He's Expecting (TV series)

He's Expecting (ヒヤマケンタロウの妊娠) is a Japanese comedy-drama television series co-directed by Yuko Hakota. Loosely based on the 2012 manga Hiyama Kentarou no Ninshin (ヒヤマケンタロウの妊娠) by Eri Sakai, it tells the story of one man's experience being pregnant. The series premiered on Netflix on April 21, 2022, and on TV Tokyo on January 5, 2023. It stars Takumi Saitoh as Kentaro Hiyama, alongside Juri Ueno.

Synopsis
He's Expecting follows the story of "Kentaro Hiyama, an elite ad man, [who] suddenly finds out one day that he is pregnant."

Main

 * Takumi Saitoh as Kentaro Hiyama: A 37-year-old advertising executive who suddenly becomes pregnant. He decides to keep the baby to change people's perspective on male pregnancy. To prepare for the role, Saitoh watched the 1994 Arnold Schwarzenegger film Junior and received advice on how to wear a large prosthetic belly by Ueno.
 * Juri Ueno as Aki Seto: A 35-year-old freelance journalist and Kentaro's lover who begins to consider the possibility of motherhood. Ueno read the manga and was inspired by how there was a significant amount of female characters.
 * Mariko Tsutsui as Tomoko Hiyama: The loving, hardworking, overprotective mother of Kentaro, and estranged wife of Eiichi.
 * Yaeko Kiyose as Young Tomoko
 * Ryo Iwamatsu as Shigeru Osugi: Kentaro's boss.
 * Kazuya Takahashi as Dr. Tatsuomi Nakajima: A doctor who specializes in the phenomenon of male pregnancy. He is Kentaro's and Shota's doctor.
 * Shohei Uno as Shota Miyaji: Kentaro's first real friend and fellow pregnant man.
 * Maho Yamada as Noriko Miyaji: Shota's thoughtful wife, who gave birth to their first child, Takuya. After having her first child she struggled to get pregnant again.
 * Lily Franky as Eiichi Takeda: The estranged husband of Tomoko and father of Kentaro, who he gave birth to.
 * Kazuki Kawakami as Young Eiichi

Supporting

 * Gaku Hosokawa as Masato Tanabe: Kentaro's chauvinistic coworker who takes his place as the advertising  director for UNIVE.
 * Kou Maehara as Satoru Sawabe: Kentaro's coworker
 * Yusaku Mori as Hikaru Endo: Kentaro's coworker
 * Ai Yamamoto as Nana Koga: Kentaro's coworker and only female in his advertising team for UNIVE.
 * Shima Ise as Yukari Matsuno
 * Yukiko Shinohara as Eri: Aki's coworker and ex-chief editor.
 * Atsushi Hashimoto as Hiroki Takagi: Aki's journalist friend.
 * Yuriko Ono as Shiori: A friend of Aki's
 * Mai Kiryu as Narumi Seto: Aki's younger sister
 * Shigeru Saiki as Hideo Seto: Aki's father
 * Toshie Negishi as Yasuko Seto: Aki's mother

Development
On April 8, 2021, it was announced that Netflix and TV Tokyo would co-produced a live-action adaptation of the manga series Kentaro Hiyama's First Pregnancy. According to manga author, Eri Sakai, development for the series began two years before the initial series announcement.

During the Netflix Festival Japan 2021 livestream on November 10, 2021, lead series director Yuko Hakota revealed that the first season will consist of eight episodes, each with a running time around 23 minutes.

Casting
Alongside the initial series announcement, it was confirmed that Takumi Saitoh and Juri Ueno would star in the series, as Kentaro Hiyama and Aki Seto respectively. The cast also includes Mariko Tsutsui, Lily Franky, Ryo Iwamatsu and Kazuya Takahashi.

Filming
Principal photography for the first season took place in 2021.

Reception
The series received mixed-to-positive reviews. Praise was aimed at the performances from the two leads and the progressive commentary the series presented. However, there was some criticism aimed at the inconsistent tone and lack of any real stakes. The series was review bombed on IMDb with many misinterpreting the series as being about a transsexual character. Despite implications, the series makes no mention or reference to any LGBTQ+ topics.

Future
Eri Sakai has expressed interest in a follow up season that adapted Childcare Edition. However as of January 2024, no confirmation has been made about a season 2. Sakai has also expressed interest in a Korean remake and anime adaptation of her manga.