Production press conference of new NHK morning drama "Warotenka"

The production press conference of new NHK morning drama "Warotenka" was at NHK Osaka held on 10 November which was attended by the producer Goto Takahisa and the scriptwriter Yoshida Tomoko who had written dramas such as "Gakkou no Kaidan" and "Bijou ka Yajuu" and movies such as "Bokura ga ita", "Kanojo wa uso wo aishisugiteru" and "Hot Road".

The drama which will be the 97th production in the morning drama history, will begin its run from 2 October 2017 and consists of 151 episodes. Filming will begin in mid May next year.

"Warotenka" is set during the late Meiji era to post-World War II period at Osaka featuring the lead character Fujioka Ten who is modelled on Yoshimoto Sei, the founder of Yoshimoto Kogyo and a female show promoter. Fujioka was born into a family managing a drug wholesale business in Kyoto and meets Kitamura Fujiyoshi who is the son of a family in the rice dealing business at Osaka. When they fall in love, Fujioka goes against her parents' wishes to marry Kitamura who is a big lover of comedy. Subsequently, after her husband's family goes bust, she unwittingly becomes the owner of a vaudeville theater with her husband. This then leads to her becoming the first person in Japan to make comedy into a business and transforming Osaka into a capital of comedy.

Auditions to choose the actress to play the heroine will begin from the end of this month and the decision will be made by January or February next year. It is expected that the formal announcement will be made next March. The heroine's life described in the drama will be from the age of 17 to her 50s.

Sources: Oricon / Sanspo