Freelancers, Amazon, etc., one after another… Will “a succession of talented TV workers leaving one after another” make TV more interesting?

The comedy show “Incidents,” which began streaming last year on DMM TV, which launched its service last December, has been attracting a lot of attention.

He is also a member of the “Saraba Seishun no Hikari” (Farewell, Light of Youth), Kentaro Ito (25), and Hiccorohee (33), who perform extreme material such as drug material that is difficult to broadcast on terrestrial television. The show is produced by Nobuyuki Sakuma, formerly of TV Tokyo. Perhaps due to the influence of his success after he went freelance in ’21, a succession of talented producers of variety shows at key stations left the company at the end of last year. The industry is in an uproar.

Kazuaki Hashimoto, who produced such high-rated variety shows as “Ariyoshi’s Wall,” “Ariyoshi Zemi,” and “Matsuko Kaigi,” left NTV to become a freelance producer. He has directed “What’s Wrong with Mockingjay?” and Naniwa Otoko’s “Haven’t You Applied Yet? Taro Ashida, who was responsible for such works as “What’s Wrong with You? He started working at Amazon Studios this year.

He said, “With the tightening of compliance and the reduction of production costs, what we can do on terrestrial TV is becoming more and more limited year by year. In this environment, Mr. Sakuma worked on Netflix’s “Talk Survivor! which was produced by Mr. Sakuma. Since then, I have the impression that there has been an exodus of not only drama staff but also variety staff to online distribution media. There is no doubt that the entry of skilled producers who are familiar with the know-how of terrestrial broadcasting will enhance the variety programs on video distribution sites,” said a broadcaster.

Mr. Hashimoto continues to be in charge of NTV programs after going freelance.

He was highly regarded within the station for the success of “Ariyoshi’s Wall” in the prime time slot, and he must have been treated quite well. Even so, he decided to go freelance because he was more interested in the field than money. He must have wanted to challenge his own potential. As a bureaucrat, the more you rise in the ranks, the less time you have to be involved in the field.

The exodus of talented TV people has begun, and there is an urgent need to train young staff.

TV Asahi was one of the first stations to focus on training young staff. Since 2008, TV Asahi has begun to create new content with its late-night variety slot, “Barabara Daisakusen. One of the producers is a former AD of “Ametalk! and belongs to the program’s executive producer Kaji Rinzo team, Koyama Teriha, who was formerly an AD for “Ametalk! As a former underground idol, he has a deep knowledge of idols and maids, and has distinguished himself with such programs as “Iwakura and Yoshizumi’s Program. Since 2009, Fuji Television has irregularly broadcast “Enter Title Here,” which became a hot topic when Kazumi Harada, then in his second year with the company, planned it. In the past few years, there has been an increase in the number of programs created by selecting promising young people,” said a director of a production company.

The outflow of talented TV people and the promotion of young staff is not a bad thing for the variety industry.

If talented producers can fully demonstrate their abilities at online TV stations and video distribution sites, the number of interesting programs will increase. On the other hand, there will also be more opportunities for young staff members to show off their youthful sensibilities.

The new and old TV crews are likely to make Reiwa’s variety shows more interesting.

(From the February 10 issue of FRIDAY)