Viewers were enthralled/horrified by the HBO drama Chernobyl in 2019, which depicted the devastating nuclear disaster in the 1980s, now the story of another infamous nuclear accident is being adapted for TV screens with The Days.
This new series, which is premiering on Netflix, tells the story of the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi disaster in Japan. The show is a Japanese production, but it is going to be available everywhere Netflix is available as a streaming option, making it an interesting addition to the summer TV slate.
Here is everything that we know about The Days.
The Days release date
Netflix releases The Days on Thursday, June 1, in the US, UK, Japan and just about everywhere it is available. All episodes of the series are going to be available to stream right away.
The drama is part of the lineup of shows and movies that are new on Netflix in June.
The Days plot
On March 11, 2011, Japan was hit by a massive earthquake and a tsunami, but compounding things was what would happen at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, a nuclear disaster that's closest comparison is that of Chernobyl.
Here is the synopsis of The Days from Netflix:
"Blamed by some, hailed as heroes by others, those involved with Fukushima Daiichi face a deadly, invisible threat — an unprecedented nuclear disaster."
The Days episodes
Here is the synopsis for each episode of The Days:
The Days episode 1, "The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant is Submerged"
"March 11, 2011; 225 kilometers from Tokyo, a 15 meter high tsunami hits the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, damaging one of the cooling systems."
The Days episode 2, "No Need to Evacuate"
"While still unable to get an assessment of the situation from Fukushima Daiichi, the government tells the public to stay calm and remain in their homes."
The Days episode 3, "Radioactive Emissions Will Be Minimal"
"Pressure in the containment vessel starts to rapidly rise. With a catastrophic explosion imminent, TOEPCO suggests releasing the gas into the atmosphere."
The Days episode 4, "It Would Mean Turning Our Backs on Fukushima"
"With the power still down, the valves will have to be opened manually. With heavy hearts, some workers ask if they can evacuate to a safer location."
The Days episode 5, "Our Company Has Lost Its Mind"
"Station Manager Yoshida decides to use seawater as a cooling source, but TOEPCO headquarters tells him to wait for authorization from the administration."
The Days episode 6, "I Can No Longer Leave Here Alive"
"When pressure in the containment vessel finally starts to decrease, TOEPCO headquarters want on-site workers to get back to work, but Yoshida is wary."
The Days episode 7, "Decide the Conditions for Evacuation"
"As the administration and TOEPCO headquarters grow increasingly impatient, Station Manager Yoshida asks for permission to evacuate some on-site workers."
The Days episode 8, "A Scenario of Japan's Collapse"
"The Prime Minister is informed that in a worst case scenario, a third of the country — including the Tokyo area — will become uninhabitable for decades."
The Days trailer
Watch the trailer for The Days directly below, which provides a glimpse at the drama this series is going to pack.
The Days cast
The cast of The Days is entirely Japanese, with Koji Yakusho (Memoirs of a Geisha, 13 Assassins), Yutaka Takenouchi (The Defenders, Drive All Night), Fumiyo Kohinata (The Outrage, Fullmetal Alchemist), Kaoru Kobayashi (Kyuka, Love Letter) and Naomasa Musaka (The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi, Solnste) among the stars of the series. The specific roles that they are playing has not been specified prior to the show's premiere.
Is The Days in Japanese?
The Days is a Japanese production from Japanese creators (Code Blue's Jun Masumoto and Masaki Nishiura and the Ring series' Hideo Nakata), features Japanese actors and depicts a historic Japanese event, so no surprise that the series is indeed going to be spoken in Japanese. But viewers outside of Japan can rest assured that Netflix will provide captions for the series.
How to watch The Days
As a Netflix original series, anyone interested in watching The Days is going to need a Netflix subscription to do so. Subscriptions start at $6.99 per month if you're OK with ads. Ad-free subscriptions start at $9.99 per month.
