After winning a random drawing at a January 1998 audition in Tokyo, Nasubi was taken to a small, sparsely furnished room, cut off from outside communication, told to strip naked, and challenged to enter and survive on the winnings from mail-in magazine sweepstakes until he had earned the equivalent of 1 million yen (around $8,000) in prizes.

The Contestant' on Hulu looks at the aftermath of the 1980s Japanese reality show that was a forerunner of 'The Truman Show.'

Before shows like Survivor, Big Brother, and Naked and Afraid became American pop culture mainstays, there was Japanese reality TV series Susunu! Denpa Shōnen. Known for placing participants in extreme situations,