Mistresses: Onnatachi no Himitsu

Mistresses: Onnatachi no Himitsu (Japanese: ミストレス〜女たちの秘密〜) is a Japanese television drama series that aired on NHK from April 19 to June 21, 2019. The series consists of 10 episodes and was broadcast in the network's Friday 22:00 time slot.

Background and Production

The series is a Japanese adaptation of the original British television drama Mistresses, which debuted on BBC One in 2008. The Japanese production was directed by Keiji Kataoka, Mitsuhiro Fukui, and Tomoki Sakanashi, with scripts written by Noriko Yoshida and Rie Yokota.

Plot

The story follows the interconnected lives of four women, each navigating complex personal and romantic challenges:

• Kaori Shibasaki (Kyoko Hasegawa), a doctor who becomes suspicious of the son of a patient she was involved with following the patient's death.
• Tomomi Noguchi (Miki Mizuno), a single mother who begins to explore a new romantic relationship after seven years.
• Saeko Harada (Hyunri), who experiences marital conflict regarding the prospect of having children.
• Juri Mizushima (Aya Omasa), who pursues unconventional romantic interests.

Cast

The main cast includes:

• Kyoko Hasegawa as Kaori Shibasaki
• Miki Mizuno as Tomomi Noguchi
• Hyunri as Saeko Harada
• Aya Omasa as Juri Mizushima

Supporting cast members include Yosuke Sugino as Takashi Kido, Yumi Asou as Yoshie Kido, Satoshi Hashimoto as Koichiro Kido, Ippei Kanie as Ryota Odagiri, Masahiro Komoto as Shuhei Yasuoka, Hisashi Yoshizawa as Toshiya Noguchi, Miwako Kakei as Miki, Ryuta Sato as Satoshi Harada, Yoshihiko Hosoda as Arata Sakaguchi, Yukijiro Hotaru as Taizo Araki, Mariko Shinoda as Rei Sudo, and Yusaku Mori as Naoki Sokabe.