With July here, the summer drama season officially begins this week. While many shows unfortunately struggled last season, this season boasts numerous highly anticipated titles that are generating buzz even before they air. We've compiled a list of these shows based on their popularity, using TVer's number of favorites (as of 4 AM on the 5th).
Summer dramas typically feature many school-themed and youth-oriented stories, and often produce highly-rated shows like "Hanzawa Naoki" (2013, TBS). On the other hand, many shows are interrupted by sporting events, making it a season where viewership can drop off rapidly.
Last summer, TBS aired " The 19th medical record " starring Jun Matsumoto on Sundays at 9 PM, Fuji TV aired " Tomorrow Will Be a Better Day " starring Haruka Fukuhara on Getsuku at 9 PM, and the popular series " Broadcasting Station Occupy " starring Sho Sakurai was also broadcast on Nippon Television on Saturdays at 9 PM.
Other notable dramas included " We Still Don't Know the School Rules of That Planet " starring Hayato Isomura (Kansai TV), " School of love." starring Fumino Kimura and Raul (Fuji TV), "Chihayafuru -Meguri-" starring Ami Touma (Nippon TV), " A Shiawase na Kekkon " starring Sadao Abe and Takako Matsu (TV Asahi), and "10 Things I Want to Do Before I Turn 40" starring Shunsuke Kazama and Kohei Shoji(TV Tokyo). While not all were huge hits, it was a season full of good dramas.
As of now, with the prime-time dramas for this summer not yet airing, series have dominated the top rankings.
The clear leader is TBS's Sunday drama "VIVANT" (Sundays at 9 PM), starring Masato Sakai. It boasts an impressive 2.08 million favorites, and has already surpassed 2 million despite having more than three weeks until its premiere on July 26th. It is the clear favorite.
Following closely behind is "GTO" (Kansai TV/Fuji TV, Mondays at 10pm), starring Takashi Sorimachi, which started on July 20th, with 549,000 viewers. Its return to television dramas after 28 years has been a hot topic on social media and has attracted attention from early on. And then there's "The Great Chase: Metropolitan Police Department SSBC Violent Crimes Unit" (TV Asahi, Wednesdays at 9pm), which started last summer and is now in its second year, with 472,000 viewers.
Among the brand-new shows airing before their broadcast, "Ichijigen no Sashiki" (Nippon Television Network, Sundays at 10:30 PM), starring Ryosuke Yamada Yamada, topped the list with 282,000 viewers. "Crossroad ~Kyumei Kyukyu no Yakusoku~" (TV Asahi Network, Tuesdays at 9 PM), starring Mio Imada, started on the 7th and came in second with 272,000 viewers, followed by "Kokuhaku -25-nenme no Himitsu-" (Nippon Television Network, Saturdays at 9 PM), starring Hokuto Matsumura, which started on the 11th and came in third with 270,000 viewers.
Among late-night shows that have already started airing, the popular series "Banshaku no Ryugi 5" starring Chiaki Kuriyama is far ahead with 430,000 viewers. In the completely new series, "Ochitara Owari" starring Misato Ugaki (Chukyo TV/Nippon TV, Wednesdays at 12:24 AM) is in first place with 229,000 viewers. "Konya mo Serial Killer to Machiawase" starring Yu Yokoyama (Kansai TV/Fuji TV, Wednesdays at 11 PM) follows with 228,000 viewers, and "Shin'ai naru Otto e ~Kanpeki na Tsuma no Uso~" starring Rena Tanaka and Yudai Furukawa (Yomiuri TV/Nippon TV, Thursdays at 11:59 PM) follows with 216,000 viewers.
Currently, most of the shows airing in the prime time slot are neck and neck, with viewership ratings ranging from 100,000 to 200,000. Original scripts and shows that deliberately avoid releasing pre-broadcast information often see a significant increase in viewership after their first episode, even if they start off quietly. However, they can also easily get lost in the crowd, making predictions difficult.
Personally, my top pick is "VIVANT," of course, but I'm also keeping an eye on "Until the T-Shirt Drys" (TBS, Fridays at 10pm), starring Yu Aoi and Miku Wakana Matsumoto's first script for TBS; "Your Love Is Invincible" (TBS, Tuesdays at 10pm), starring Hayato Sano and co-starring Hayato Sano, who was popular in "ESCAPE" (NTV); "GATE24" (TV Asahi, Thursdays at 9pm), Shuri's first drama series since giving birth; and "Last Note" (Fuji TV, Thursdays at 10pm), the latest work from producer Reiko Misao of "Hirugao," a love story starring Yuki Uchida and Takuto Teranishi. (Natsuyuki Tateyama/MANTANWEB)
◇Top 10 Summer Dramas on TVer by Number of Favorites (as of 4:00 AM on July 5th)
VIVANT 2.08 million
GTO 549,000
The Great Chase: Metropolitan Police Department SSBC Violent Crimes Unit 472,000
The Art of Evening Drinks 5: 430,000
One-dimensional cuttings: 286,000
Crossroads ~A Promise of Emergency Medical Care~ 276,000
Confession - The Secret of 25 Years - 270,000
First Cry Maternal and Child Emergency Medical Team 265,000
Your love is invincible (238,000)
Until the T-shirt dries: 234,000
