Challenge Talk Variety Odo Odo x Harahara&#8221; (Fuji Television Network), in which the popular duo &#8220;Haraichi&#8221; and &#8220;Audrey&#8221; serve as MCs, will be aired regularly starting this fall.
<figure id="attachment_328217" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-328217" style="width: 1280px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="cf12d608"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/08/77b31f5e9a2b39708bffb8bb2d909e2a.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-328217" class="wp-caption-text"> Iwai (left) and Sawabe of &#8220;Haraiichi,&#8221; who has made a full-fledged breakthrough, and many of their colleagues from Watanabe Entertainment will appear on &#8220;Poka Poka,&#8221; which they will MC.</figcaption></figure>
 The show is also popular for being produced by Nobuyuki Sakuma (47), a former producer at TV Tokyo. Haraichi&#8221; has been heavily utilized by Fuji Television as the MC of the noon time slot program &#8220;Poka Poka&#8221; (broadcast writer).
 According to the director of a production company, the reason why Fuji has come to value &#8220;Halaichi&#8221; is because of the influence of his past programs.
 The director of a production company says, &#8220;Haraichi became well-known for the variety show &#8220;Piccal&#8217;s Theorem&#8221; that aired on Fuji from &#8217;10 to &#8217;13, and the staff from that show rose through the ranks at the station and came to have casting rights.
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
 In fact, the person who oversees the production of &#8220;Pokapoka&#8221; is said to be the same person who worked as a producer on &#8220;Pikal&#8217;s Theorem.
 He is also in charge of &#8220;Nepu League&#8221; and &#8220;Hayashi Osamu&#8217;s Nippon Drill,&#8221; and is a staff member close to Watanabe Entertainment, to which &#8220;Halaichi&#8221; belongs.
 The current situation at TV stations, where core viewership ratings (ratings among men and women aged 13-49) are used as an indicator for program production, is also a tailwind.
 The stations are trying to rejuvenate their casts, but there are few comedians in their 30s who can serve as MCs. Ryuichi Hamaya (39) of Kamaitachi is good, but his schedule is already full. Also, many staff members hesitate to use him because he belongs to &#8230;&#8230; Yoshimoto Kogyo,&#8221; said a producer at a key station.
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
 As more and more TV programs are focusing on generating off-broadcast income through distribution and related live performances, a big &#8220;barrier&#8221; is being created for talents affiliated with Yoshimoto Kogyo.
Yoshimoto Kogyo&#8217;s fees for live shows and program delivery are higher than those of other entertainment companies, perhaps because Yoshimoto Kogyo does live shows and program delivery on its own. It is not uncommon for the production to make it a condition of Yoshimoto&#8217;s involvement. So, more and more programs are featuring non-Yoshimoto comedians if they are of similar ability and popularity. If a program is handled by a staff member like Sakuma P, who has a good track record, it is easier to &#8220;get rid of Yoshimoto&#8221; because of the potential for off-broadcast income,&#8221; said an ad agency official.
 The fact that Yuuki Iwai (37) matched Reiwa also seems to have contributed to his breakthrough.
 He has a deep knowledge of voice actors, anime, and idols, and he fell in love with the &#8220;guess what&#8221; boom. It may come as a surprise, but he actively participates in launches and other events to deepen his interaction with the staff. His partner, Tasuku Sawabe (37), has a family and goes home immediately.
 The balance between Iwai, a bachelor, and Sawabe, a father comedian, is said to be exquisite.
 He is able to comment from either point of view, and can handle a wide range of projects. Iwai, who is a &#8220;rotten comedian,&#8221; and Sawabe, who is a &#8220;rotten comedian,&#8221; of course, make surprisingly poisonous comments, but because of their cheerful characters, they don&#8217;t come off as sarcastic. He has been doing late-night radio since 2004 and has a core comedy fan base, so he should be in even greater demand. If there is a pitfall, it is that Poka Poka&#8217;s ratings will suffer and they will be perceived as a &#8220;duo that can&#8217;t get numbers.
 Will &#8220;Haraichi&#8221; become the face of Reiwa?
 From the September 1, 2023 issue of FRIDAY

 Makoto Kuwata

 Challenge Talk Variety Odo Odo x Harahara," in which "Haraichi" and "Audrey" serve as MCs, will be aired regularly this fall. There seems to be a reason why Fuji Television has been placing so much importance on "Halaichi" in recent years. ......

Haraiichi” to be aired regularly on Fuji TV this fall! Why the Reiwa TV world loves “Haraiichi”!

Access Ranking