TV Asahi launches physical and mental competition format DUAL² on int’l market

Survival competition format DUAL² debuts this week

Japanese broadcaster TV Asahi is launching an unscripted format titled DUAL² on the international market ahead of its debut in Japan this week.

Described as a “next-generation survival competition format,” the 8×30′ series premieres on May 17 on TV Asahi’s terrestrial channel and will also be available on SVoD platform TELASA and on catch-up service TVer.

The series merges athletic challenges with strategic gameplay and “constant psychological tension,” according to TV Asahi.

Figures taking part in the Japanese version include Olympic swimming champion and sports science advocate Kosuke Hagino; multilingual figure skating talent Narumi Takahashi; Tokyo 2020 boxing gold medalist and frog research specialist Sena Irie; and Olympic judo champion and avid gamer Naohisa Takato.

TV Asahi will be at the LA Screenings, which kick off this week, to show the format to potential buyers and copro partners as part of the network’s ‘global challenge’ initiative to deliver internationally adaptable IP.

TV Asahi producer Sho Kozawa said: “Our goal with DUAL² was to redefine what a modern competition show can be. Physical strength is only one part of the battle – strategy, psychology, decision-making, and many other mental elements matter just as much. That’s a universal concept audiences everywhere can connect with.”