Can't write! ~A life without scenario~

The weather is nice today.

This feels great!

My name is Keisuke Yoshimaru.

I'm a screenwriter.

I'm one of those guys who writes scripts for movies and TV.

With that said, I've never written a movie script

or a script for an Internet TV drama.

I live in this four-room terraced house in the city.

This is my family.

That's Nami, my wife, Erika, my daughter who's in high school,

and Sora, my son who's in third grade.

I have no work scheduled for today.

Nor did I yesterday.

Nor did I the day before that.

The truth is I've been free for the past three months.

In other words, I'm a B-list screenwriter.

The new January shows are about to start.

How can a B-list screenwriter live in this large house?

Come in!

It's because my wife is a novelist.

Her pen name is Ririko Kosaka.

That's right. The bestseller, Ririko Kosaka.

AWARD WINNING AUTHOR, RIRIKO KOSAKA

-Thanks, Kei. -Sure.

That means Ririko Kosaka's books bought this house...

-I'll wash these. -Thanks.

and the breadwinner of our family is my wife, Nami.

In return, I'm in charge of all the housework.

Yes?

It's Hatano.

-Come on up. -Thanks!

-Good afternoon, Keisuke! -Good afternoon.

Oh, I'm making lunch now. Do you want some?

I would love some. Thank you.

This is Yukari Hatano, Nami's secretary.

Come in.

-If I may... -Go ahead.

In addition to your regular magazine column,

you've also received offers for an essay and discussion panel.

The essay is for an in-flight magazine.

They're giving you four pages to write about

your most memorable travel experience.

And the panel?

A discussion with a neurologist, Kiichiro Saijo, for a weekly magazine.

Oh, that sounds interesting.

-Right? -Yes.

Come in!

Lunch is ready.

-Got it -Thanks!

Okay!

This is great!

It really is!

Thanks.

We had some leftover white wine,

so I decided to make funghi bianco.

You could open a restaurant with this.

-It's too good for a househusband. -You're right.

I'm not a househusband, you know. I'm still a screenwriter by name.

How long has it been since you became a screenwriter?

I quit working full-time at 32, so it's already been five years.

How much work have you done in five years?

I've pinch-hit two TV drama episodes.

-Or was it three? -Pinch-hit?

It happens sometimes.

It's when a writer gets stuck on one episode

and can't meet the deadline for the other episodes,

so they panic and look for someone who would fill in.

He wrote for a detective show.

That show had a bunch of writers.

It lasted eight seasons after all.

And Mr. Valley Girl, right?

-Mr. Valley Girl? -It's a late-night drama.

-I've never heard of it. -Two episodes, right?

Lastly, The Fortune-Telling Detective. It's a two-hour TV movie.

-That's it. -In five years?

Newcomers don't get much work.

You're hardly a newcomer.

Why don't you pitch your own scripts?

I don't know about that stuff. Do others do that?

He's not that ambitious. Right, Kei?

Hold on.

Every screenwriter wants a prime-time drama series, right?

Me? No way!

Writing one episode already drives me crazy.

I could never handle a series on my own.

If you write a series, you won't be able to do housework too.

That's right. Nami would have to cook.

That would be a problem.

Forget it, Keisuke. You're fine the way you are.

Ms. Kosaka needs to focus on her writing.

Don't worry, I'll never get to work on something like that anyway.

Hello?

Is this Mr. Yoshimaru?

Yes.

This is Shoji from Tozai TV. We've never spoken before, have we?

Right. Tozai TV, you said?

Are you writing anything right now? Is your schedule free?

I'm not busy at the moment.

Really? That's great!

The truth is we're developing a series, and we're looking for a screenwriter.

A series?

A series?

The time slot is Thursday at 9:00 p.m.

Would you be interested, Mr. Yoshimaru?

Thursday, 9:00 p.m.?

Prime-time?

Which episode are we...

No, you'll be writing from episode one. We want you to be the head writer.

From that moment, my life was never the same.

Hello? Yoshimaru?

1-HOUR PREMIER SPECIAL

Are you still there?

One, two, three!

Excuse me. Sorry.

My own prime-time series to be aired every Thursday at 9:00 p.m.

This has to be a mistake. There's no way they want me.

We have until 4:00 p.m. to decide.

The meeting won't take long. I'm hanging up.

-Yoshimaru? -Yes.

We spoke on the phone.

I'm Assistant Producer Matsuo.

Here. I'm Yoshimaru.

Hi there. I'm Tsuno, the director.

I'm Yoshimaru. Nice to meet you.

Okay then. You can sit down.

He's nothing like he was on the phone.

Have you two met before?

-No, right? -Right.

The plan was to have Joichi Gomi write for the April time slot.

Have you heard of him?

He wrote Norwegian Woodshed and Detective Columbus.

Of course.

He broke a hip while playing golf.

How could someone break a hip while playing golf?

We frantically searched for a replacement, but the well-known writers are all booked.

On top of that, it's January.

Who could write a series by April? They all chickened out.

No one else would take our calls.

So I said anyone will do, and Megumi pulled your name out.

"Anyone will do."

You wrote for Mr. Valley Girl. Right, Mr. Yoshimaru?

Yes, episodes four and nine.

I remembered one of them being pretty funny.

Thank you.

I don't remember why though.

Usually, we'd have four episodes finished by now.

But Gomi said, "Don't worry."

"I have it all in my head."

"It will be fine, really."

But he hadn't thought of a damn thing!

It's not just the details. There's no concept.

-No concept? -No title either.

But we have a cast.

Hayato Yagami's starring.

Hayato Yagami?

Also Maria Kinoshita and Dandoro Danda!

No way!

It's a real prime-time cast.

Is that even possible?

Is what even possible?

Is it possible to have a prime-time slot and an amazing cast for a show

that starts in three months without anything confirmed?

No, it's not.

Why do you think we called you?

This is urgent.

Come up with a story and write the first episode by next week.

Maybe a detective story would be good.

-Yagami's never played a detective, right? -Right.

That sounds good.

Let's create a macho-type drama with no women around.

Keep going.

-Like Dirty Harry! -Going, going, gone!

-What's Dirty Harry? -It's Clint Eastwood's movie, you fool!

I knew it was too good to be true.

This is a sinking ship.

Hiring a guy who's only pinch-hit or written one-offs to write a series?

And I must think of a story from scratch with almost no time?

Anyway, Yoshimaru. Can you draft an outline by tomorrow?

Get real!

We'll finalize the story then, so you can start writing.

Right.

I'm telling you, I can't!

Good luck! Time's almost up. We're counting on you. Thanks!

I'll email you.

I'll do my best.

What do I do?

What do I do?

That's amazing, Kei!

But...

They chose you for a prime-time series!

But prime-time shows are prepared months or even a year in advance.

They don't even have a concept.

-None at all? -I have to think of everything.

But you accepted it.

What about dinner?

You already accepted it.

-And the housework. There's the laundry... -Forget about those.

Kei, this is a big chance for you.

There's no turning back now.

Stop making excuses and get to work!