The special program “Do not laugh” will finally be revived at the end of this year⁉… “This is the reason” why there is a lot of fuss in the industry about its revival. | FRIDAY DIGITAL

The special program “Do not laugh” will finally be revived at the end of this year⁉… “This is the reason” why there is a lot of fuss in the industry about its revival.

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Two members of “Downtown” on location in Tokyo. Will this year mark the return of the popular special program?

Will the New Year’s Eve tradition finally make a comeback after three years? ……

Downtown no Gaki no Tsukasa ya Aarente,” which was broadcast for 15 years starting in 2006 and recorded the highest viewer ratings for 11 consecutive years starting in 2010! Never Laugh at Me Series” (Nippon Television Network Corporation), which recorded the highest ratings for 11 consecutive years from 2010. It is a well-known and very popular special program, but it was last broadcast in 2008 with “Never Laugh at the Great Poor GoTo Las Vegas 24H! in 2008, and the term “gaki-tsushi loss” has become a common expression. The biggest obstacle to its revival is convincing “Downtown” star Matsumoto Hitoshi (59). A source at a major advertising agency said, “The BPO (Broadcasting Bureau of Public Relations) has been very strict about the program.

Matsumoto was furious that the BPO (Broadcasting Ethics and Program Improvement Organization) had announced that the program was under deliberation regarding “variety shows that make painful things funny,” and that the content of the program had been leaked to outside sources prior to its broadcast at the end of 2008.

NTV and Yoshimoto Kogyo are continuing production negotiations, but mainly for these two reasons, Mr. Matsumoto stubbornly refuses to budge. In addition, the mannerism of the project has greatly reduced Mr. Matsumoto’s motivation, making it difficult to revive the project.

With the cost of advertising and DVD sales, it is estimated that 20 to 30 billion yen will be spent on this major special program. Nippon TV would like to revive the program at all costs, but offers for the past two years have ended in failure. This year, however, the company is said to be considering an “exuberant plan” to revive the program. A source in the entertainment industry tells us.

The two members of ‘Downtown’ will turn 60 this year. In light of this, a plan is being considered to make this year’s year-end special the final episode of the series, and to make it a blockbuster special to mark the grand finale. The two will be celebrating their 60th anniversaries, which is a milestone that will bring closure to the special program.

According to the past schedule, the decision on whether or not to air the program would be made by the end of the Golden Week holidays or around summer, after which casting and other details would be finalized and recording would begin in the fall. Then, casting will be done, and recording will begin in the fall. If the schedule is the same as in the past, we are in the midst of negotiations. At this point, no concrete action has been taken yet, but all parties are waiting for the schedule so that an official decision can be made at any time.

Nippon TV has been making preparations since last year for the broadcast of this year’s special program. A source at a TV program production company revealed, “Last August, we started to plan for the broadcast of ‘Gakihitashi.

In August last year, NTV launched a new special program, “Downtown vs. Generation Z: Yabai Showa Aru? No? was realized and recorded high viewer ratings. The fact that it achieved a certain level of success and that Mr. Matsumoto’s distrust of Nippon TV has diminished a bit is another reason to expect a possible revival. Many people are still waiting for the revival of this special program, so I have high expectations for it.

We look forward to hearing the good news.

  • PHOTO Ippei Hara

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