The Full-Time Wife Escapist (Season 1)

The Full-Time Wife Escapist (逃げるは恥だが役に立つ, 2016) — watch online on iFILM — is a Japanese romantic comedy series that became one of the most popular dramas of its year. Twenty-five-year-old Mikuri Moriyama, out of work and out of options, takes a housekeeping job with thirty-six-year-old Hiramasa Tsuzaki. They end up agreeing to a contract marriage: she gets steady income, he gets a tidy apartment.

The arrangement looks clean on paper. Mikuri is officially his "full-time wife," draws a salary, works to the terms of the contract. Based on the manga of the same name, the show earns its following not through rom-com shortcuts but through two characters genuinely scared of each other in the most recognizable way. Yui Aragaki and Gen Hoshino are the reason it works. Stream The Full-Time Wife Escapist online on iFILM.