There had been no news about Fuji TV's April Monday-9 drama for quite a while, but there's now finally some inside information available. According to some, it was going to be the 2nd season of Takuya Kimura's HERO, while some said that a woman will be playing the lead. The latter seems to be the likely case.
According to a source from an advertising firm: "As Fuji's new president Chihiro Kameyama's reign officially kicks in, they promised that they will be casting no one but megastars of 'homerun caliber' as the lead of their Monday-9 dramas."
"Aside from Kimura's HERO, Shun Oguri's Rich Man, Poor Woman Season 2 was also considered. However, HERO has been moved to July due to Kimura's schedule, and Rich Man wasn't possible since Satomi Ishihara had been cast in this season's Shitsuren Chocolatier."
As they went back to the drawing board, they came up with a list of potential stars for the time slot which included Arashi's Satoshi Ohno and Eri Fukatsu, among others. The actress who had the （仮） mark (meaning 'tentative') removed next to her name is apparently Machiko Ono.
"They're not going for a sequel but an original story. Ono's recent work with Fuji includes the recently concluded Saikou no Rikon SP. This has a relatively good reputation within the industry, but the ratings weren't exceptionally high. Some staff were expressing their disappointment of not having someone of KimuTaku's caliber parade their Monday-9 brand at the beginning of the new fiscal year (Japan's fiscal year is from April 1 ~ March 31 of the following year), and that Ono is not 'Monday-9 material'." - (same source as above)
Ono may not have the name value, but that is also why good things can be expected of her. "Her main field has always been in movies, and she's been winning a lot of awards, like the Élan d'or for her role in the 2012 morning drama Carnation on NHK. Ono has had an illicit romance scandal before with Hosshan, but not flinching despite such a damaging scandal is also proof that she's got what it takes. Here's to hoping that she can produce an out of the park, come-from behind homerun for Fuji." - (same source)
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According to a source from an advertising firm: "As Fuji's new president Chihiro Kameyama's reign officially kicks in, they promised that they will be casting no one but megastars of 'homerun caliber' as the lead of their Monday-9 dramas."
"Aside from Kimura's HERO, Shun Oguri's Rich Man, Poor Woman Season 2 was also considered. However, HERO has been moved to July due to Kimura's schedule, and Rich Man wasn't possible since Satomi Ishihara had been cast in this season's Shitsuren Chocolatier."
As they went back to the drawing board, they came up with a list of potential stars for the time slot which included Arashi's Satoshi Ohno and Eri Fukatsu, among others. The actress who had the （仮） mark (meaning 'tentative') removed next to her name is apparently Machiko Ono.
"They're not going for a sequel but an original story. Ono's recent work with Fuji includes the recently concluded Saikou no Rikon SP. This has a relatively good reputation within the industry, but the ratings weren't exceptionally high. Some staff were expressing their disappointment of not having someone of KimuTaku's caliber parade their Monday-9 brand at the beginning of the new fiscal year (Japan's fiscal year is from April 1 ~ March 31 of the following year), and that Ono is not 'Monday-9 material'." - (same source as above)
Ono may not have the name value, but that is also why good things can be expected of her. "Her main field has always been in movies, and she's been winning a lot of awards, like the Élan d'or for her role in the 2012 morning drama Carnation on NHK. Ono has had an illicit romance scandal before with Hosshan, but not flinching despite such a damaging scandal is also proof that she's got what it takes. Here's to hoping that she can produce an out of the park, come-from behind homerun for Fuji." - (same source)
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