Overseas Drama Joint Project promoting "foreign dramas"

Today, and April 28th annually, is Foreign Drama Day in Japan. It marks the anniversary of a major milestone in Japanese television history. On this day in 1956 TBS broadcast Cowboy G-Men, the first foreign drama every shown on Japanese TV.

At the time, domestic programming was still limited, and major film studios restricted the broadcast of movies. This created a gap in entertainment that American-made television dramas quickly filled. These imported series became a cultural phenomenon throughout the late 1950s and 1960s, drawing high ratings and shaping the atmosphere of the Japanese living room.

The Japanese commemoration on April 28th was established by four BS/CS broadcasters; Star Channel, FOX International Channels, Super! Drama TV, and AXN Japan. They formed the Overseas Drama Joint Project to celebrate the genre’s impact and encourage its continued growth in Japan. Today, the legacy of that first broadcast lives on in a vastly expanded viewing landscape, from satellite channels to global streaming platforms.