Spanish television is the latest stop for the award-winning Japanese format Freeze, which premiered on Tuesday, 15 September at 23:00 on laSexta under the local title Congelados. Hosted by Àngel Llàcer and produced locally by Fremantle in partnership with Atresmedia, the show puts celebrity teams through a series of absurd distractions where only one rule truly counts: if you move, you lose.
Originally created and developed by Fany Studio and Yoshimoto Kogyo for Amazon Prime Video Japan—the same creative powerhouse behind the global phenomenon Documental / LOL: Last One Laughing—Freeze built its reputation on a refreshingly (literally ;) straightforward premise.
Contestants enter an enclosed room and must freeze completely still the moment the command is given. From that second onward, the production unleashes escalating waves of chaotic pranks: leaf blowers straight to the face, giant popping balloons, mechanical surprises, erratic insects, and flying mannequins. Those who flinch, laugh, or twitch the most are penalised or knocked out, while whoever holds their nerve walks away with the victory.
Fremantle acquired the worldwide production rights to export this deceptive simplicity across borders, and the track record highlights how varied the format’s journey has been.
In Portugal, the adaptation launched on private broadcaster TVI to grest ratings, scoring the network’s highest entertainment premiere in 16 months. Adaptations have also traveled successfully into territories like the Middle East.
Yet, as with many high-concept unscripted shows, local execution is everything. Italy took a shot at the format on public broadcaster Rai 2 with Freeze – Chi sta fermo vince!, produced alongside Fremantle. Despite its high energy, the Italian version struggled to connect with prime-time viewers, lingering below the 4% share mark and proving that finding the sweet spot between physical comedy and primetime game show pacing is harder than it looks. A concept like this is only simple on paper; balancing pure wacky mayhem with organic stakes requires fine-tuned narrative rhythm and precise comic timing.
Still, the international rollout of Freeze proves why Japanese unscripted television continues to be an endless source of inspiration for global buyers. Merging high-stakes physical action with deadpan visual comedy is quintessential Japanese game show DNA. When the comedy is entirely physical and universal, you don’t need translation—the tension of watching someone try not to blink while chaos explodes around them is a language understood everywhere.
To read about other 3 brand-new Japanese formats & 1 Indian localization, go to link
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Freezed in Spain
