Bit of an interesting thread title there, isn't it? in any case...
I'm an american who discovered the show all the way back when I was 8. (which was in 2007-2008, surprising, i know.) i watched the show via youtube, and since then i have become some sort of tracker of tv shows like knightmare, to the point where i've created my very own list on imdb. (https://www.imdb.com/list/ls023517691/ hers're a fun idea, try to count how many of these show's you recognize as a little game. )
I've mostly been lurking on this forum until just now, wanting to pop in and say hi. (and add my own stuff to the forum, don’t be surprised if I pop in in the “reminds me of knightmare” thread to post about another fantasy game show now and then.)
what stick's to me about knightmare is that while it isn't the "very" first show of this sort of genre, (that goes to BBC's Adventure game, which debuted in 1980 and just abut ended when knightmare began in 86) it did in a sense "pioneer" it by being the first one with a real dedicated fanbase that has lasted for such a long time. i do remember Tim Child saying this in a interview: (https://www.bothersbar.co.uk/?page_id=193)
Knightmare has been off our screens for 13 years now – cable repeats notwithstanding. Are you surprised that (other than yourself which we will get onto later) given what a huge success it was nobody seems to have tried anything that taps into a similar vein?
Not really. They’d have to be mad.
Well, we certainly live in a mad time do we? and there have been tv show's made since that interview that pushed the fantasy gameshow genre. check my list if you haven't already.