Official Website
www.tv-asahi.co.jp/kakenai
Broadcast
From 11.30 p.m., Saturdays, 16 January 2021
Network
TV Asahi
Story
37-year-old Yoshimaru Keisuke is a struggling scriptwriter and househusband. He leads a peaceful life with his wife Nami, who is a bestselling author with the pen name Kosaka Ririko, and their daughter Erika and son Sora. Keisuke has been supporting Nami’s writing by single-handedly taking on all the housework and caring for the children. Although he continues to write for small jobs, he is convinced that there is a big one for him somewhere out there. One day, Keisuke receives a phone call from Shoji Mitsuo, a producer with Tozai TV, requesting that Keisuke be the main writer for a drama series that will air in the prime time slot. The next day, Keisuke promptly heads to Tozai TV where he is told by Shoji, director Sumi Takashi and assistant producer Matsuo Megumi that a famous scriptwriter who was the designated main writer had dropped out due to an injury, and he was hastily singled out. He is speechless when he hears that only top star Yagami Hayato has been confirmed as the lead actor although nothing else – not even the title – has been decided. Shoji makes an unreasonable request, telling Keisuke to think of a story for a police drama by tomorrow because they have no time. While Nami is overjoyed by this sudden development, Keisuke is troubled by the mess he got himself into. At her urging, he heads to the writing space under the staircase but he cannot come up with anything. As Keisuke gets busy, his parents-in-law worry that he will not be able to support the family and their daughter Nami. He also has a hard time under the watchful eyes of Sora’s private tutor Sengawa Shunya, who is after Erika and comes to the house almost every day. Keisuke feels increasingly embattled until a mysterious skinhead man starts appearing in front of him. This is the beginning of Keisuke’s flustered daily life which is a drastic departure from the relaxed, peaceful lifestyle he had been accustomed to.
Characters
Ikuta Toma as Yoshimaru Keisuke
He has loved television dramas since his childhood and aspired to be a scriptwriter but kept failing at competitions. He eventually gave up on his dream and found a job at a real estate company. He fell in love at first sight with Nami, a single mother who came in search of housing, and they got married after dating. Nami became a popular writer and while supporting her writing, his dream to become a scriptwriter was reignited. He started applying for competitions again but continued to be unsuccessful until the age of 32 when he finally won. He began to get small jobs from TV stations and
quit his job to concentrate on writing scripts but he barely had projects and ended up taking care of the children and housework. Five years later, he has not made progress as a scriptwriter, and yet he is somehow content with his current life. One day, he suddenly gets the chance of a lifetime to write the screenplay for a prime time drama series and starts writing with great expectations but suddenly gets a heap of unreasonable demands.
Kichise Michiko as Yoshimaru Nami
A bestselling writer who has published novels and a collection of essays under the pen name Kosaka Ririko. She became a single mother when she got pregnant as a third-year university student. With the help of her parents, she managed to graduate from university. While she was working at a bookstore, she got married to Yoshimaru Keisuke who worked for a real estate company and introduced her to an apartment. She won a newcomer’s award with the novel that she wrote during her pregnancy and made her debut as a writer, instantly joining the ranks of popular writers. The Yoshimarus live on her income and she basically leaves the household chores to Keisuke. Even though her love for him has not changed, she is bewildered when he agrees to be the main writer for a prime time drama series. She wonders whether he will really be able to write a decent script. However, watching him try his hardest to write for the drama despite his worries, strengthens her resolve to support him.
Yamada Anna as Yoshimaru Erika
Yoshimaru Nami’s daughter. A second-year student who attends a private high school for girls. She belongs to the archery club and also has outstanding academic results. She looks and behaves like a grown-up. She does not know who her biological father is. When she was 3 years old, her mother remarried Yoshimaru Keisuke. At first, she was not friendly to him but now she thinks of him as her father. But as a struggling scriptwriter, he pales in comparison with her mother who is a popular writer. She is vaguely aware that her younger brother’s private tutor Sengawa Shunya is interested in her but she gives him short shrift.
Yunho as Yoshimaru Sora
Yoshimaru Keisuke and Nami’s son. He attends a public elementary school and is in the fourth grade. He is proud of his mother who is a popular writer but he does not read her novels because they are difficult … … In fact, he thinks that the scripts written by his father are interesting. He is amused that his private tutor Sengawa Shunya likes his sister Erika but has been completely snubbed by her. The girls in his class are strong and he is rather fearful of them. He loves gaming and watching YouTube, and badly wants a smartphone.
Kikuchi Fuma as Sengawa Shunya
Yoshimaru Sora’s private tutor. A third-year university student who has received an informal job offer from a major restaurant chain but already does not have a desire to stay long. He likes Sora’s older sister Erika who behaves like a grown-up, and comes to their house excessively. Although he teaches Sora, he is distracted by Erika. There are times when Keisuke is busy with writing and he helps out in dinner preparations, demonstrating the excellent skills honed through his experience in part-time jobs. While he is a “fairly handsome guy”, he just cannot close the distance with the girl he likes due to his tendency to falter in front of her.
Kitamura Yukiya as Shoji Mitsuo
A Tozai TV producer. He has not had a hit drama in many year and feels desperate that the junior producers are acclaimed. He has been put in charge of the Thursday 9 pm prime time drama slot but the scriptwriter pulled out due to an injury. Needless to say, they have to go back to the drawing board for the title as well as the content. As there is too little time before the broadcast date, no one is willing to take the script and he is forced to ask Yoshimaru Keisuke who is an unknown. Because he does not have particularly specific ideas, gives out sloppy orders and sets unreasonable deadlines, he thoroughly twists Keisuke around.
Koike Teppei as Sumi Takashi
He is is assigned to be the chief director for the first time for this drama that Yoshimaru Keisuke is writing. He is always positive and very motivated no matter what situation he gets into. But because of this, he is is considered a tad stifling by the people around him. He encourages Keisuke with a smile and continuously gives ideas of scenes that he wants to film at meetings but that has the opposite effect of driving Keisuke into a corner.
Okada Masaki as Yagami Hayato
A very popular actor who is in great demand. He throws Yoshimaru Kaisuke off with random unreasonable requests and wilfulness such as changing the setting, adding a love scene, wanting to be surrounded by a lot of women. He does not like it that an unknown scriptwriter is being used for the drama that he is playing the lead in. However, he shows genuine delight if he finds the script interesting.
Scriptwriter
Fukuda Yasushi (Doctors ~ Saikyou no Meii Series, Good Partner, Galileo Series)
Directors
Toyoshima Keisuke, Yuki Saito
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