StoryPlus & Fuji Television Network Co-Develop Format

Matthieu Jean-Toscani’s StoryPlus and Japan’s Fuji Television Network have created the new entertainment format Banzai.

The game show sees famous personalities take on an agility-based survival challenge full of slips, falls, performances and fun. Banzai marks the first partnership between StoryPlus and Fuji Television Network.

Ryuji Komiya, head of unscripted format sales at Fuji, said: “We are very happy to be able to work on this project with StoryPlus. We have experience creating funny game show formats, [including] Hole in the Wall, The Noise and Total Blackout. We believe that this new game show will surpass our classic titles. With the creative minds from the East and West working together, we will make sure that we will have everyone watching the show laugh, wherever they are watching!”

Jean-Toscani, CEO of StoryPlus, commented: “This new creative partnership is an important step in the development of the StoryPlus Group. It is fully in line with our diversification strategy. Today, content consumption is global, and the French public (but not only) is fan of Japanese culture. So it’s only natural that we approached the talented teams at Fuji TV to create a great new entertainment game based on the hit formats in their catalog. We’re delighted to announce this new development, which is already attracting interest from historical broadcasters and platforms.”

Yasutaka Shimizu and Takao Ueno, producer of music and variety show department at Fuji, added: “The idea behind this game show that we co-developed with StoryPlus is working as a team. In Japan, we have the culture of valuing working as a team or in a group. We wanted to show the value of working together in this game show format, while also having a good time. We think it is intriguing to see two sides of the contestants faces: the side of seriousness and the side of fun.”

Ilann Rouas, head of development for StoryPlus Group, said: “Fuji TV has the most iconic catalog of Japanese game-show formats. This new show will bring a new form of fun, celebrity-driven family entertainment. We’re delighted to be working directly with our friends at Fuji TV, the world’s specialists in feel-good entertainment!”