Yuya Yagira to lead TBS Sunday drama 'Mr.MYSTERY?' from January 2027
In short
Actor Yuya Yagira (柳楽優弥) will play the lead in the TBS Sunday drama 'Mr.MYSTERY?', airing Sundays at 9 p.m. from January 2027. It is his first appearance and first lead in the Nichiyo Gekijo (日曜劇場) slot, and the series reveals the culprit at the start of every episode. A teaser is to be shown after 'VIVANT' ends on the 25th.
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Actor Yuya Yagira (柳楽優弥) has been announced as the lead of 'Mr.MYSTERY?', a drama in TBS's Nichiyo Gekijo (日曜劇場) slot that starts in January 2027 and airs on Sundays at 9 p.m. The documents describe it as his first appearance and first lead role in the slot. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
The series is an original, self-contained mystery about Toru Aoyagi (青柳徹), who works in the Metropolitan Police Department's victim support unit. Rather than suspecting people, he reaches the truth of cases by staying close to their hearts, the announcement says. Its main feature is that the culprit is revealed at the start of every episode, so viewers watch the exchange between Aoyagi and the culprit. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Aoyagi's job is to support people affected by crimes, such as those who lost loved ones. Although he is a police employee, he does not investigate, suspect or question the culprits. He appears before culprits who pose as people connected to the case, going home with them, eating with them, joining their hobbies and turning up at their workplaces. The documents describe him as friendly and hard to dislike, but a nuisance to the culprits, who cannot brush him off because he is neither suspecting them nor investigating. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Yagira said he was glad to join the slot and felt, on first reading the script, that it would be a new challenge in his acting career. He said the series would centre on the culprits and that it was his first time in a work where the culprit is known in the first half of the story. He said he was talking with the directing and producing staff in advance as he found his approach. He hopes viewers will simply feel at 10 p.m. that the show was fun. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Producer Keisuke Nakajima (中島啓介) described Aoyagi as friendly yet elusive, and said the show is about why each culprit committed the crime and what kind of person they are, not who did it. Guest actors playing the culprits and the regular cast are to be announced in due course. A teaser will be shown for the first time after 'VIVANT' ends on the 25th. [ 2 , 3 ]
Why it matters
The announcement sets out the next series in the Sunday evening drama slot that follows 'VIVANT'. The documents give no ratings or other figures, so its significance rests on the lead casting and the unusual format.
Key facts
- Yuya Yagira will star in the TBS Nichiyo Gekijo drama 'Mr.MYSTERY?', airing Sundays at 9 p.m. from January 2027. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- It is Yagira's first appearance and first lead role in the Nichiyo Gekijo slot. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Yagira is 36. [ 2 ]
- He plays Toru Aoyagi (青柳徹), who works in the Metropolitan Police Department's victim support unit and does not investigate cases. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The culprit is revealed at the start of each episode; each episode is self-contained. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- A teaser will be shown for the first time after the broadcast of 'VIVANT' on the 25th. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Guest culprit roles and regular cast are to be announced in due course. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Yagira is the lead of 'Mr.MYSTERY?', his first appearance and first lead in the Nichiyo Gekijo slot. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The series is an original, one-episode-per-story mystery in which the culprit is shown at the start of each episode. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The teaser will be released after 'VIVANT' ends on the 25th. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Still unclear
- The exact start date of the series. The documents say only that it starts in January 2027 and airs Sundays at 9 p.m.
- Who will play the guest culprits and the regular cast. The documents say these will be announced in due course.