KASSO (2024)

Country

Japan

Length

1 season, 6 episodes

Rating

8.8 of 10 from 4 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

Competitors skateboard through obstacle courses trying to avoid elimination. The last one standing wins a prize and the title of Total Victory.

high-energycompetitiveintenseathleticexcitingfast-pacedlightheartedplayful

What happens

Kasso (stylised KASSO (Japanese: 滑走, Hepburn: kassō; lit. 'skating')) is a skateboarding gameshow television series originating from Japan. The series was created by Tokyo Broadcasting System Television (TBS), a network known for large-format obstacle course series such as Takeshi's Castle, Ninja Warrior, and Unbeatable Banzuke. Billed as the "Ninja Warrior of Skateboarding", Kasso has competitors attempt a series of obstacle courses with the goal of surviving through them all to win the title of Total Victory (完全制覇, kanzen seiha). The concept for Kasso originated on the TBS series Unbeatable Banzuke, with a one-stage skateboarding obstacle course in the 1990s. In the 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan, skateboarding debuted as a new discipline, with Japan setting a commanding lead with 3 Gold, 1 Silver and 1 Bronze medal. Following this, skateboarding saw a large uptick in popularity in Japan. In the leadup to the 2024 Summer Olympics, TBS sought to capitalize on this success and commissioned a new series based on skateboarding. The debut tournament of Kasso premiered in Mar 2024 as a late-night pilot series. Following low viewership and the unexpected payout of five ¥1,000,000 (US$9,112) grand prizes, the staff apologized for the balance and reception of the program. The day after the broadcast, the Kasso team uploaded a 13-minute highlight reel to YouTube, which became an unexpected viral success, reaching several million views. TBS decided to capitalize on this and announced that Kasso's second season would get a subtitled livestream in English and a heavy social media presence. It debuted to huge success, with many social media clips surpassing 10 million views. Since this point in time, TBS has launched KASSO events in the United States and China, with the Japanese team travelling abroad to ensure consistent quality. TBS has indicated talks to expand to several other regions. In TBS's 2025 Investor Meeting, they announced intent to host a Kasso World Cup event in the future once more regions have established shows. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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