In this four-part series for Channel 4, Daisy Donovan gets to grips with some of the most popular television shows on the planet to find out what makes some very different cultures tick.
From Egyptian’s love of seeing terrified celebrities kidnapped at gunpoint to India’s dancing obsession and from Brazil’s desire for the body beautiful to South Korea’s gaming addiction, Daisy sees how societies – and particularly the roles of women – are brought into sharp relief by their TV.
“Everybody loves television and no one more than me,” says Daisy. “I’m going on the trip of a lifetime, to experience some of the biggest, maddest and most controversial shows on the planet.
“I’ve got a theory that television is the window into the soul of a nation. But simply watching TV isn’t enough – to get right to the heart of it I need to take part.”