Dramas
Immersive storytelling from the BBC World Service, featuring original dramas. The latest season is Purple Heart Warriors, a time-travelling drama about Japanese American soldiers of the 442nd Regiment in World War Two, narrated by Will Sharpe and written by Oscar nominee Iris Yamashita. Previous seasons include Fukushima, a seven-part nuclear drama about the 2011 tsunami and its aftermath.
Episodes
Trailer: Fukushima
A drama about losing control in Japan’s nuclear emergency. The heroes who fight to contain the disaster and those whose mistakes lead Japan to catastrophe. Years later, some seek atonement. This seven-part drama from the BBC World Service is released weekly from 15 May 2023.
Fukushima: 1. Tsunami
Japan’s nuclear plant is hit as an immense wave surges past defences and floods reactors. It’s a desperate fight to contain a disaster. A drama about the events of March 2011. Cast:
Suto: Togo Igawa
Akiko: Ami Okumura Jones
Yoshida: Eiji Mihara
Saito: Sadao Ueda
Ito: Matt McCooey
Shimada: Akira Koieyama
Narrator: Romola Garai
Reporter: Kevin Shen
Reporter: Naoko Mori
Worker: Nino FuruhataFukush
Fukushima: 2. Emergency
Japan battles to maintain control in the face of nuclear disaster. Can catastrophe be averted? A drama about the events of March 2011. Cast:
Suto: Togo Igawa
Akiko: Ami Okumura Jones
Yoshida: Eiji Mihara
Saito: Sadao Ueda
Ito: Matt McCooey
Shimada: Akira Koieyama
Narrator: Romola Garai
Reporter: Kevin Shen
Reporter: Naoko Mori
Worker: Nino FuruhataFukushima is written by Adrian Penketh
Sound des
Fukushima: 3. Explosion
A massive explosion rocks the stricken power plant. Can the reactors be cooled? The nuclear plant manager has an unorthodox plan to prevent further disaster. A drama about the events of March 2011. Cast:
Suto: Togo Igawa
Akiko: Ami Okumura Jones
Yoshida: Eiji Mihara
Prime minister: Kevin Shen
Saito: Sadao Ueda
Matsui: Akira Koieyama
Kojima: Matt McCooey
Kaneko: Nino Furuhata
Narrator: Romola G
Fukushima: 4. Evacuation
The reactors are unstable. A “suicide squad” of older workers is sent inside and young staff are evacuated. Pressure levels are dangerously high, raising the chances of another explosion. A drama about the events of March 2011. Cast:
Suto: Togo Igawa
Akiko: Ami Okumura Jones
Yoshida: Eiji Mihara
Prime Minister: Kevin Shen
Saito: Sadao Ueda
Shimada: Akira Koieyama
Ito: Matt McCooey
Narrator: Romo
Fukushima: 5. Invisible enemy
“We are at war….” Politicians seize control. And then a breakthrough; can the disaster be contained? A drama about the events of March 2011.Cast:
Suto: Togo Igawa
Akiko: Ami Okumura Jones
Yoshida: Eiji Mihara
Prime minister: Kevin Shen
Hosono: Sadao Ueda
Mayor: Akira Koieyama
Aide: Nino Furuhata
Narrator: Romola GaraiFukushima is written by Adrian Penketh
Sound design is by Peter Ringrose
Produ
Fukushima: 6. Legacy
Years after the disaster, one of the “suicide squad” questions his heroism in a town of ghosts. A drama about the events of March 2011. Cast:
Suto: Togo Igawa
Akiko: Ami Okumura Jones
Ito: Matt McCooey
Keiko: Naoko MoriFukushima is written by Adrian Penketh
Sound design is by Peter Ringrose
Produced by Toby Swift and Sasha Yevtushenko
Commissioned by Simon Pitts for BBC World Service
Fukushima: 7. Atonement
Former energy company executive Suto, was supposed to ensure that accidents like this couldn’t happen. Ten years later, he searches for atonement. A drama about the events of March 2011. Cast:
Suto: Togo Igawa
Akiko: Ami Okumura Jones
Tutor: Kevin Shen
Guard: Matt McCooey
Sanae: Naoko MoriFukushima is written by Adrian Penketh
Sound design is by Peter Ringrose
Produced by Toby Swift and Sasha Yev
Trailer: Purple Heart Warriors
Time-travelling drama about the Japanese American legends of US military history - inspired by real events. The story of the 442nd Regiment fighting the Nazi German army in World War Two. An original six-part drama, released from 9th December 2024. Written by Oscar nominee Iris Yamashita and narrated by Will Sharpe.
Purple Heart Warriors: 1. Memorial day
In Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, a young American finds himself mysteriously transported back in time and training for combat in World War Two. He’s in Camp Shelby, Mississippi, in 1943 and can’t understand why he’s there. Has a bachi, or a curse, been placed on him?This series is inspired by real events and contains dramatised battle scenes and out-dated racial language.Cast:Narrator: Will Sharpe
Ke
Purple Heart Warriors: 2. ‘Buddhaheads’
Ken goes to a Japanese American internment camp and is shocked at what he sees. Tensions between recruits from Hawaii and the mainlanders, so-called “Buddhaheads” and “Kotonks”, are running high. Then some news – the soldiers are sent to fight in Europe.This series is inspired by real events and contains dramatised battle scenes and out-dated racial language.Cast:Narrator: Will Sharpe
Ken: Akie Ko
Purple Heart Warriors: 3. True Americans
The battalion heads for Europe. The soldiers spend weeks at sea in bunks stacked five high, and none of them believes that Ken is from the future. Meanwhile, Ken remembers his childhood with his grandfather – a man whose uniform he is now wearing.This series is inspired by real events and contains dramatised battle scenes and out-dated racial language.Cast:Narrator: Will Sharpe
Ken: Akie Kotabe
Li
Purple Heart Warriors: 4. Screaming Mimis
Ken and his Japanese American comrades experience the horror of World War Two combat in Italy. Hardening in battle, they are readied for a push into France. Sheltering in foxholes as rockets rain down, Ken understands more about the stories his grandfather used to tell him as a child.This series is inspired by real events and contains dramatised battle scenes and out-dated racial language.Cast:Nar
Purple Heart Warriors: 5. The lost battalion
With half of the men lost, the most dangerous battle of all awaits. The battalion is ordered to rescue Texan soldiers surrounded by German artillery. Can they save the so-called ‘Lost Battalion’?This series is inspired by real events and contains dramatised battle scenes and out-dated racial language.Cast:Narrator: Will Sharpe
Ken: Akie Kotabe
Lieutenant/Bus guard/Texan soldier/Reporter: Freddy El
Purple Heart Warriors: 6. ‘Go for broke’
As the 442nd take on the Nazi enemy, they shout their unit’s anthem: “Go for broke”. Ken finally learns why he has been transported back into his grandfather’s life as a soldier. Then he finds himself travelling forwards in time to present-day Los Angeles.This series is inspired by real events and contains dramatised battle scenes and out-dated racial language.Cast:Narrator: Will Sharpe
Ken: Akie
Bonus: The making of Purple Heart Warriors
Behind the scenes. Find out how our drama, inspired by real events, was born and learn about the creative journey. How did the idea come about and what were the challenges and personal stories which shaped the production? Also, learn how the music and sound design were crafted. Purple Heart Warriors contains dramatised battle scenes and out-dated racial language.
