Domestic TV rides the talent show bandwagon

Arriving with the spring of 2013, a bevy of reality TV shows will hit the Chinese small screen. There will be nearly 30 of them vying for attention including some that have already proven successful like The Voice of China, China's Got Talent, Master Chef and Your Face Sounds Familiar. There also will be new ones like Chinese Kung Fu, X-Factor, and many more.

The tremendous success of The Voice of China last year has aroused another upsurge of talent shows in China, after the first surge was brought about by Super Girl in 2004.

"We sure will see the blooming of reality shows on screen this year, but it requires both correct location and innovation to really yield fruits," Gao Jin, chief editor with iqiyi.com, an online video portal, and a senior critic in variety shows, told Global Times.

Fill the gap

Iqiyi.com and Dragon TV reached an agreement on January 14 about their strategic cooperation in promoting Master Chef and producing related programs centering on food. That was two days before the first broadcast of the second season of the show.

Gao Jin stressed that the breakthrough is based on the delicate production and distinctive features of the program and its popularity with the audience. "It is a reality show worthy of the name and the carrier it chooses is special," Gao told Global Times, "While the stage of a talent show is full of songs and performances, Master Chef stands out."

Master Chef, introduced from the UK, is the first cooking talent show imported from abroad. It combines a pressure-packed exhibition of talent with moving stories about the grass-roots candidates who dream of becoming a "master chef."

Besides the competition and cooperation among candidates with different personalities, the interaction between the candidates and judges, which include top chefs, gourmets and celebrities, is also absorbing.

While the competition among various talent shows has grown white-hot, the introduction of Master Chef is regarded as a show that satisfies the domestic TV market's craving for a program that focuses on food.

CCTV's Chinese Kung Fu is seen as another attempt to fill the variety gap. The show will serve as a stage to exhibit many forms of traditional Chinese kung fu and gather a large number of martial arts experts all across China. It has been revealed that the tutors will include kung fu masters such as Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Donnie Yen and other stars. As seen from netizens' reactions, it is a highly anticipated show for 2013.

Dragon TV's Super Diva exported from South Korea last September is also regarded as special because it allows real "desperate" housewives to show their talent in singing.

A similar concept is seen on Hunan TV's Nü Ren Ru Ge, a copy of Holland's The Winner Is, which also spotlights married women.

"TV stations are trying to find the gap in the market and provide diversified forms of shows," said Shao Jingjing, a cultural critic.

A repeat of last decade

Since 2004 when Super Girl introduced people to the charm of reality TV, a number of similar shows centered on a singing contest have emerged to take their slice of the pie. But few have managed to be so influential. Problems such as rough and casual production and even audience deception have emerged from the chaotic market.

In 2007, Chongqing TV's acting talent show got called off by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television due to bad behavior by the judges. This stirred up wide discussion about unscripted TV shows in general.

Prospects for these kinds of programs grew increasingly dim, until last year when The Voice of China imported from Holland injected fresh blood. Its success is widely seen as due to the way it selects candidates, which focuses on the voice itself through "blind" selection. Respected judges and quality production are also said contribute to its appeal.

Following the success of Voice, many TV stations, including CCTV, are starting to place emphasis on the reality TV shows again, causing a surge of buying copyrights from foreign shows.

Along with Master Chef, other reality shows will begin to appear one after the other. The fourth season of China's Got Talent already started last November. The third season of Your Face Sounds Familiar aired about 10 days ago. Hunan TV's exported I'm a Singer got on screen last week.

Other shows including Chinese Kung Fu and the second season of The Voice of China will be on later this year. The blooming is delightful, but flocking these shows together worries some who recall a previous glut of talent shows.

"There will be an overflow of such programs, since they have become almost a necessity for daily life," Shao told Global Times, "besides, many people want to get famous through the platform." But she believes the programs will improve with time under the pressure of a competitive market.

Find the difference

When the form of talent show is not fresh to the Chinese audience anymore, the shows need to find a way to differentiate themselves.

Gao told Global Times that some TV stations already determine programing based on the location of stations. To her, the differentiation between different channels is taking shape. Master Chef, Your Face Sounds Familiar, If You Are the One, The Voice of China are all good examples of setting themselves apart from the crowd. "The programs suit different TV stations' location and target audience," Gao said.

For example, Hunan TV of Hunan Province targets audiences that are relatively young, fashionable and pursue sheer pleasure in watching TV. So programs like Your Face Sounds Familiar, which focuses on the imitating of famous singers and is full of funny performances, fits its channel.

"It would look weird if Your Face Sounds Familiar appeared on Dragon TV, which emphasizes society, culture and people's daily life in their programs," said Gao.

Many would notice that among the present programs, most of the famed are exported from other countries. Lu Di, a professor with Peking University is upset about this trend.

"It is borrowed prosperity. If these programs want to develop, they need to innovate based on the local culture and characteristics and develop a way of their own," he told Global Times, "Imitation is not the way."

Lu added that domestic reality TV shows still lack authenticity. "Some programs are rampant with feigned stories," he said, "The untrue production of overnight-fame stories easily misleads young people." He called for a transfer of attention from such shows to realistic programs such as documentary.