Johnson’s” and “All Night Fujico” both continue to struggle, but… a silver lining in the “revival of popular programs of yesteryear”.

The variety show “Johnson” (TBS), which I mentioned in this series of articles about the reduction in the number of times it is broadcast, will end this fall, SpoNichi Annex reported.

The program started as the successor to the legendary variety show “Lincoln,” which featured the likes of “Downtown” and “Samaaz,” among others. The show had high expectations, as it featured the most popular comedians of the day, such as “Kamaitachi,” “Mogrider,” “Mimikazu,” and “New York,” but it has been in a low ebb since it began airing.

However, the show’s performance was sluggish right from the start, and there are whispers in the industry that the reason for the show’s failure was that it raised the bar for itself by mentioning the name of “Lincoln.

The program’s failure has also affected the reputation of the performers, who are competing with each other for the schedule.

Two popular broadcasters in charge of “New Key” (Fuji TV), which was well received by “27 Hours TV,” were also involved in “Johnson,” but there was a big difference between them. The duo is interesting on its own, but when you put four pairs together, instead of being a plus, the goodness is erased.

The director of the production company said, “‘Lincoln’ had an absolute leader in ‘Downtown,’ but it was premature to put ‘Kamaitachi’ in that role.

After entering Reiwa, he worked on “Fengun! Takeshi Castle” (Amazon Prime Video) and “All Night Fuji” (Fuji Network), a modern version of “All Night Fuji,” have been revived, but they are all struggling.

The Showa nostalgia boom of recent years and the desire of the upper management of TV stations to revive the programs they watched in real time with their own hands were the two factors behind the movement, but there was a lack of a compliance perspective in the movement.

The planning and direction that was allowed in the Showa and Heisei eras could not be brought to Reiwa, and it ended up just being “airy”. That is probably the reason why it did not stick with the viewers at the time, nor with Generation Z. The drama “Inappropriate! (TBS) was a hit because it teased the Showa era in a straightforward manner” (aforementioned broadcaster).

Even so, a producer at a key station believes that “the resurgence of popular programs will continue.

The “School Let’s Go!” project, which was revived in “Let Snow Man Do It! The project “Minors’ Argument” was well received. We found that student-participation projects such as “Gakko Hide and Seek” in “New Key” were well-received.

It proved that there is a format that can be used in Reiwa as long as compliance is cleared. Young staff members who have not seen the show in real time often come up with ideas for remakes of past popular programs at planning meetings.

The previous “All Night Fujico” also “has the potential to become a reality, depending on how it develops,” says the director of the production company mentioned above.

It has already been decided that the program will continue after October, after overcoming the major fall reorganization period. The “Reiwa no Hakemizuguruma,” a project to tickle the sides of female performers, has received more than 2 million views in illegal clipped videos. A New Key” also overcame the cancellation theory and is now one of Fuji’s most popular programs. I can sense the station’s high expectations.

Will the wisdom of the days when TV was the king of entertainment save the terrestrial broadcasting in Reiwa?

From the August 16, 2024 issue of FRIDAY