I can’t sing, sew, dance, smile with my eyes, or make fire without a match, so really, I’m not reality show fodder. But now I have new hope: Fox TV is casting for Hole in the Wall, an American version of a Japanese program.

Let’s see if I can describe the show using my words. A player stands at the edge of a pool as a big pink wall comes sliding over. In the wall is a cutout shape. The player has to jump, leap, or contort himself into the proper position to sail through the cutout. If the player fails, the wall knocks him or her into the pool of water. Ha ha ha! So funny! And the screen flashes the word “Not Clear,” just in case you weren’t sure what happened. Elsewhere in the show the player and two teammates have to get through more complicated shapes, like a cutout of three people jumping. If you’re not clear as to what the show is like, see it for yourself.

No wonder the show is number one in its Japanese time slot.

Hole in the Wall is clearly part of Japan’s plan to  dominate world media. There are versions in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, Colombia, Denmark, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia, Sweden and the U.K.  Fox hasn’t yet set an airdate, but if you believe you are a skilled wall-jumper-througher, you can audition at the Dave & Buster’s in Irvine, California, on June 1 (11 a.m. to 6 p.m.), at the Dave & Buster’s in New York’s Times Square on June 14 (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.), and at the Marriott Atlanta Perimeter Center, also on June 14 (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.).

And if jumping through a hole in a wall seems a bit daunting, you can petition Fox to adapt another Japanese reality show: Folks are tied to a wall, marshmallows are dangled on a string, and they have to try and take a bite.

-Marc Silver

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