A brand-new reality show format debuts on our screens today (March 25), and it's pulled together some of the best bits of Big Brother, The Circle and The Traitors while still doing something that's entirely its own.
The premise is in its title: Josh Must Win.
A whole cast of unsuspecting reality show wannabes enter a lavish house thinking that they're taking part in a popularity contest called "The Favourite". So far, so The Circle.
Seasoned reality show fanatic Nick Grimshaw is in on the ruse, taking the role of host, while his celebrity pals Vicky Pattison, Amber Gill and Pete Wicks hide in the control room to try and manipulate proceedings to ensure that Josh – who has the lowest social-media follower count of the bunch – will be voted the eventual winner.
Josh Must Win has marketed itself as "throwing out the reality-show rulebook", but we'd actually argue that it's comping together some of the most intriguing parts of shows that have made an impact on the genre over the past few decades.
The psychological element of the game, along with Josh's apparent 'normality', harks back to the early days of Big Brother. The appetite for more relatable, authentic TV contestants was more tangible than ever when ITV announced it was rebooting the iconic show last year.
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By contrast, the rest of the Josh Must Win contestants, for better or worse, represent what we've come to expect from more recent juggernauts like Love Island: they're apparently preoccupied with social clout, popularity and being larger than life in front of the cameras.
But one marked difference from Big Brother, which borrows from the more recent hit The Traitors, is that conferring among the contestants is allowed before they vote each other out. The OG surveillance show famously does not allow discussion of nominations, with the threat of punishment if that rule is broken. Meanwhile The Traitors, by the order of its own playbook, openly encourages its contestants to share their thoughts ahead of the voting round tables – and we all know how delicious those can be to watch.
Josh Must Win's similar approach in this area allows for an element of openly strategic gameplay – and, to quote one famous Gavin and Stacey meme, we just love the drama.
There's also something a little bit Gogglebox about the hilarious commentary coming from the celebrity meddlers who, like pressured puppet masters, are able to infiltrate and influence the goings-on in the house.
All of this being said, the thing that really makes the show unique is, well, Josh.
The very fact that the show has been named after him signals to the viewer that the show is not necessarily produced with a view to future series. Given that broadcasters and streamers are always reaching for the next big thing and churning out reality formats all over the shop, it inspires confidence to see them place stock in a format that would be tough to replicate.
If it happens to be a sensational hit for Channel 4, they could always try to do it again, but with the secret now out of the bag, there's only so many times they could try their luck when casting a new bunch of people to trick.
Then we actually come to Josh, the person on whom it all hinges. While we still hold some reservations about the idea that he is – by the definition of the show – an outlier, we're choosing to view this more through a lens of pushing back on what reality television has become, rather than it being a slight aimed at Josh himself.
His fellow contestants do sometimes veer into patronising territory, but the conversations that unfold challenge first impressions and biases – and will hopefully encourage the same from the viewers at home.
After all, with every Love Island line-up comes the annual discourse about introducing less washboard abs and influencers, with calls for more relatable people. But on the odd occasion that the show has delivered anything outside of the cookie-cutter range, those contestants have often found themselves the target of cruel social commentary picking apart what's supposedly 'different' about them.
The tide is hopefully turning, though. With Big Brother back on our screens, and personalities like Yinrun Huang and Jordan Sangha winning over the nation, it's time for the Joshes among us to shine.
The Underdog: Josh Must Win launches on March 25 at 9pm on E4 and streaming on Channel 4.
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TV Editor, Digital Spy Laura has been watching television for over 30 years and professionally writing about entertainment for almost 10 of those. Previously at LOOK and now heading up the TV desk at the UK's biggest TV and movies site Digital Spy, Laura has helped steer conversations around some of the most popular shows on the box. Laura has appeared on Channel 5 News and radio to talk viewing habits and TV recommendations. As well as putting her nerd-level Buffy knowledge to good use during an IRL meet with Sarah Michelle Gellar, Laura also once had afternoon tea with One Direction, has sat around the fire pit of the Love Island villa, spoken to Sir David Attenborough about the world's oceans and even interviewed Rylan from inside the Big Brother house (housemate status, forever pending).
