The fourth series, subtitled as Opening New Doors, moved the show back to Japan in Nagano prefecture and aired from December 19, 2017, to February 12, 2019.

Occasionally, the cameras will also provide insight into the members' personal lives, their workplace, friends, and family, but heavily focuses on capturing dates between housemates and meaningful group events.

At regular intervals, the show cuts to the panel as they analyze conversations, decipher members' body language, and joke about the last 10 minutes of footage.

[1][4][12] In a December 2017 interview with Metropolis, former Aloha State castmate Lauren Tsai referred to Terrace House as "probably the least real reality show."

Following the death of Hana Kimura in May 2020, The New York Times reported that all Terrace House cast members sign non-disclosure agreements barring them from talking about what happens behind the scenes.

[4] Troy Patterson of the New Yorker praised the slow-burning action which is "sparked by the honest friction of minor personality flaws and conflicting personal needs," commenting that the show is closer to a nature documentary than to the exploitation films that people now expect from reality television: "If the producers massage their interactions with an eye toward creating conflict, they do so with the subtlest hand the genre has ever seen.

"[2] Andrew Ridker, writing for The New York Times Magazine, described the show as staggeringly banal yet capable of genuine literary excellence.

"[5] Writing for BBC News, Yvette Tan suggests the success of Terrace House is due to its mutedness: "It's quiet and calm on the eyes.

[6][19][21] Lindsey Weber of Elle wrote that "by watching 'with' you and reacting alongside, the gang amplifies the awkward, funny, and (their description, not mine) utterly Japanese moments" and proves that every reality show should have a panel of commentators.

Chang comments the shows tensions ultimately revolve around small differences in each character’s personality and morals, which makes Terrace House "just the right level of drama to dissect with your mother after dinner.

[22] During the initial run of Boys × Girls Next Door on Fuji Television audience share increased from an average of 5.5% at the start of the series to 6.9% at the end.