It's been announced that Yamashita Tomohisa will star in a new Thursday TBS drama called "Saikou no Jinsei no Owarikata~Ending Planner~", which will start airing in January of 2012.

This will be his first work after withdrawing from NEWS back in�October. Yamashita commented, "I would like to work well by boosting morale during filming as usual without being too lively." He also said, "Drama is my�favorite�genre and it's an important tool that can help me further develop my talent."

Yamashita will play an owner of a funeral parlor who succeeded his late father's business unwillingly. His funeral parlor receives bodies from the police, and its through these bodies that he's able to understand the fabric of human relationships. There will also be a romance between Yamashita and a newbie female detective.

It's been about 2 years since Yamashita last starred in a drama series, "Code Blue -Doctor Heli Kinkyuu Kyumei-". For his latest production he will tag up with producer Iyoda Hidenori, who was also the producer of Yamashita's movie "Ashita no Joe".

Reportedly, Yamashita is willing to go interview to a funeral parlor in order to rehearse for his role, and is firing himself up for the upcoming drama.

Source: Sanspo