I’ve always been a sucker for Nepali content—doesn’t matter the platform. Back in the day, it was all about the big screen (movies) or the small screen (aka TV). Now, with most of us glued to phones and tablets, I’m not even sure if “small screen” still applies. But whatever you call it, today we’re talking about Nepali television—and something truly exciting just hit our screens.

Over the years, Nepal has welcomed quite a few big franchise shows; whether it’s singing reality television shows such as Nepal Idol, The Voice of Nepal and SaReGaMaPa; dancing reality shows like Dancing with the Starts Nepal and Boogie Woogie; or other shows such as Himalaya Roadies and KBC. (By the way, Himalaya Roadies has Kabita Nepali as a new gang leader this season—absolute badass, love her!) Anyway, back to what I was talking about; yeah, franchise reality television shows. With all these popular shows already here, I have always wanted three other franchise shows to come to Nepal. First one, Master Chef. I mean we have such incredible cuisine that deserves global attention. They did try with a similar original show called Chef Nepal but they got lost somewhere down the road. They did complete the season eventually, but it didn’t go very well due to some financial setbacks, I guess. The second show I want here is Got Talent. They’ve already got plenty of singing, dancing and even comedy reality shows; I would love to see Got Talent here to see other talented folks get the stage as well — I am not sure who we would get to see but may be some magic, some art, poetry (we do have The Poet Idol though, it’s really good) and I don’t know, may be martial arts, acrobatics, and what not.

Okay, the third television reality show I have wanted in Nepal since long is Shark Tank and I am stoked to actually see it happening. In December of 2021, the Indian version had hit the television screens and right after a month in January of 2022, Shark Tank Nepal was announced which got me so excited. I am not sure what happened and what took it so long, but better late than never, and it’s finally here.

The first episode of the show premiered this week on Himalaya Television on the 2nd of July and it met all of my expectations and some more. As Sharks, they’ve got Agni Group MD Cabinet Shrestha; Co Founder and MD of IME Group, Hemraj Dhakal; Ritu S. Vaidya, the MD of VOITH Group; NIMBUS MD Anand Bagaria; and of course, the Chairman of Padma Jyoti Group, Saurabh Jyoti who is also one of my favorite Nepali YouTubers.

Let’s not get into the details like what happens on the show and who all came to pitch their ideas; all I wanna say is with just two episodes aired so far, I am already digging it and it’s really well made. The show is directed by Simosh Sunuwar, a veteran in film and reality TV, and hosted by Priyanka Rani Joshi. Honestly, I was hoping for a seasoned name—Malvika Subba, Asif Shah, Sugarika KC, or Divya Dev—but Priyanka is killing it. She’s one of my favorite Miss Nepal winners, and she’s proving herself to be a solid host.

One of the things I really hope this show does is light that spark in the minds of youth —especially those who are constantly thinking, “Yo desh ma kehi hudaina,” and are looking for options to go abroad. I get it, the struggle is real here, and not everyone has the luxury to take risks. But shows like Shark Tank Nepal give a glimpse of what’s possible right here at home. Even if the pitchers don’t always get a deal, they’re getting solid visibility—free marketing, basically—and who knows, maybe some investors watching the show get impressed and reach out. It might even inspire some of our folks already living abroad to think, “Hey, maybe I could go back and build something too.” That kind of mindset shift? Priceless.

So yeah, that’s it. Really happy it is happening and I had to get out of my mini retirement to blog about it. Cheers to the team behind the show and everyone who has worked hard to make it happen. Cheers!

Just one common complaint I’ve heard is about the heavy use of English in some parts of the show. I know the filming is already done, so it’s too late to do anything about that—but if anyone from the team is reading this, please consider adding Nepali subtitles, especially for the English-heavy segments. Not sure if franchise rules allow hardcoded subs on TV, but on YouTube, maybe you could add soft subtitles. It would really help accessibility and reach.

Alright, if you haven’t watched the episodes yet, give that endless scrolling a break and go check them out—RIGHT NOW!

We’ve always celebrated film stars and singers—and rightfully so. But it’s about time we celebrate entrepreneurs too. They’re the real backbone of the economy, and they deserve the spotlight just as much.