Japan’s VIVANT drama puts Azerbaijan’s destinations on screen for its second season

Filming has concluded across Azerbaijan as the tourism board and TBS prepare a promotional campaign alongside Japanese broadcasts and international streaming.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Filming for the second season of Japan's VIVANT drama has concluded across Azerbaijan.
• Azerbaijan Tourism Board supported post-production through its partnership with TBS.
• A tourism-focused campaign will include a guidebook, special web content and behind-the-scenes coverage.
• Broadcasts in Japan on TBS and streaming via U-NEXT and TVer are planned ahead of an international Netflix release.

Japan’s popular television drama VIVANT is set to give Azerbaijan a prominent role in its second season, following the completion of filming at locations across the country. For the destination’s tourism industry, the production offers a way to introduce its scenery, cultural heritage and regional diversity to viewers who may not yet have considered Azerbaijan for a holiday.

The Azerbaijan Tourism Board (ATB) confirmed on 15 October 2026 that it had supported post-production work as part of its collaboration with Tokyo Broadcasting System Television, Inc. (TBS). The board’s involvement follows filming in Azerbaijan and is accompanied by plans to promote the country to the programme’s established Japanese audience.

From screen locations to destination discovery

The partnership extends beyond the appearances of Azerbaijani landscapes on screen. A coordinated campaign across TBS and VIVANT promotional channels is expected to include social media content, newspaper and other media coverage, behind-the-scenes videos and cast-led television programmes. Plans also call for a dedicated Azerbaijan section on the series’ website and a special guidebook, creating opportunities for audiences to learn more about the places featured in the production.

Those additional materials could be important for turning screen exposure into practical destination awareness. While a television drama can prompt curiosity about where it was filmed, destination-specific guides and promotional features give interested viewers a clearer route to exploring the country’s tourism offering. The board has not disclosed visitor targets or forecast tourism spending attributable to the collaboration.

According to ATB, the original season of VIVANT reached more than 60 million viewers in Japan. That figure indicates the scale of the existing audience, although it is not a projection for the second season or a measure of prospective visitors to Azerbaijan.

Japanese broadcast followed by international streaming

The second season is scheduled to appear on TBS, with Japanese audiences also able to watch through U-NEXT and TVer. An international release on Netflix is planned to follow. The tourism board’s announcement did not give specific broadcast or streaming dates.

For Azerbaijan, the mix of domestic Japanese distribution and subsequent international streaming broadens the possible reach of the locations featured in the series. The collaboration also forms part of a wider relationship with the broadcaster: TBS filmed material for its World Heritage programme in Azerbaijan earlier in 2026, providing another platform for the country’s heritage and attractions.

The initiative highlights an increasingly relevant dimension of destination promotion: audiences can discover places through entertainment as well as conventional tourism advertising. Whether viewers translate that interest into trips remains to be seen, but the forthcoming VIVANT season gives Azerbaijan a new opportunity to be seen through a widely recognised Japanese production.

Further destination information is available from the State Tourism Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan.