NHK to produce Japanese version of the Secret Life Of 4 Year Olds
Details
Joseph O'Halloran
| 17 March 2019

Banijay Rights, the distribution arm of Banijay Group, has confirmed that NHK Enterprises (NEP), the subsidiary of Japan’s public broadcaster NHK, is producing RDF’s award-winning format The Secret Life of 4 Year Olds in Tokyo.

Lifting the lid on a previously unseen world, watching ten four-year-old children meeting for the first time at nursery, The Secret Life of 4 Year Olds was originally created by RDF Television for the UK’s Channel 4. The format presents a compelling insight into a high-pressure world filled with tears, laughter, drama, politics, power struggles and larger-than-life characters.

RDF Television’s award-winning documentary launched in 2015 in the UK and was Channel 4’s most popular factual programme of the past five years, leading to the commission of six full series. Additional special spin-offs include The Secret Life of Brothers and Sisters, and The Secret Life of 5 and 6 Year Olds. Local versions of the format have previously been produced in France, Spain, Netherlands, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Belgium and Denmark. The finished tape versions of all the UK series have sold throughout the world.

With NHK the local version of the show is designed for free terrestrial general channel in a primetime slot. “The original Secret Life of 4 Year Olds has won many fans in Japan and this response means we have decided to create a local version,” commented Takako Ishikawa, senior producer at NHK’s global content development division. “We are delighted and thrilled to produce the programme which captures children’s emotions and relationships with rich and colourful moments in a unique approach.”

Tim Mutimer, CEO Banijay Rights added, “This is an exceptional format – it’s truly funny and extremely uplifting, yet at the same time a real eye-opener on the complex development of young children and how they interact with each other. We are delighted that NHK has been the first broadcaster in Asia to create its own local version, and it will be extremely interesting to see how the show takes shape.”