Downtime is streaming worldwide on Netflix, with all eight episodes released on September 17. The series stars Mayu Matsuoka and Riisa Naka as rival doctors and is directed by Yuki Saito.
Netflix's Downtime premiered on September 17, with all eight episodes released at once. The series stars Mayu Matsuoka as plastic surgeon Fumi Numata and Riisa Naka as cosmetic surgeon Rin Toyama, who runs Toyama Beauty Clinic. The cast includes Shotaro Mamiya, Minami Tanaka, Hiromi Nagasaku, Atsuro Watabe, and a total of 25 announced names, among them Kōki, Hana Amano, Yumi Adachi, Naoko Ken, and Shunsuke Kazama. Yuki Saito directed from a script by Junya Ikegami, with a soundtrack by Yudai Bando that went to digital distribution on the same day.
The production drew on six months of interviews with cosmetic surgery patients and doctors, conducted by Saito through a connection to a plastic surgery website operator. That operator later became the model for a character, Ozo-chan. Takasu Clinic supervised the series, providing fact-checking and guidance on depictions of surgery. Special makeup was handled by a team led by Amazing JIRO, using custom prosthetics to show the process from immediately after surgery through recovery. The series followed Netflix's run of dramas about concealed industries such as The Naked Director and Tokyo Swindlers.
Ken Naoko plays Yuriko Sakashita, a 75-year-old widow with terminal cancer who seeks full-body plastic surgery. Saito said Ken sometimes arrived around 3 a.m. for three hours of special makeup before shooting. For the terminal cancer aspect, Saito instructed her to lower her voice and speak hoarsely. Other cast members underwent transformations without dubbing. Saito said a year of preparation made the special makeup possible, something he described as difficult for terrestrial television dramas.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the cited Yomimono stories below, each itself
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fact links the story it came from.
Facts
- Announced
- Behind-the-scenes of Ken Naoko's full-body surgery role revealed · 2026-10-03
- Announced
- A character relationship chart and visuals for seven key figures were published. · 2026-09-16
- Announced
- full cast of 25 · 2026-07-15
- Licensed by
- netflix (global) · 2026-09-17
- Licensed by
- Netflix (worldwide) · 2026-09-16
- Release
- live_action · 2026-09-17 · worldwide · 2026-09-16
- Release
- tv · 2026-09-17 · worldwide · 2026-09-03
- Release
- tv · 2026-09-17 · Netflix · 2026-08-07
- Noted
- The series depicts the light and shadow of the cosmetic surgery industry · 2026-09-03
- Noted
- will stream all eight episodes at once · 2026-07-15
Connections
Structured graph also available as JSON at /public/entities/downtime.
CC BY 4.0.
Oct 3
Netflix's Downtime, starring Mayu Matsuoka and Riisa Naka, depicts the cosmetic surgery industry's hopes and conflicts. Ken Naoko plays Yuriko Sakashita, a 75-year-old widow seeking full-body plastic surgery. Director Yuki Saito said filming was grueling: Ken sometimes arrived around 3 a.m. for three hours of special makeup before shooting began. Ken stayed playful on set, keeping the mood light with jokes. Sakashita also has terminal cancer, so Saito told Ken to lower her voice and speak hoarsely. Special makeup was trial-and-errored to show the surgery's before-and-after. Before the operation, she looks so wrinkled that a character says, "You're all skin and bones." Cast members including Hana Amano and Yumi Adachi underwent transformations without dubbing. Saito said a year of preparation made the special makeup possible, something he called difficult for terrestrial TV dramas.
Sep 17
Director Yuki Saito spent six months interviewing cosmetic surgery patients and doctors for the Netflix series Downtime, which stars Mayu Matsuoka and Riisa Naka. Patient subjects ranged from first-timers to people who had undergone multiple surgeries. Doctors interviewed included staff at Takasu Clinic, which supervised the series, and younger surgeons who opened their own practices. Contact was made through Nekura-chan, who runs a plastic surgery website.
Sep 16
Netflix's Downtime began worldwide streaming on September 17 with all eight episodes released at once. Mayu Matsuoka stars as plastic surgeon Fumi Numata, with Riisa Naka as cosmetic surgeon Rin Toyama, who directs Toyama Beauty Clinic. A character relationship chart and visuals for seven key figures were published. The series is directed by Yuki Saito, written by Junya Ikegami, and its soundtrack by Yudai Bando went on digital distribution the same day.
Sep 3
Netflix has released 10 scene photos from its upcoming series "Downtime," which stars Mayu Matsuoka and Riisa Naka in lead roles and depicts the light and shadow of the cosmetic surgery industry. The series is set to stream worldwide on September 17. The released photos show Matsuoka as plastic surgeon Fumi Numata and Naka as charismatic cosmetic surgeon Rin Toyama performing surgery, alongside appearances by Shotaro Mamiya, Minami Tanaka, Reiji Nakagawa, Kōki, Hana Amano, Yumi Adachi, Naoko Ken, and Shunsuke Kazama. The special makeup for patients is handled by a team led by Amazing JIRO, known for work on the Netflix series "I'll Fall into Hell." Custom-made prosthetics applied to each actor reproduce the process from immediately after surgery through the recovery period to the final result. The production is supervised by Takasu Clinic, with detailed fact-checking and guidance conducted for all cosmetic surgery depictions. Director Yuki Saito, known for "Unmet: A Neurosurgeon's Diary," teams with screenwriter Junya Ikegami, who worked on "The Blood of Wolves" and "The Queen of Villains." Producers include Harue Miyake of "Tokyo Swindlers" and Katsuhito Motegi, who directed "The Queen of Villains." The series also published a keyword list explaining industry terms such as "Chokubi" and "Shadow Doctor."
Aug 7
Netflix will premiere the original drama series Downtime on September 17, starring Mayu Matsuoka and Riisa Naka. The eight-episode show follows a plastic surgeon who loses her university hospital post and joins a cosmetic surgery clinic run by a charismatic doctor. The cast includes Shotaro Mamiya, Minami Tanaka, and Riku Hagiwara.
Jul 15
Netflix announced a September 17 release date and a teaser trailer for its drama series 'Downtime,' which explores the cosmetic surgery industry. The full cast of 25 was revealed, including Mayu Matsuoka, Riisa Naka, Shotaro Mamiya, Minami Tanaka, Hiromi Nagasaku, and Atsuro Watabe. The series will stream all eight episodes at once.