Ayase Haruka(綾瀬はるか) reunites with Kimura Takuya(木村 拓哉) in “Nankyoku Tairiku(南極大陸)”

Actress Ayase Haruka(綾瀬はるか)(26) has just been revealed as the heroine of the big-budget TBS drama series “Nankyoku Tairiku(南極大陸)” that will air this fall. This teams her up once again with SMAP’s Kimura Takuya(木村 拓哉)(38), as they previously co-starred in the 2009 series “MR.BRAIN” and the 2006 drama special for the “HERO” franchise.

As announced in January, “Nankyoku Tairiku(南極大陸)” focuses on the difficulties faced by Japan’s first Antarctic research expedition team, who were also the subject of the hit 1983 film “Nankyoku Monogatari(南極物語).” In particular, one of the most notable aspects of that expedition was the miraculous survival of two of the dogs – out of the original 19 Sakhalin Huskies – even after the expedition team was forced to leave them behind and retreat from their base due to extreme weather conditions.

Kimura plays a researcher named Kuramochi Takeshi, one of the leaders of the team. Ayase plays the part of an elementary school teacher named Takaoka Miyuki, the younger sister of Kuramochi’s deceased wife. The role is said to be a painful one, as she deals with the loneliness and uneasiness caused by Kuramochi being on the dangerous Antarctic expedition.

“Nankyoku Tairiku(南極大陸)” will premiere this October in TBS’s Sunday 9:00pm time slot.