"Byplayers" to be back as a primetime drama this winter but with Terajima Susumu missing from the lineup

TV Tokyo drama series "Byplayers" will be back as a primetime drama from its midnight slot this winter from 7 February but Terajima Susumu will be missing from the lineup due to scheduling conflicts. As such, the remaining five famous supporting actors including Endo Kenichi, Oosugi Ren, Taguchi Tomorowo, Matsushige Yutaka and Mitsuishi Ken will be playing themselves as usual in this sequel. The length of each episode will also be extended to a full hour.

The new series titled "Byplayers Moshimo meiwakiyaku ga Teleto asadora de mujintou seikatsu shitara" (Byplayers What if the famous supporting actors film a TV Tokyo morning drama and live on an uninhabited island) will be shown in the Wednesdays 9.54pm timeslot and describes how the five actors are supposed to act in a fictitious TV Tokyo morning drama titled "Shimakko-san" but ends up going to the wrong filming location thus leading to them drifting to an uninhabited island. The five of them have to survive on a southern island together while their disappearances cause a huge panic in the industry due to a shortage of supporting actors. Kita Kana who plays their manager Jasmine will also appear in the sequel.

The director Matsui Daigo who was also responsible for the previous series, expressed shock at TV Tokyo's decision to make a sequel and show it in a primetime slot for a full hour. As they were in the midnight slot, they had a certain degree of freedom to do what they wanted but they will have to bear in mind to make a quality drama this time which is suitable for families to watch before they turn in. However, Matsui said that he wouldn't worry so much about it since he won't change his ways and will strive to become more "extreme" to deliver a good story which contains the same essence from the previous series.

Endo commented that when they finished the earlier drama, he was the first to see the final version and exclaimed to the rest that it was so interesting. As such, when he got the offer this time, he was worried a bit about whether the sequel would be better than the first drama but decided to go ahead with it. Matsushige then expressed his anticipation about sharing the drinking bill with his co-stars and was impressed with how TV Tokyo had the guts to gather them i.e. a bunch of troublesome old men to act together even there is no love, touching scenes, thrill nor suspense in their drama. Oosugi said that this drama helped to convey the message that Japanese old men like them are far from being done with and live in various ways while Taguchi said that it was a miracle for them to be able to gather again. Last but not least, Mitsuishi said that he was so happy to know about the sequel and called upon the viewers to look forward to the drama.

Sources: Natalie / Sponichi / Eiga.com