Netflix’s new reality show The Boyfriend has been making waves and starting conversations both inside and outside Japan as viewers follow the story of nine gay and bisexual male housemates who live and work together.
It has a fairly recognisable format. As well as living together, castmates work in a coffee van. They are, according to Netflix, looking for love and friendship. In order to bring them together, as well as working in pairs in the van, they have to complete tasks, including challenges and games that involve partnering off.
Critics and commentators have hailed the show as a new direction for Japanese Netflix programming. However, in many ways The Boyfriend hews close to an established model of program development that emerged from an early crisis in Netflix’s initial attempts to launch in Japan.
