Japanese television drama (テレビドラマ, terebi dorama?, television drama), also called dorama (ドラマ?), are a staple of Japanese television and are broadcast daily. All major TV networks in Japan produce a variety of drama series including romance, comedy, detective stories, horror, and many others. For special occasions, there may also be a one- or two-episode drama with a specific theme, such as a drama produced in 2007 for the 60-year anniversary of the end of World War II.
Japanese drama series are broadcast in three-month seasons, with new dramas airing each season. The majority of dramas are aired week-days in the evenings around 9:00 p.m., 10:00 p.m., or even 11:00 p.m. Dramas shown in the morning or afternoon are generally broadcast on a daily basis, and episodes of the same drama can be aired every day for several months, such as NHK's asadora, or morning dramas. The evening dramas, however, air weekly and are usually nine to twelve episodes long, though sometimes there will be an epilogue special made after the final episode if the drama has been a huge success.
Japan has four television seasons: Winter (January–March), Spring (April–June), Summer (July–September), and Autumn or Fall (October–December). Some series may start in another month though it may still be counted as a series of a specific season.
One characteristic of Japanese drama that differentiates it is that each episode is usually shot only a few (two to three) weeks before it is actually aired. Many fans have been able to visit their idols shooting scenes even as the show is still airing.
Read more about Japanese Television Drama: Trendy Dramas, Difference in Focus Between Networks, Theme Music and Background Music, Importance of Ratings in Japanese Drama, Dramas' Starting Hour
Famous quotes containing the words japanese, television and/or drama:
“The Japanese are, to the highest degree, both aggressive and unaggressive, both militaristic and aesthetic, both insolent and polite, rigid and adaptable, submissive and resentful of being pushed around, loyal and treacherous, brave and timid, conservative and hospitable to new ways.”
—Ruth Benedict (1887–1948)
“History is not what you thought. It is what you can remember. All other history defeats itself.
In Beverly Hills ... they don’t throw their garbage away. They make it into television shows.
Idealism is the despot of thought, just as politics is the despot of will.”
—Mikhail Bakunin (1814–1876)
“To save the theatre, the theatre must be destroyed, the actors and actresses must all die of the plague. They poison the air, they make art impossible. It is not drama that they play, but pieces for the theatre. We should return to the Greeks, play in the open air: the drama dies of stalls and boxes and evening dress, and people who come to digest their dinner.”
—Eleonora Duse (1858–1924)