TBS will turn its Sunday-night drama VIVANT into a film, the network announced during the show's finale on Sunday. The movie opens on December 4, and TBS said it will also screen in IMAX. Advance tickets for opening day go on sale at midnight on Sunday.
Masato Sakai, who plays the lead, appeared by video at the end of the broadcast to deliver the news. VIVANT is an original story written and directed by Katsuo Fukuzawa. The first season aired in the Sunday drama slot — TBS's flagship 9 p.m. slot — in 2023 and became a social phenomenon.
The second season ran for two consecutive cours from the July season this year, built around the secret Self-Defense Forces unit known as Bekihan to which Sakai's character, Yusuke Nogi, belongs. Its plotlines included the recovery of a Bekihan member abducted by the Chinese secret organization Shinshii, and the parentage of Jamiin (Sae Honma), a girl from the fictional republic of Balka who appeared in the first season.
Viewers' theories about the truth behind each episode, posted after broadcast, spilled from social media into the network's own programs and other media. Filming continued the first season's scale, with locations in Azerbaijan, Gifu and the Izumo region among others. Sakai took three roles, and new characters included Shinshii member Ryu Minshuein, Shinshii chief Fan Linshin (Han Rinshin), Chokki (Thanapak Jonjai pai) and the AI Hayato, voiced by Minami Takayama.
Average household ratings held above 15% through the finale, and fans made pilgrimages to filming locations, repeating the frenzy that followed the first season.
A proven route for hit dramas
Turning a hit drama into a film has long been a reliable move. Fuji TV's Odoru Daisousasen (Bayside Shakedown), starring Yuji Oda, began in 1997 and has produced more than 10 films counting the main series, spinoffs and related works. The 2003 film Odoru Daisousasen THE MOVIE 2: Rainbow Bridge wo Fuusa Seyo! took 17.35 billion yen at the box office, and a new entry, Odoru Daisousasen N.E.W. Metro Police wo Kakenukero!, opened in September this year.
Fuji TV's Code Blue, starring Tomohisa Yamashita, also succeeded on the big screen: the 2018 film took 9.3 billion yen. TBS's ROOKIES, which aired in the April 2008 season, became ROOKIES: Sotsugyou in September 2009 and earned 8.55 billion yen. Fuji TV's HERO, with Takuya Kimura as a prosecutor, brought in 8.15 billion yen with its 2007 film and 4.67 billion yen with the 2015 version.