Was talking about hot ones and how the premise isn’t totally random for the states. Got to thinking about what celebrity interview shows exist out there that are actually fucking bonkers but my googling didn’t turn anything up.
So anyone know of any truly weird premises that have been produced? Any language, any medium (TV, internet, etc), any year. Disqualifying factors would be, it can’t be scripted (like between two ferns), and the primary reason the interviewee is there has to be for the interview (as in no game shows). It should also be primarily interviewing celebrities and important people, but that can be a soft rule.
(I’m especially hoping for some bonkers premises from Japan.)
Not sure how weird the concept is, but the parody/satire chat show was fairly popular in the UK. Dame Edna Everage was probably the best, as celebrities were disarmed by talking to an actor always in character (and in drag). But there were others where the character was more subtle, like Mrs Merton or Keith Barrett, and celebrities looked pretty uncomfortable at times.
Of course, Ali G (and Borat and Bruno) were probably the most extreme examples of parody interviews.
Not sure if interview segments (rather than shows) count. Dennis Pennis literally just went up and insulted celebrities, usually at red carpet premieres. And there were interviews conducted by puppets - such as Zig and Zag - that got celebrities confused and off guard. But I can’t think of anything more recent that is like any of the above.