NEWS
Domestic Victory Lap for Japan’s “Vivant”; Is There Regional Hope for the US$15-million Two-Season Series?
21 September 2026
Season two of Tokyo Broadcast Systems’ (TBS) Japanese series “Vivant” returned with a vengeance in August, reaching estimated 15.1 million viewers in Japan, and another 500,000 elsewhere in the region led by TrueID in Thailand, according to Media Partners Asia’s ampd measurement platform.
The new season also pulled season one back into Netflix’s domestic series top 10 for another 11 weeks, giving the series a total of 15 weeks on Netflix Japan’s Top 10.
The drama airs in TBS’ prime-time Sunday Theater slot and is thought to be TBS’ most expensive original yet, with an estimated production budget of ¥100 million (US$714,000 at average 2023 exchange rate) per episode for season one and ¥120 million (US$792,000 at avg. 2024 exchange rate) per ep for season two. That puts the 20-episode series at ¥2.2 billion (US$15 million).
ampd put out a special note about “Vivant” earlier this month, saying 10.2 million watched the show on catch-up platform TVer, only the third title to cross 10 million on a single platform in one market in one month.
Although ampd said this made the show the top regional series on its measurement platform, the intention was more about drawing attention to a successful distribution strategy that blends free-TV, streaming and talks about engagement on YouTube with “Vivant”-linked content. The series is clearly not a regional success – and very little so far says it’s on its way.
Season two, which picks up the story from the end of season one, is about Yusuke Nogi, a meek employee of a trading company in Tokyo falsely accused of orchestrating a $100 million corporate overpayment error. What follows is described as an action spy thriller suspense drama during which it becomes clear that Nogi is not quite who he says he is.
In addition to its free-TV slot in Japan, season two was released on catch-up service TVer for free, with paid VOD exclusive to U-Next, within an hour of the 9pm Sunday broadcast.
Net...
Season two of Tokyo Broadcast Systems’ (TBS) Japanese series “Vivant” returned with a vengeance in August, reaching estimated 15.1 million viewers in Japan, and another 500,000 elsewhere in the region led by TrueID in Thailand, according to Media Partners Asia’s ampd measurement platform.
The new season also pulled season one back into Netflix’s domestic series top 10 for another 11 weeks, giving the series a total of 15 weeks on Netflix Japan’s Top 10.
The drama airs in TBS’ prime-time Sunday Theater slot and is thought to be TBS’ most expensive original yet, with an estimated production budget of ¥100 million (US$714,000 at average 2023 exchange rate) per episode for season one and ¥120 million (US$792,000 at avg. 2024 exchange rate) per ep for season two. That puts the 20-episode series at ¥2.2 billion (US$15 million).
ampd put out a special note about “Vivant” earlier this month, saying 10.2 million watched the show on catch-up platform TVer, only the third title to cross 10 million on a single platform in one market in one month.
Although ampd said this made the show the top regional series on its measurement platform, the intention was more about drawing attention to a successful distribution strategy that blends free-TV, streaming and talks about engagement on YouTube with “Vivant”-linked content. The series is clearly not a regional success – and very little so far says it’s on its way.
Season two, which picks up the story from the end of season one, is about Yusuke Nogi, a meek employee of a trading company in Tokyo falsely accused of orchestrating a $100 million corporate overpayment error. What follows is described as an action spy thriller suspense drama during which it becomes clear that Nogi is not quite who he says he is.
In addition to its free-TV slot in Japan, season two was released on catch-up service TVer for free, with paid VOD exclusive to U-Next, within an hour of the 9pm Sunday broadcast.
Netflix, which is ahead of U-Next in Japan, aired “Vivant” season one in select territories in 2023. No announcements have been made about a return.
Analysis in ContentAsia’s MIPCOM Magazine, which will be distributed at the market in Cannes with the Digital Edition available globally from 6 October.
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