Hulu has acquired MRC and Misfits Entertainment’s TIFF world premiere and Doc NYC opening night selection The Contestant and will debut the acclaimed documentary on its platform in 2024.
Clair Titley’s film follows aspiring comedian Tomoaki Hamatsu, nicknamed Nasubi, who found fame in 1998 when he starred in extreme reality competition series Denpa Shonen: A Life In Prizes.
The show’s premise left Nasubi naked in a room for more than a year and tasked him with filling out magazine sweepstakes to earn food. He had no idea he was becoming the most famous TV star in Japan as the series aired to more than 15m people.
Misfits Entertainment, Megumi Inman, Andee Ryder and Ian Bonhote served as producers.
Hulu has had an eventful year in the unscripted space. In April Brooke Shields’ Emmy-nominated Pretty Baby debuted as the most-watched programme of all ABC News premieres on Hulu.
In November, the streamer announced that God Forbid: The Sex Scandal That Brought Down A Dynasty became the most-watched documentary feature in its history.
MRC’s film titles include several of this season’s awards hopefuls including Sundance hit Fair Play which was acquired by Netflix, as well as Cord Jefferson’s American Fiction and Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn, both at MGM.
Misfits Entertainment’s credits include the double 2019 Bafta nominee McQueen directed by Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui.
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