Fuji TV has announced that it will end the current season of its reality show “Terrace House”, “Terrace House 2019-2020”, in light of the death of cast member Hana Kimura.
“We take what happened very seriously, and will address this in a sincere manner,” a statement regarding the termination read. Fuji TV also expressed its condolences and sympathies to Hana’s family.
After Hana’s death, it was announced that the release of already filmed episodes was going to be postponed on Fuji TV, its streaming platform Fuji TV On Demand, and Netflix. Filming of the series was on hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Matsutani Soichiro, a socio-information studies expert from Tokyo’s Musashi University, said it was not a shock that Fuji TV decided to cancel the series. He said that the network must “examine, at its own responsibility, why a situation like this has occurred.”
Matsutani continued, saying that reality show cast members are “often fledgling entertainers who have low tolerance toward slanderous comments made about them on social media.” He pointed out that suicides have occurred among cast members of reality shows overseas, and some of the programs offer professonal counseling services to the cast.
“Broadcasters must think about how to care” for the mental health of the cast, Matsutani said. He added that rather than the cast members themselves be in charge of their social media accounts, having broadcasters or management agencies run them is an option.
Comments