Zhou Kui (Associate Professor, Department of Journalism and Communication, Communication University of China)
Wu Changchang (Associate Professor, School of Communication, East China Normal University)
He Tianping (Associate Professor, School of Journalism, Renmin University of China)
Peng Kan (Teacher, School of Art and Media, Beijing Normal University)
Zhao Linlin (Producer, CEO of Daqian Pictures)
★ Annual variety show: "Farming"
The most representative exploratory program in the entire industry this year, it tells us a logic: Don't preset various reality shows. Various things can also achieve the ideal situation of a reality show. "Farming" will only restrict the boundaries of the "stage", but will not restrict everyone's actions on the "stage". This program meets people, events, and other things. It has a rural social perspective, the true feelings of a teenager growing up, and the presentation of various social relationships. (He Tianping)
uses time to exchange content, which is different from the way of creating variety shows in the past. It also allows the industry to see that this calm entrepreneurial approach can pay off. (Peng Kan)
They worked on the land with one foot in mud and one foot in cow excrement, clearing wasteland, reclaiming land, and planting. Those children gradually abandoned their urban center thinking and stood completely on the land, using the logic of production to Farming. It's rare to see a hypocritical pastoral variety show in the city center finally get rid of its sense of psychological superiority and truly root itself in the land, which is very sincere. (Wu Changchang)
★Annual Variety Show Nomination
"Goodbye Lover 3"
Chinese marriage relationship is the most sensitive point among all family cultural relationships. This program reveals the core of this most sensitive family relationship. Many people watch this show and use it as a mirror. (Zhou Kui)
It has a social effect. Viewers can examine or reflect on their own lives through these so-called emotionally unfortunate partners. This is an important source of empathy for the program. However, the editing marks in the later part of this season are too heavy, and there is a bit too much emphasis on drama, which may make the audience feel angry and offensive after watching it. (Wu Changchang)
"I Can 47"
"I Can 47" is full of director Yan Min's own conception, which runs through his observation of the entire world, such as the setting of the world view, which has an apocalyptic ark-like texture. The program will refer to news event templates of some disasters or rescue operations in the world in previous years, which makes people awe-inspiring. The program is centered on "I", what "I" want, "I" can do, it is a kind of self-motivation. In the end, people may only be able to give themselves a boost of blood through involution to avoid being unable to cope with the general trend. Perhaps only the stimulation of hormones can awaken the true nature in the body, fight against the fatigue of life and death, feel a bit like a trapped beast, and even have some sense of tragedy. (Zhou Kui)
These physical variety shows have done a good job in content innovation, especially in the design of scenes and projects, but the more difficult part is how to combine professionalism and entertainment. (Peng Kan)
"Mao Xuewang"
It represents a small but beautiful program sample that provides long-term companionship to the audience. The relationship between Li Xueqin and Mao Buyi is very natural, just like friends chatting. It is consistent with the original relationship and healing system being discussed now. (Peng Kan) The program
has formed a certain amount of accumulation and thinking in exploring innovative expressions of lightweight programs. "Mao Xuewang" is more in line with the important direction of program creation in the digital era, that is, short variety shows with a relatively short update cycle but a long broadcast cycle. In addition, the inspiration of this show may be the highlighting of emotional value. (He Tianping)
Stills from "Farming". (Photo provided by the platform)
In 2023, the number and volume of variety shows will be basically the same as the previous year. Yunhe data shows that a total of 275 domestic seasonal variety shows were released throughout the year, with a cumulative effective broadcast of 27.6 billion feature films.
The mainstream of the market is still the "Variety n Generation", that is, seasonal programs broadcast for several years. According to the effective broadcast data collected by Yunhe Data, among the top ten TV and online variety shows in 2023, "Variety n Generation" accounts for 80%. The "Integrated n Generation" audience base is stable and has advantages in investment, which reflects the stability mentality of the production platform.
At the same time, under the background of "cost reduction and efficiency improvement" of long video platforms, the market's pursuit of large-scale productions has waned, and some programs have unexpectedly gained favor due to their small but beautiful characteristics. In 2023, there will still be no popular popular variety shows, but "lightweight" programs represented by "Farming" have explored new models and become popular in the circle.
In the past year, variety shows based on social interaction with acquaintances have shown an increasingly rich appearance. The natural and real interactions between acquaintances and guests bring a sense of relaxation, and from their interactions, the audience gains a relatively stable sense of companionship.
In the post-epidemic era, people are increasingly eager to obtain emotional resonance or support beyond entertainment from variety shows. The role of variety shows as observers of social emotions is becoming more and more prominent. Many programs are invariably close to social reality in terms of content and subject matter, and strive to bring comfort to the audience or exert social effectiveness.
Capital retreats, hot hits are missing
Looking back at variety shows throughout 2023, director Chen Xinyu, who has produced programs for many years, concluded: It is difficult to innovate - mainly "variety n generation", innovative programs are lacking; there is little nutrition - only entertainment, emotion The value and nutrition are not enough; newcomers lack opportunities and there is a gap.
