When our followers on Twitter learned that Asahi TV was making 24 Japan – a Japanese version of the original hit US series – the general reaction was: “Huh? Someone’s re-making 24 in the Year of Our Lord 2020?!”
I was a little less skeptical. When I originally posted about this series, I saw the potential value in it – especially with the updates the show’s producers had made. But we’re now on the seventh episode and it’s clear from its ratings that the show is in freefall.
And what’s worse is, there’s nothing that Asahi TV can do to change course. It’s stuck making all 24 episodes of this bomb as originally planned.
What went wrong?
Table of Contents
Toggle24: A Movie Made for Television
As someone who watched the original 24[1] when it aired, I remember the excitement that surrounded the show. It was a heady time in television. HBO was making one of the best dramas ever seen on TV – The Sopranos – and would soon follow it up with another hit, The Wire. Shows like The Sopranos – with their large budgets, on-point scripts, great casts, and grand, sweeping storylines that crossed whole seasons – would end up redefining TV drama.
Like The Sopranos, 24 redefined TV dramas for future generations. The basic conceit of the show was simple. It tells a story of espionage and national security in real-time – a full chronological day, counted down in hour-long segments across 24 episodes. The show even displayed a ticking clock in its commercial interstitials. It became a constant reminder to the viewer that their beloved characters were slowly running out of time.
When it aired, 24 was one of the most original and thrilling things on TV. To this day, critics praise its direction, acting, writing, and production values as “cinematic”. It is routinely included in lists of the United States’ best dramas. And yes – the show has a dedicated cadre of fans in Japan as well.
Remaking it, in other words, is a pretty ballsy decision.
Asahi TV Might Have Pulled It Off. But…
However, if any Japanese TV station was going to tackle 24, Asahi TV was likely the most suited to do it.
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As I’ve discussed before, most Japanese TV dramas last a single season. The lucky ones – series like Hanzawa Naoki, Doctors, and Zettai Reido – will sometimes get revived one, two, or more years later. (Seven years separated the first and second season of Hanzawa Naoki.)
A few dramas, however, have exceptional staying power. And most of these dramas run on Asahi TV. The station is home to shows such as Aibou (相棒; Partners), now in its 19th season, and Kasouken no Onna (科捜研の女), now in its 20th season. Asahi also hosts other long-running programs such as Doctor X, which is set to start its seventh season.
Asahi is also used to producing long runs of its show. Most Japanese dramas get to air between nine and 12 episodes in a single season. Aibou runs 20+ episodes spanning after the winter and spring TV seasons. And two of these episodes – its midseason and season finale – are often two-hour-long movie-length affairs. (The series also sports actual theatrical-run movies a la Detective Conan and other long-running animated series.)
On the other hand, all of these shows are very episodic. Aibou, for example, is largely a series of disconnected crime stories. While common character threads run throughout the season, the show barely – if ever – runs a multi-episode-long story that requires keeping tensions high week after week.
So the question was: Could Asahi TV leverage its experience to re-create the magic of 24 for a Japanese audience?
The answer, apparently, is no. The first episode started off with a paltry 7.7% audience rating. (Successful dramas in Japan generally net over 10% and stay in the double digits for most of their run.) And the decline has continued from there: Episode 3 racked up a paltry 4.5%.
24 Japan Is Just Not Original – or Japanese – Enough
Various commentators and experts – even some people within Asahi TV associated with the production – have talked with the Japanese press about why the remake failed to resonate with a Japanese audience.
One glaring defect is that the show was created under the stipulation that it basically copy the first season of the US version of 24 almost in its entirety. So the show basically ends up being a cheap-looking copy of the original 24 without its production values. The show also somehow loses the sense of urgency and pacing that pushed each episode of the original forward. In other words, 24 Japan is just like the original – only worse.

As one writer interviewed for an article on 24 Japan’s slow demise remarked[2]:
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日本でも大ヒットした作品だけに多くいる原作視聴者からは、『見る意味ない』『ストーリーは原作のままで仕上がりはチープになってる』『オリジナル要素ない限り原作ファンとしては飽きる』といった不満が聞かれています
Many of the viewers of the original series, which was a big hit in Japan, say “I’ve got no interest in seeing it,” “The story matches the original but it feels cheap”, and “Without any original elements, it’s boring to me as a fan.”
The same writer also argued that the show is failing to attract new viewers – people who weren’t fans of or haven’t seen the original – because it’s too much of a remake. In other words, the series preserves values and outlook of its American original, instead of searching for a story that more uniquely suits Japan:
「米ドラマの焼き直しはここ数年よく見られていますが、中でも特に『24 JAPAN』はセリフや価値観がアメリカのまま。主人公の獅堂(唐沢寿明)は誰に対しても始終上から目線で、獅堂の部下の女性たちも、獅堂にたびたび敬語を使わず。さらに、登場人物はみな一様に銃を乱射しており、『上司にまでタメ口とか違和感あるんだよな』『アメリカンな演出が見てて恥ずかしくなる』『日本版って言うけど、日本ともアメリカとも違う異世界の話に思えてきた』といった悪評も寄せられています」
We’ve seen this in a lot of rehashes of US stories in the past several years, but you can really tell in 24 JAPAN how they’ve kept American expressions and values. The main character, Shidou, looks down on everybody, and even the women who work for Shidou dispense with keigo [polite business Japanese]. What’s more, everyone keeps shooting guns wildly at each other. I’ve seen negative comments like, “I feel uneasy watching people badmouth even their superiors,” and “It’s supposed to be the Japanese version, but it feels like a story taking place in another world, distinct from Japan or America.”
24 Japan Staff: “No Choice But To Die in Battle”
The bad news for Asahi TV is that it’s contractually obligated to make all 2 episodes of the series. What’s worse, their contract with the American producers prevents them from making any changes midstream[3]. Even if the show’s ratings fall to 1%, says someone associated with the production, Asahi has to stay the course:
「すべてがアメリカとの契約で縛られているんです。打ち切りもないけれど、内容の大幅変更もできない。つまりテコ入れもできないんです。ここまで来たら最後まで討ち死に覚悟でやるだけでしょうね」(前出事情通)
We’re constrained by our contract with America. We can’t kill it – but we can’t make major changes either. That means we can’t improve it. Our only option is to be prepared to die in battle.
That’s obviously a tough message to swallow for all involved. With only seven episodes in the bag, the cast and crew of 24 JAPAN somehow has to gut it out for another 17 episodes before they can move on with their careers.
On the plus side, I doubt anyone will be seriously hampered by their appearance on the show. The show’s actors – Karasawa Toshiaki, Nakama Yukie, Kimura Tae, Kuriyama Chiaki and others – are already well-established talents, models, and performers. Indeed, I imagine they were pulled into this project because of their name recognition. They’ll be fine. And Asahi TV has enough hits on its hands that it can weather a dud. Aibou is performing as well as ever, with its first episode this season scoring over an 18% audience. And Asahi’s new series, The Seven Secretaries, is proving to be a surprise hit for the station as well.
Still, it’s sad that Japanese fans of the original weren’t given a version that better aligned with their expectations. May this be an expensive lesson for all creators attempting to cross borders. Remaking a series blow for blow may feel like you’re being faithful to the original. In reality, however, you’re just cheating your viewers out of an original experience.
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Sources
[1] 24. Wikipedia.
[2] (Link no longer active)
[3] テレ朝「24 JAPAN」視聴率〝爆死〟でも打ち切りなしの事情. https://www.tokyo-sports.co.jp/entame/news/2322327/