The plot centers on a family that hires Akari Mita (played by actress Nanako Matsushima) as a housekeeper to upkeep their recently deceased mother's house, which has been thrown into disarray.
[3] Its last episode garnered a viewership rating of over 40% when it aired,[3] making it the highest watched show of 2011 in Japan.
[6] The Asuda family—a father, Keiichi, and four children ranging in age from 5 to 16—are still grieving over the death of the mother, Nagiko.
They get Mita, an impassive person who does her job impeccably, but speaks in monotones and completely suppresses her emotions.
The agency owner warns the father to be careful about what family members ask Mita to do, because she will do anything that she is ordered to do, even going as far as to kill someone.
They in turn help Mita to overcome her extremely traumatic past, because of which she cannot smile or speak her mind.
On Christmas Eve, the family finally managed to make Mita smile during their last dinner together.
Other characters include Urara—a kindly and well-intended woman who is the sister of the deceased mother but is also something of a klutz with a knack for showing up at inopportune moments and messing up—and Yoshiyuki Yūki—Urara's father (the children's grandfather), who holds his son-in-law responsible for his daughter Nagiko's death; his anger and frustration gradually dissipate over the course of the events of the series.
[7] Nanako said that she was familiar with the writer of I'm Mita, Your Housekeeper., since they had collaborated on drama series like Great Teacher Onizuka and Majo no Jōken (which are Nanako's signature works), though this was the first time they had collaborated on a family drama.
[12] This makes this episode the second-most watched Japanese television program of 2011, after the 62nd NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen.
"Yasashiku Naritai" won "Best Theme Song" at the 71st Television Drama Academy Awards.
[5] A South Korean remake titled The Suspicious Housekeeper starring Choi Ji-woo and Lee Sung-jae was produced in 2013.