Fans planning around The Apothecary Diaries’ new season and first film now have two firm Japanese dates, a weekly TV pattern, and one major unanswered question. Season 3 began October 2, 2026, and the official on-air page lists new episodes for Fridays at 11 p.m. Japan time, with the second cour planned for April 2027. The first movie, The Late Lady’s Treasure, opens in Japanese theaters on December 11. Crunchyroll says its theatrical rights cover North America and worldwide markets outside Asia, with India explicitly included; international dates are still pending. The official schedule and movie announcement do not say where the film falls in Season 3’s story.

What Season 3’s Japanese schedule confirms

The show’s official on-air page lists Season 3 on Nippon TV’s FRIDAY ANIME NIGHT from October 2, at 11 p.m. each Friday across a 30-station network. It says the second cour is planned for April 2027. The same page lists Japanese streaming after the TV broadcast, with the first stream beginning October 3, while warning that times can change. That is a split-season plan for Japan, not a promise that every overseas service follows the same calendar. The page gives a month, but no exact April return date. Viewers outside Japan should check their local service’s listing rather than convert Friday night in Japan into a universal release time.

The film has a Japan date and a new story

The anime’s July movie announcement set the Japanese theatrical opening for Friday, December 11, 2026, and revealed the title The Late Lady’s Treasure. Its synopsis sends Maomao and Jinshi south to return the remains of a consort who died five years earlier. In a water city, they encounter a mystery involving the remains and hidden treasure. A prior production announcement called it the franchise’s first theatrical film and described it as a wholly new original story by novelist Natsu Hyuuga. Those details establish the feature’s premise and original-story status, but they do not identify an episode viewers should watch immediately before the movie.

International theater dates are not set

In its October 8 distribution announcement, Crunchyroll said it acquired North American and worldwide theatrical rights, excluding Asia but including India, with Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures Entertainment distributing. The notice gives Japan’s December date and says North American and international release dates and ticket information will follow later. It does not provide a country-by-country rollout, a streaming date, or a theater list. So “worldwide” describes the announced rights reach; it does not mean every market already has a screening date. The notice also does not specify who will distribute the film in the rest of Asia.

Concept diagram: a globe centered on Asia with one amber marker near Japan and blank ticket stubs below, representing announced Japan dates and international dates not announced.
Concept illustration: the article distinguishes the announced Japan schedule from international theater dates that remain unannounced.

The calendar does not reveal the story order

The dates put the movie after Season 3’s October start and before the second cour’s planned April 2027 return. That spacing may invite viewers to treat the film as a bridge between the two cours, but none of the official schedule or movie materials confirms that interpretation. The film is an original story, yet that label alone does not establish whether its events occur before, during, or after a particular episode. The official synopsis supplies a plot setup, not a timeline link to the TV season.