Sawamura Ikki’s drama slump worries TV Asahi … TV Asahi is reportedly rather concerned about the plunge in Sawamura Ikki’s marketability following the considerable fall seen in the viewership ratings of his most recent drama Fuji TV’s Kazoku no Urajijou which averaged 4%. It was spared the ignominy of having the lowest viewership ratings of all time by Otto no Kanojo. The network’s worry about this miserable state of affairs is because of its hit series Doctors in which Sawamura plays the lead. The drama averaged 18% in the second season that ended this summer and 15% in the first season in 2011. An industry insider said Kenon has been famous for being a talent agency with a high rate of bookings for a long time. It would push its actors and actresses into prime-time slots, and scrutinise the title and programme after that. That’s getting its priorities backwards, although it seems to finally be reflecting on this practice now. The industry insider commented that Fuji TV was also negligent in allowing the drama to flop. Sawamura, Zaizen Naomi and Kawaguchi Haruna all belong to Kenon. TV Asahi had apparently expected to air Doctors once every two years but with the ratings race with NTV intensifying, it has moved up the drama to the summer of 2014. I don’t like this news one bit and this explains why the second season of Doctors dangled the enticing lure of a showdown between Sagara and Moriyama then turned around and reeled it back so that it ended up dancing around the same issues as it did in season one. In trying to spin this into the mould of its long-running drama franchises, TV Asahi is spoiling what made Doctors an addictive watch.
Defence strategy for Goriki Ayame … Goriki Ayame seems to have turned a lot of netizens off due to her agency Oscar Promotion’s high-handedness. Although she is the lead in the coming season’s drama Watashi no Kiraina Tantei, Oscar Promotion has been exceptionally sensitive about the word “lead actress”. Media watchers say that Goriki’s role if likened to Aibou, is that of the main character Ukyo-san. And yet, her agency handed out the notice that she is not “heading the cast” but “co-starring” with Tamaki Hiroshi. Goriki has been pushed into the lead roles of many dramas despite the low ratings so far, and there is mounting criticism on the internet that her castings have been bulldozed through by her agency. If her new drama if also a flop, she could potentially be treated as a low ratings offender because she is the lead actress. Therefore, the emphasis that she is co-starring and not playing the lead, is intended to reduce that risk, prompting a media journalist to call this tactic completely underhanded. I can’t for the life of me detect anything in Goriki that would hint that she has the makings of an actress, much less grow into a talented, charismatic one. Why continue foisting her on viewers?
Jdrama Weblog 
I too am confused by Goriki’s popularity. She is a passable actress but is not as charismatic as others some seem to think.
Ouch, they really wasted the 2nd season of Doctor’s with that decision. I wonder if the writer intended there to be a showdown? I was hoping Ikki would get corrupted by his ‘power’.
There is no defence for Gouriki.