Kabuki stars have been appearing in TV dramas for decades, but this week's "Tuesday Suspense Theatre" (NTV, 9 p.m.) may be the first time a kabuki onnagata (actor specializing in female roles) doubles as a private eye.
Onnagata star Nakamura Fukusuke plays Karuta, an onnagata performer in Kyoto. When a young colleague of Karuta's, Renjaku (Akira Akasaka), becomes the main suspect in a double murder, the older actor decides to investigate himself.
Renjaku's fiancee, Miyabi, a young geisha, is one of the murder victims. The other is Renjaku's former schoolmate Kazuyuki. When the police find the two bodies, they first think it is a double suicide, but further investigation reveals that Kazuyuki was murdered. When they learn that Renjaku essentially stole Miyabi away from Kazuyuki some time ago, the young actor becomes the suspect. Karuta is sure his friend is innocent, but DNA taken from blood at the scene of the crime is the same as Renjaku's.