In his opinion, the main reason for the lack of popular programs that can break through the social circle is that it is difficult to grasp social emotions and pain points. However, it is worth noting that there are many popular products that appear as dark horses. "From the past pursuit of big hits in the traditional sense to only small hits, this may be the norm in the future." Chen Xinyu told a reporter from Southern Weekend.
In 2023, the pastoral slow variety show "Longing for Life", which has been broadcast for seven seasons, pressed the pause button, and another new program based on rural areas, "Farming", broke into the audience's field of vision.
In 192 days and 142.8 acres of land, the camera recorded the entire process of sowing, fertilizing and harvesting ten young men unknown to the public, showing a series of real scenes of rural life. From delivering ewes to babies in emergencies, unloading 30 tons of chemical fertilizers on rainy days, and harvesting hundreds of acres of wheat, the teenagers learned various skills for rural survival.
Daqian Pictures has participated in the post-production of many variety shows, including "Longing for Life" and "Farming". According to Zhao Linlin, CEO of Daqian Pictures, "Farming" adopts a new viewing mode. In addition to the program features, there are also daily vlogs from the personal perspectives of the members on the short video platform, as well as irregular daily live broadcasts, which have brought viewers Comprehensive companionship.
Whenever you click on the live broadcast, the audience can see this group of amateur guests digging channels, fertilizing seedlings or renovating sheep pens. There is no conflict of artificial drama, replaced by a sense of stability and joy in hardship. The program
will start recording in the winter of 2022, when the guests are also in the winter of their careers. Zhou Kui, associate professor of journalism at Communication University of China, explained that this program touches on deeper emotions, "Now everyone is facing winter in some sense. Some people choose to hibernate, some choose to hide in winter, and some choose winter farming. Winter. You can’t wait. Only when you start sowing at the earliest can you get the first harvest in spring. It reflects people’s choices when facing winter.”
Wu Changchang, associate professor at East China Normal University, has served as a scriptwriting consultant for programs such as "Produce 101" and "La La Land". He compared this program with previous rural-themed programs and believed that many pastoral variety shows in the past had a strong Urban centralism only regards the countryside as a typical mirror image. "What we see in this mirror image is the accelerated modern life in the city. Rural life only helps people to take a break. In fact, it is not feasible for them to live there for a long time." Possible", but "Farming" abandons this hypocritical tone.
Yunhe data shows that in the 2023 list of effective online variety show domination, the feature film "Farming" has 490 million effective views, with a market share of 2.9%, ranking fourth, and receiving a high score of 9.0 on Douban. However, the discussion of this program has not achieved the effect of breaking the circle. According to Weibo variety show data, 61.6% of the audience of "Farming Bar" are born in 1995 and 2000, and the main audience is concentrated in second-tier cities.
New amateur variety shows "I Can 47" and "Unstoppable" that appeared in the same year have also gained a certain degree of popularity. Compared with spending huge sums of money to invite celebrity guests, amateur programs save costs and reduce risks.
According to the observation of He Tianping, associate professor of Renmin University of China, compared with the variety show market in the past few years, "there is a clear retreat of capital and the market tends to be conservative." After the exploration of improving quality and efficiency, reducing costs and increasing efficiency in the variety show market, "The entire creative logic will return to a more prudent state." “The market as a whole will not crazily demand new and surprising variety shows like in the past few years,” he told Southern Weekend reporters.
experienced only two or three cameras in the early days of the industry, and then about ten years ago during the industrialization and large-scale production of variety shows. Chen Xinyu believes that, “In the current economic environment, variety show creators need to carry out a self-revolution. Maybe It's better to 'anti-industrialize'. Some manual programs may be easier to succeed in terms of creativity and production pressure."
Familiar Variety Shows, Looking for Emotional Value
Six of the 2023 Douban most watched variety shows" "0713 Kuai Nan"'s "Happy Start 2" and "Happy Friends" ranked first and fourth respectively, with Douban ratings above 9.0.
After the low-cost, non-traffic "0713 Kuaiman" unexpectedly became popular in the variety show market, in 2023, there will be more and more "Acquaintance Game" and "Half-Acquaintance Game" programs focusing on the original relationship between guests.
"Perhaps this is the current direction. The familiarity of the social relationship itself allows the guests to not sugarcoat themselves in front of the camera. This kind of variety show looks more real to everyone." Wu Changchang said.
Zhao Linlin is the producer of the two seasons of "Happy Start Again". According to his experience, "The acquaintance team will enter the show state faster and get along with each other more naturally. Everyone does not have such a strong sense of boundaries. This is a variety show The program needs to be seen. If they are not so familiar with each other, the program will take greater risks."
Stills from "Flowers and Boys·Silk Road Season". (File picture)
In "Flowers and Boys·Silk Road Season", the seven guests have all met more or less because of the show, showing a different tense atmosphere from previous seasons, including night conversations and bungee jumping under the Saudi starry sky. Encouraging each other from time to time and taking care of each other when feeling unwell give this season a warm and affectionate style.
