The second season of the award-winning live-action drama series First Day will premiere in Japan, with NHK acquiring the rights to the series. The series is scheduled to air on Sundays from 16 October. It will be the first time the second series will be broadcast in Asia. Season 2 of First Day premiered to Australian audiences on ABC ME and in the USA on Hulu earlier this year. The Australian Children’s Television Foundation (ACTF) distributes the series to all other international markets. First Day Season 2, produced for the ABC by Epic Films in association with Kojo Entertainment, has also been acquired by Canal Futura (Brazil), YLE (Finland), NRK (Norway), RTE (Ireland) and SVT (Sweden).
First Day tells the story of Hannah, a transgender girl starting high school. Hannah experiences all the excitement and fear associated with this transition, but her first day is even more significant: it’s the first time she will wear a girl’s uniform to school and go by her chosen name, rather than the boy’s name she was given at birth. In Series 2, Hannah finds herself in the race for Class Captain in her second year at Hillview High School. When her run for the leadership exposes an underlying level of transphobia among her classmates, she starts a group for LGBTQIA+ students, but risks alienating her closest friends in the process.
“The Japanese audience has been waiting a long time to meet Hannah, Olivia, Natalie and Jasmine again. We are very privileged to bring the second season of First Day to our channel. Hannah’s story has been shown in many primary and junior schools across Japan and we hope that this new season will again inspire not only children but parents and teachers alike.” Takako Hayashi, Senior Producer at Content Value Development Center at NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) commented.
“The first series of First Day was truly ground-breaking, and the continuation of Hannah’s journey is a special, important story about inclusion, diversity, resilience and friendship. We are thrilled that NHK has acquired Season 2 and that the Japanese audience will be able to go along for the ride as Hannah navigates her second year at high school.” ACTF CEO Jenny Buckland commented.
