How Japanese Reality TV Went Global
candy or not candy
,' testing if your partner can identify you from your rear-end alone or being mummified while answering trivia questions, there are few ideas too wacky for Japanese TV executives.
The style is so instantly recognizable that ABC once created an American series titled
I Survived A Japanese Game Show
, which was built entirely on the premise that nothing quite compares to Japanese game shows. Yet, despite
often being dismissed as absurd light entertainment, Japanese reality TV has a global reach and influence.
List of Contents:
Documental: the latest international success story
Takeshi's Castle: The OG of Japanese TV
A Viral Future Awaits
Documental: The Latest International Success Story
In March 2025, Amazon Prime Video launched a new UK comedy show,
The Last One Laughing
, in which 10 of Britain's top comedians were locked in a room for six hours and the last one to laugh won a cash prize.
It was a hit, earning rave reviews and quickly became one of Amazon Prime Video's top shows of the year. However, the format was originally born in Japan.
Hitoshi Matsumoto
, who announced he was taking a break from the entertainment industry last year after being accused of sexual assault, pitched the last one laughing concept directly to the company over dinner with the head of content at Amazon Studios for Japan in early 2016. The Japanese show, hosted by Matsumoto, first aired on November 30, 2016, under the title
Hitoshi Matsumoto presents: Documental.
The simplicity of the format made production incredibly efficient. The entire six-episode season could be filmed in a single day, unlike many other reality shows. Also, the format was perfect for going viral. Every minute of the hysterical interactions between the straight-faced comedians could be clipped and packaged onto social media.
After its roaring success in Japan, Amazon decided to spread the idea globally. Today,
Documental
has been reimagined in 28 different countries, with the UK version being just the latest. In France, the third season of the show broke Amazon Prime Video's record for the biggest day-one launch, and in Italy, it remains Prime's most-watched Italian show.
Speaking to
The
New York Times
,
Prime executive James Farrell credited the success of the show to its cultural adaptability. The Japanese original often featured comedians stripping off naked to make others laugh, but the latest British version featured national treasure Bob Mortimer singing, 'Raspberry jam is nice, but it's full of f***ing pips'.
Documental,
however, is not the first Japanese TV show to inspire international spin-offs. The blueprint for global game show domination came from the cult classic
Takeshi's Castle
.
Takeshi's Castle: The OG of Japanese TV
Takeshi's Castle
was a cult classic game show devised by
Takeshi Kitano, which aired between 1986 and 1990. Inspired by the release of Super Mario Bros. in 1985, Takeshi pitched the game show to Tokyo Broadcast System.
Takeshi played a count, while contestants had to overcome physical hurdles to reach his castle. It combined Japanese wackiness with very high production value. Challenges ranged from remaining standing as a human bowling pin to dressing as an old man and staying as still as possible while lying on foam blocks in an earthquake simulator
.
The show quickly took off internationally and was remade in countries throughout the 1980s and 1990s, including in the US, the UK, the Philippines and India. The recent Japanese revival of the show in 2023 brought another wave of international imitations, with a new Indian and British series announced soon after.
Beyond the remakes,
Takeshi's Castle
inspired a generation of obstacle course game shows like
Total Wipeout
and the
Ninja Warrior
franchise. The legacy, though, is felt beyond game shows. The Netflix hit series
Squid Game
, for instance, was also influenced by
Takeshi's Castle
.
A Viral Future Awaits
A major problem faced by broadcasters in the social media age is language limitations. This point was highlighted by the most subscribed YouTuber, Mr Beast, in a recent interview with Mark Zuckerberg.
Japanese game show footage, however, is experiencing a renaissance in the social media era. TikTok and Instagram Reels are awash with random clips of these programs because of the international appeal of slapstick. Watching a man trying to carry a tray of hot tea across a slanted, slippery floor, now that is comedy. It is also universally appreciated.
The other major strength of Japanese game shows is that the format often prioritizes having many short segments rather than one overarching concept. This means a Japanese game show contains multiple ideas for studios around the world to copy, only increasing its influence. The format is also optimized for creating viral moments, unlike other types of reality TV that require a deeper understanding of the contestants and dynamics.
While clips of eccentric Japanese TV often elicit reactions of disbelief, its true influence is far-reaching and only likely to grow in significance.
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