Special Broadcast in August! Downtown and Nippon TV “Behind the Scenes of the Blitz Settlement

The sudden turn of events has thawed out.

The end-of-year tradition of “Downtown’s Gaki no Tsukai ya Aahende!　series,” which used to be a year-end tradition, has been on hiatus for a year. Normally, the “Never Laugh” series would have started in July or August, and recording would have begun after the summer break, but it remains undecided whether it will resume this year.

The “Laughing New Year’s Eve” series aired at the end of 2021.　Laughing New Year’s Eve” had an average household rating of 7.2%. Considering that the previous year’s “Never Laugh at the Great Poor GoTo Las Vegas 24 Hour” had a 17.6%, this is an eye-popping figure. It had maintained the No. 1 position for 11 consecutive years as the back program of the Kohaku Uta Gassen (Red and White singing contest), but that position was also taken away by TV Asahi.

Nippon TV would like to resume the “Laugh Out Loud” series, if at all possible. The only problem is the relationship between the two “Downtown” members, especially Matsumoto-san (Hitoshi, 58). The leak of information and scripts of Mr. Watanabe’s (Ken, 49) appearance in “Daibonin GoTo Las Vegas 24 Hour” has caused Mr. Matsumoto to have a strong distrust of Nippon TV. The relationship between the two has become completely strained, and this has become a major barrier to the resumption of the program” (entertainment industry executive).

Downtown” and Nippon TV have had a major rift since the announcement of the suspension of the “Never Laugh” series in September 2021. However, the two parties reached an electric reconciliation around this spring.

Nippon TV is now making rapid preparations for a special program in mid-August with “Downtown” as the MC. The concept of the program is “Downtown and the Women of Reiwa,” and since the beginning of June, Nippon TV has been working hard to coordinate schedules with the various agencies.

It is said that the main contestants will be talents and comedians who are familiar with the two, and since Mr. Matsumoto is the chairman, many members who appeared in “IPPON Women’s Grand Prix” (Fuji TV) held at the end of June may be invited to the event. It is rumored that Karen Takizawa (30), who won in the talent category, Nagisaki Shibuya (25), and Hayashi Oh (24), who left their mark on the show, are likely to appear.

The person who mediated between the two is said to be an astute producer in charge of Nippon TV’s variety division.

Mr. T is said to have persuaded “Downtown” and is the general director of the “Laugh Out Loud Series” and “Matrix Legal Counseling Center. He was the one who led Mr. Watanabe’s return to “Daibonin GoTo Las Vegas 24 Hours,” and may have been aware that he was the initiator of the current trouble. Nippon TV’s scenario is to make the special program a success first, and then revive the “Laugh Out Loud Series” …… next. It seems that they are preparing for the program at a rapid pace for that purpose” (source from an entertainment agency).

In order to confirm the facts, this magazine requested an interview with NTV, but received no response by the deadline.

In addition to viewer ratings, the “Laugh Out Loud” series had brought in profits in the hundreds of millions through sales of related DVDs and Nippon TV’s “Hulu” service. Failure is not an option for the revival of the series. The fate of this special program, which will be the company’s most important event, can be found at …….