The House on the Slope

The House on the Slope (Japanese: 坂の途中の家, Hepburn: Saka no Tochu no Ie) is a Japanese television drama series that premiered on April 27, 2019. Produced for the network WOWOW, the series is based on the 2016 novel of the same name by author Mitsuyo Kakuta.

Plot

The story follows Risako Yamazaki, a housewife living with her husband and three-year-old daughter. Her life takes an unexpected turn when she is selected to serve as an alternate lay judge in a high-profile criminal trial. The defendant, Mizuho Ando, is a housewife of a similar age to Risako who stands accused of drowning her eight-month-old infant in a bathtub. As the trial progresses, Risako finds herself increasingly unsettled as the details of the case begin to mirror her own experiences and anxieties regarding motherhood.

Production

The series was directed by Yukihiro Morigaki with a screenplay adapted by Eriko Shinozaki. It was broadcast in the Saturday 22:00 time slot on WOWOW, succeeding the drama Dying Eye and preceding Mirror Twins Season 2. The source material, written by Mitsuyo Kakuta, was published by Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. in January 2016.

Cast