Vietnamese game shows innovate in the wave of cultural industry

The tastes of Vietnamese television audiences are changing dramatically. Comedy game shows, bolero shows and dating shows are gradually declining, giving way to reality shows combining travel and experience, taking the lead with the wave of the cultural industry.

Image from the program “2 days 1 night”. Photo: Provided by the producer representative

Reality TV about culture and tourism is on the rise

Formats that once "made waves" such as "Comedy Challenge", "Solo with Bolero", "Laughter Across Vietnam", "Hidden Singer" or "Who Is That Person"... are gradually disappearing.

Instead, reality TV shows related to tourism, culture and cuisine are rising strongly. Names such as “2 days 1 night”, “Brilliant journey”, “Going back to the countryside to get rich”, “Dep +84”, “Haha family”… continuously attract a large number of viewers, creating a strong ripple effect on social networks.

This comes not only from the entertainment factor, but also thanks to the encouragement of policies to develop “cultural tourism” - one of the 12 “key” cultural industries that Vietnam is prioritizing investment in. When tourism and culture are combined in TV shows, the program not only brings laughter but also contributes to promoting the image of the country and people of Vietnam.

A typical example is “Haha Family” - a show dubbed as a “healing program” - which records the 7-day, 6-night journey of Jun Pham, Rhymastic, Bui Cong Nam, Duy Khanh and Ngoc Thanh Tam experiencing rural life. From Ban Lien (Lao Cai) to Ly Son, Sa Huynh (Quang Ngai), Giong Trom ( Ben Tre ) and Dak Lak, the artists temporarily put aside the stage lights to transform into “real farmers”.

Each journey contributes to spreading Vietnamese cultural values, honoring the beauty of nature, people, agricultural products and traditional craft villages. The Ly Son - Sa Huynh route helps promote the Ly Son garlic brand and Quang Ngai salt flowers, while the Ban Lien (Lao Cai) route helps community tourism here "take off", receiving a certificate of merit from Lao Cai province for its contribution to promoting local culture and tourism.

Besides the appeal of “Haha Family”, Vietnamese television audiences also welcome many reality shows with strong cultural influences.

“2 days 1 night” focuses on experiential tourism, bringing the artists to many different regions across the country. Through each episode, the audience can explore the scenic spots, culinary culture and daily life of local people.

“Brilliant Journey” will be broadcast from May 2023, is a purely Vietnamese program with the motto “Embracing the colors and flavors of Vietnam”. Artists will have a deeper experience of the unique cultural features of the localities they pass through.

Not only stopping at entertainment and experience, some programs are also directly linked to the goal of local economic development. “Going back to the countryside to get rich” aired since March this year has chosen a socially meaningful direction by focusing on supporting farmers to promote products, livestream sales, increase income and spread the entrepreneurial spirit in the countryside.

“Superstar Squad” launched last November is a typical example of combining promoting scenic spots, introducing craft villages, traditional festivals, local cuisine with livestreaming to sell agricultural products and specialties.

“Bounty Hunter Master” focuses on traditional craft villages and cultural villages. “Dep +84” is where audiences can admire the beauty of landscapes, customs, products and cultural imprints of each region.

Game shows are still a potential land.

Author Nguyen Phong Viet - owner of many best-selling books - commented: "The television game show market continues to be a very potential land. Simply because it is a free program, just turn on the TV to watch, so its audience is always very large. I believe that, in the present and in the near future, television game shows will still be an extremely potential field. Because in addition to easy access, it is also less affected by competition than other paid platforms."

According to Mr. Viet, the Vietnamese game show market is still much slower than the world. Therefore, when producing, in addition to creating our own formats with Vietnamese identity, we also often learn and buy copyrights from famous international programs.

It is that resonance - between the familiar domestic elements and the appeal of foreign formats - that has helped the game show retain a loyal audience, always eager to follow the challenges, or the stories behind each episode.

In particular, he emphasized that currently, brands and trademarks are very fond of the form of accompanying game shows. “Brands really love this form, because they clearly understand the value that game shows bring to the image and the spread of the brand is extremely large. Therefore, when there is strong investment from brands, I believe that there is nothing to worry about the future of game shows. On the contrary, this will continue to be a fertile land, where television programs can develop more strongly and creatively in the future,” the expert commented.

Author Nguyen Phong Viet believes that game show producers will not be passive and stand still. They always have plans and solutions to find new directions for the game show market.

Source: https://baoquangninh.vn/gameshow-viet-doi-moi-trong-lan-song-cong-nghiep-van-hoa-3378859.html