International fans of "Terrace House" rejoiced last week as the show's latest season arrived on Netflix several months after debuting in Japan. The program has become a hit by offering something most English-language reality shows often avoid — calm.
The reverse phenomenon played out nearly simultaneously in Japan. The third season of "The Bachelor Japan" debuted on Amazon Prime Video on Sept. 13, featuring more or less the same premise as the American franchise, which has been running since 2002. Twenty women vie for the affection of the titular bachelor, with plenty of romance and drama along the way.
"The Bachelor Japan" takes the hallmarks of Western reality TV and imports them to Japan, and so far it has worked. Though Amazon Prime doesn't share viewer data, a record number of women applied to be on the third season, and it is generating a good amount of buzz on social media. Amazon recently announced it will also bring "The Bachelorette," which reverses the gender roles, to Japan.