the same time slot (Sundays at 9 PM). A drama that runs for six months on a commercial television network is rare. In the previous series, Nogi Yusuke (Masato Sakai), an intelligence agent for the "Special Unit," an unofficial organization directly under the Self-Defense Forces, learns that Nogorn Beki (Koji Yakusho), the leader of the international terrorist organization "Tent," is his long-lost biological father, but assassinates Beki with his own hands. Just when Nogi thought everything was settled, a "red bun" was placed before him, conveying a new mission. The sequel will resume from that scene. Filming took place on a large scale in Azerbaijan.
On the 31st of the same month, Anne appeared at a press conference held at the Finnish Embassy in Japan (Minato-ku, Tokyo) to announce the completion of the Japanese-Finnish co-production drama "WOWOW BLOOD & SWEAT". Anne co-stars with popular Finnish actor Jasper Peakonen. Anne, who stayed in Finland for about three months for filming with her three children and two dogs, smiled and said, "I never once wanted to go home, and I was really sad when I left Tampere at the end. Even now, I feel so comfortable there that I would like to go back again soon if I have the chance." The drama will be broadcast and streamed every Sunday at 10 p.m. starting April 5th on WOWOW Prime and WOWOW On Demand.
