NHK (日本放送協会, Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai), is Japan's public broadcaster. The NHK Continuing Late Night Drama (夜の連続ドラマ), also known as Yorudora (よるドラ), began in 2002, starting with Mayonaka wa Betsu no Kao (真夜中は別の顔) in April of that year. Yorudora were broadcast Mondays through Thursdays from 23:00-23:15, with a 1 hour re-broadcast of that week's episodes on late Friday nights. Yorudora usually center on a female protagonist in her 20s or 30s, and are broadcast for 4-6 weeks (or 16-24 episodes). Most are home dramas and comedies, but there have been some suspense and romance dramas featured as well. In 2005, it was decided that the "Yorudora" broadcast would be cancelled. The final Yorudora series was Donmai, which ended in December of 2005.

The name "Yorudora" wasn't officially adopted until 2004.