From the Haha Family Effect: Entertainment Show Goes to the Farmers

Ms. Thong is as "hot" as the artists in Haha Family - Photo: Organizing Committee

Haha Family is one of the few "popular" shows recently thanks to its combination of entertainment, human values and healing.

Not many Thong sisters shine.

The program focuses on the slow pace of life, capturing the daily moments of the artists as they eat, live, work and learn about the culture of the local people. Thereby promoting the identity, rural life and people of the regions.

In the first four episodes, Haha Family Returning to Ban Lien ( Lao Cai ), meeting the family of Ms. Thong - Mr. Ha, Ms. Can - Mr. Nang. When watching, the audience loves the artists one by one. Ms. Thong ten.

The story of a small, hardworking, simple but ambitious highland woman has spread a positive inspiration to the community. It is not difficult to understand why her image has gone viral.

Next, the program continues to Quang Ngai , learning about the lives of coastal fishermen, which is expected to be equally hot.

See Haha Family , the audience laughs because everyone is cute but after laughing... they are startled. There are not many entertainment programs that truly "go" towards the people, exploiting the daily, simple but profound aspects of their lives. There are not many "Ms. Thong" who shine like that on the small screen.

The presence of people from remote areas as contestants or main characters in game shows and reality TV is still modest; if there is any, it is still weak and obscure. Most of them are still celebrities who "take over the airwaves".

Master of hunting for rewards returns home to play games - Photo: NSX

Looking back at the small screen, there have been some programs that have gone towards the people like 24h Traveler, The First to Make a Living, Master of bounty hunting, Returning to the countryside to get rich... .

But these programs are still personal, stopping at games, competitions, quizzes, and selling agricultural products, not creating a strong image of farmers with a clear "voice", nor really touching the core of indigenous people's lives, which is what the audience wants to see.

Premiered in early 2010 on HTV7, 24h Traveler Returns to YouTube in 2024 with 12 episodes then discontinued. First livelihood premiering in 2023 on VTV9 will have a similar fate.

Reality TV show Master of Bounty Hunting ended season 1 in March, it is unclear whether it will return or not. Currently, besides Haha family , there is another program called Going back to the countryside to get rich, which was released on March 29 and is still showing on HTV7, but the effect is not very big.

Haha's family is still winning the hearts of audiences, but it's unclear whether shows with this theme/near this theme create a trend or not.

Going back to the countryside to get rich is also going back to the countryside but the effect is not very hot - Photo: BTC

When will the poverty of ideas end?

The entertainment show currently depends heavily on sponsors and brands. Brands prefer programs with the participation of famous artists, performances, and competitions to create more conflicts and drama. Chill, light-hearted, less conflicted programs are often ignored and difficult to attract advertising.

That's one of the reasons why some shows like this, even though they're hot when they first launch, only last one or two seasons and then stop because brands aren't interested.

Not to mention, bringing the show to the village and finding good characters is not easy. A member of the production team Haha Family To find a beautiful filming location, we had to travel everywhere, sometimes from 3am to 12am, through five provinces and cities.

To get a good character, emotion and suitability also takes a lot of time, research from many sources of information. Convincing the farmers to agree to be filmed is also not easy.

This person added, "Once finished, the crew must sit down together to discuss how to balance humor and healing elements to create a product that resonates with the audience's psychology."

Vietnamese entertainment shows mostly follow foreign programs. Pictured is Haha Farmer, the original version of Haha Family - Photo: Producer

Mr. Duy Nguyen has many years of experience in media and shares that most Vietnamese TV shows are behind foreign programs. For example, Vietnam is producing 2 days 1 night good Running man that Korea did many years ago, are now losing their appeal. Even Haha Family , also the Vietnamese version of Haha Farmer Produced by Mango TV (China).

Television is in a fierce content war. Parties are racing to come up with new ideas and formats that have high cultural value and modern, civilized entertainment.

The "voices" of ordinary, small people, cultural stories far from the center that have long been thought to be dry, with their own characteristics, entertainment programs can tell a completely different story that is both graceful, sophisticated, close and attractive. These types of shows will not only be purely entertaining but also have a high cultural value.