Chen Xinyu served as one of the chief directors for the first two seasons of "Flowers and Boys". Looking back on the controversy caused by the show back then, he explained that this was not intentional by the producers. "There was a lot of pressure during the original production, and there were all kinds of negative comments. There are more voices...there are so many conflicts and conflicts, just like European and American reality shows, some guests were about to collapse." Observing the new season of the show, "The core story of Hua Shao has changed. At that time, it was about strangers. This year It is based on acquaintance relationships and will show relatively warm emotions between acquaintances. This is a setting that has been planned in advance."
"Mao Xue Wang", which is based on the friendship of Mao Buyi and Li Xueqin, is in its third year. One room, two people, three meals, four seasons, the audience listened to them chatting about Party A, corporate fears, followers, and movies. In the relaxed topics among acquaintances, the audience's emotions resonated with them.
Zhou Kui regards variety shows as a kind of non-fiction creation, "When doing variety shows, you will find that it is particularly good to grasp the circle of friends, because the natural relationship between characters will add to each other, and each other can provide relational narratives. People are not only It depends on what he talks about, and more importantly, it depends on what new meanings he and his friends can create in real interactions."
"People seem to be looking for some stable relationships, looking for a long-term relationship in a society where short-termism prevails, which leads people to look for an outlet for friends in variety shows, a superficial thing." He said Speaking to Southern Weekend reporters.
The variety show "Happy Adults" is based on actress Shen Yue and her circle of friends, and "Journey into the Geography Book" is based on several regular guests who have accumulated deep friendships in "Detective Academy". The Friends variety show also ranked ninth and tenth respectively on Douban's most watched variety show list in 2023. In addition, variety shows such as "Friends' Weekend" and "Nanpoman's Party 2" also focus on the original friendship between guests.
Compared with past variety shows that had strong competition and conflicts, program model expert Peng Kan observed that acquaintance variety shows bring different emotional values. “This kind of companionship and healing program is more likely to be liked and accepted by the audience, so it is also In turn, it affects the content.”
However, not all acquaintance variety shows are successful. The variety show "Let's Go Now", which revolves around Shen Teng and his friends, has a Douban score of only 6.5. The content design is awkward and illogical, and it has been criticized.
Stills of "Mao Xue Wang". (Data map)
Realistic concerns, variety shows are not only entertainment
The rise of short videos has brought an obvious impact to variety shows. "Short videos are devouring the audience's attention, and they are also grabbing advertisements from long videos," Peng Kan said. This is a challenge that variety shows have to face. "Long videos need to think about how to create and provide content that is different from short videos." Value, I think its more important value is that it can provide longer-term and more stable companionship."
Some variety shows tend to highlight their realistic and caring side. "Farming" focuses on the real working life in the countryside, and the hard work of farmers is fully presented. "Consider reality and return to nature," Chen Xinyu concluded.
's observation of reality has also made some program clips unexpectedly popular. The young guest Huang Kai in "Exciting Offer 5" has been admitted to Tsinghua University for five consecutive years. He was abandoned by his parents since he was a child and grew up in an ordinary village. Ren Wei, the teaching lawyer sitting opposite him, was born in a Peking University family. Netizens commented, "Huang Kai, the starting point of Ren Lu, has been gone for 28 years", which aroused strong resonance.
"People not only want to see entertainment through variety shows, but also want to see changes in their destiny." Zhou Kui observed.
In "Summer of the Band 3", the song "Big Dream" by Wayna Band and Ren Suxi sings about people's life, studying, working, falling in love, raising a family, loneliness and death... The lyrics ask "What should I do" every sentence? Beyond life's obsessions and regrets, the audience is also asking the same questions while listening over and over again.
"Goodbye Lover 3" continues the discussion of marriage relationships in the past two seasons, showing real and complex contemporary marriage samples with strong conflicts; interview programs such as "First Person Plural" talk about sexual harassment, workplace transformation and other issues.
In Zhou Kui’s view, the space for innovation in the variety show model is limited, and foreign models suitable for reference have been localized. In addition to continuing the existing “variety n generation”, we can only explore it from reality. “Once When you want to create, the only thing that helps is realism." Moreover, changes in the social environment in recent years have also triggered people's attention and discussion on a large number of social issues. "Social sentiment has changed, so there is a new understanding and understanding of realism. Interpretation".
He Tianping noticed that many programs are increasingly considering social effectiveness. Taking music variety shows as an example, "Continuous Sound·Treasure Island Season" and "Continuous Sound·Family Years" integrate the development history of music in Taiwan and China, connect the collective memory fragments of audiences on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, and "integrate values into Good music content has a very good dissemination effect."
However, in Chen Xinyu’s view, there is still a gap between the promotion of values and being truly close to social reality. “To be truly close to the people, as a creator, we need to work harder.”
Southern Weekend reporter Weng Rongrong
editor-in-chief Li Muyan
