The turbulent year of Vietnamese game shows

2021 is a difficult year for the Vietnamese entertainment market. For nearly 6 months, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi implemented social distancing, all artistic activities were almost frozen. Game shows went through a long period of hardship due to the pandemic.

Many live recordings were canceled. Most shows ran out of episodes to air. Game show producers had to find ways to fill the airtime, such as recording online, changing topics, scripts, etc.

In the last months of the year, music game shows returned after the pandemic. However, the program's effect decreased, lacked explosion, and did not meet fans' expectations.

The difficult period of game show

In mid-May, the Covid-19 epidemic broke out again, affecting social activities. Game shows were also not immune to the common difficulties. Some programs were heavily affected such as Rap Viet, Running Man, and Dance Arena.

After completing the audition round, Rap Viet season two was scheduled to film at the end of June but had to be postponed to July because Ho Chi Minh City implemented social distancing. After that, the program was continuously postponed due to the prolonged pandemic. Contestants in remote provinces were forced to return to their hometowns, waiting for everything to stabilize again.

Similarly, Running Man Vietnam had just finished filming 3 episodes when the pandemic broke out. The show, which was scheduled to air in July, had to be postponed until the end of September.

Some other shows such as The Heroes, Dance Arena… had been on air for 5 episodes, but were forced to stop. In that context, producers struggled to find ways to fill the airwaves, switching to online filming.

From here, many tragic and humorous things happened when the artists filmed at their own homes. When filming Nhanh nhu chop, Truong Giang was in Dong Nai. He had to make use of "homegrown" equipment to have the best filming session possible. He attached a light bulb stick to a fan with a lot of tape. The male MC also took on many roles such as lighting and filming himself.

To get close-up and long-range camera angles for the Mysterious Singer, Kha Nhu had to use all of her family members' phones. She also did her own makeup and prepared her clothes before starting the recording session at home.

For artists, recording a game show at home is an unforgettable experience in the profession. These are also challenges that remind them to work hard, be flexible and adapt to the times.

Many dating and matchmaking shows are facing backlash.

Last year, many shows with topics related to dating, matchmaking, gender, etc. that were broadcast online encountered many problems. Careless editing, careless character selection, and deliberate exploitation of offensive stories to attract views caused many episodes of game shows to be criticized by viewers.

Specifically, in episode 288 of the Lunch Date program aired in June, the story of a man named Nguyen Xuan Loc (39 years old, from Dak Lak) who used virginity and purity as criteria to choose a life partner and his indifferent attitude when meeting a woman he did not like received backlash from the public.

Or the statements of contestant Tran Ngoc Doan Minh (26 years old) about money and requirements for a boyfriend in the show Speed ​​Matchmaking also caused a stir and created debate on social networks.

After the above programs were broadcast, the players' images were edited and defamed on social media platforms. Thousands of malicious comments attacked them. From the position of a person who came to the game show to date, matchmake, and find a partner, players like Xuan Loc and Doan Minh accidentally became victims of cyber-bullying.

Since then, audiences have called for a boycott of inhumane programs with offensive details and clickbait.

However, when the players are in the midst of a "storm" of criticism from the audience, the producers always choose to remain silent as a way to avoid responsibility. Because of the viewership ratings and the huge profits from views, they ignore the media's condemnation and the audience's calls for boycotts to continue producing useless and offensive game shows.

Music game shows lose appeal

After a long hiatus, shows were recorded again as Ho Chi Minh City began its reopening process. In the last months of the year, many music game shows such as Rap Viet and The Heroes reunited with audiences.

Among them, Rap Viet is the most watched program. After the success of Rap Viet season one, fans expect the explosion and quality of the program in season two.

However, when the Confrontation round ended, viewers still could not find a performance that was strong enough to cause a media and social media explosion like the previous season. Although rated as high quality, the songs from Blacka, Sol7, Lil Wuyn, Seachains, Obito could not create a fever, attracting millions of listens like the rap songs of Ricky Star, Hydra or Yuno Bigboi did in season one.

The reason why Rap Viet lost its effectiveness despite gathering quality contestants is said to be that in season two, the show lacked surprise and novelty to attract listeners.

Airing at the same time as Rap Viet, The Heroes 2021 seems to be overshadowed. The show is a new version of The Remix - which attracted attention in 2015. The 12 contestants participating in the competition include Erik, Han Sara, Lona, My Anh, JSol, VP Ba Vuong, Thanh Duy, UNI5, Cara, Orange, Quan AP, Ali Hoang Duong, all of whom are young, potential singers in the music market.

However, the show's script was unattractive, the rules of the game were routine, and there was no drama, causing The Heroes to be ignored in the first episodes. The proof is that in the first few episodes, the show reached nearly 1,000,000 views after 2 days of airing.

In particular, the song Cô gái sáng đường performed by Han Sara in the final night with many new variations received criticism from fans. The audience thought that Han Sara's new version was offensive and not suitable for a solemn song like Cô gái sáng đường.

Han Sara's rap "Women are heroic / Long live Mother Au Co / The Trung Sisters were once kings and Ho Xuan Huong left her name for posterity / Men, no matter who they are, are all born from a woman / We sisters are a dictionary and you always have to find each word" is said to destroy the meaning of the song.

Even the show's champion, Erik, had to admit that if The Heroes created a widespread effect, his title would become more meaningful.

According to Zing