I'm not a fan of most reality shows. I do like some quiz shows, but overall, most game shows end up being fairly predictable. Documental is anything but. The general idea goes like so - it's an elimination style battle royale with 10 professional comedians. They have to make each other laugh, and whoever laughs is eliminated. Last person standing wins.
Each episode of Documental begins with a dire warning that the show contains "inappropriate" material. You absolutely must heed this warning. You see, the thing about Documental that makes it truly bizarre is that there are very few rules. It's a crazy anarchy, where pretty much everything goes. With a time limit of 6 hours, the lengths that exhausted and exasperated comedians can go through makes it as much a comedy show as a study of people going... mental. It's equal parts cringe and laughter, equal parts thriller and comedy. Many of the comedians are from Japan's Yoshimoto group. To begin with, their humour will be pretty fresh and unexpected to a lot of people living elsewhere and unfamiliar with Japanese culture. On top of that, these crazy conditions really bring out something else.
To spice things up, each contestant must pitch in 1 million Yen (~US$9300) of their own money. It's unusual for a game show to get contestants to pay for the prize pool, but it adds another layer of madness - it's literally their money on the line. The winner goes home with 10 million Yen, while the 9 others go home with nothing. The comedians only have access to props in the room, and some props and disguises they can choose to bring themselves. Apart from that, they have their comedy and... their bodies. Oh, yes, be prepared for liberal amounts of (pixelated) nudity.
The game is created and judged by one of Japan's celebrated comedians, Hitoshi Matsumoto, of Downtown fame. As with the game show itself, the rules are ever evolving. Sometimes, the contestants will protest, and Hitoshi would add new rules - yeah, that's pretty much how this game goes. Over each of the three seasons, there are new rules and modifications that fundamentally change some aspects of the game. Within the 6 hours, Hitoshi pops up time and again to adjudicate when someone laughs. These breaks offer a much needed relief to comedians, but are also some of the funniest moments of the show.
Documental is an insane experiment like nothing else on television. Either you're going to love it, or hate it, so I'm not going to offer a firm recommendation. But if you want to sink your teeth into something truly unique and bizarre, Documental is a riot and a half. Documental is an Amazon Prime Original, and really, it's hard to imagine this being commissioned by traditional television channels... Check out the trailer, to get a taste.