The “Sze U Tonight” talk show.
Image via tvb.com.

If imitation is a form of flattery, Hong Kong television is paying its highest respects to American-style late-night talk shows.

Audiences that tuned into the new show Sze U Tonight on Hong Kong’s TVB channel were treated to what was essentially a Cantonese language version of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. 

The Hong Kong show has copied everything from the American original. The setting is of a host sitting behind a desk with a microphone in front of him, a backdrop of the city behind him, and a live band for support—the classic talk show set-up that has been successful for many veteran hosts including Johnny Carson and David Letterman.

Perhaps most outrageously, Sze U Tonight also features an Egg Russian Roulette session, a highly watchable game that Jimmy Fallon is known for where celebrities go head-to-head with the host, smashing eggs on their foreheads and taking the chance that one might be raw.

Sze U Tonight received six audience complaints when it debuted earlier this week with 16 rating points, equivalent to more than 90 percent of the audience for free to air channels.

According to local media reports, the complaints were mostly related to the fact that the show is a direct copy of the US version. There were also complaints about the wastefulness of the Egg Russian Roulette game.

Hong Kong comedian Johnson Lee Sze-chit, the host of the show told local media that he viewed the criticism as a form of flattery: “If people say the show is similar to the original, that means it is nearly at the international standard. Also the egg game is not wasteful as I ate all the eggs in the end.”

Egg Russian Roulette: Jimmy Fallon’s version (top left) versus Hong Kong’s.
Image from Apply Daily.