Long-running Chinese Soap Operas

[roddy]

In the UK, there are a number of very long running soap operas. Eastenders has been running for over 20 years now, Emmerdale has been running for over 30, and the grandfather of them all,Coronation Street started in 1960 (and one actor has been there from the start).

Are there any Chinese equivalents? It seems to me that Chinese TV shows seem to run intensively for a few weeks then disappear, but I could be wrong. If this is the case, is there something about the Chinese TV industry that makes long running shows unviable?

Roddy

[Outofin]

Do they change actors, or the stories are about some people's lives spanning many years?

[roddy]

There's obviously a turnover, but actors do sometimes stay with the same show for decades - the one actor I link to above has been there for 46 years, but that is quite extreme. There's a lot of continuity - the three I mention above are all based around a certain geographical location, focussing on the lives of the people living there. Characters get born, go to school, go away for 4 years because they're 'at university', come back, get married, get sent to jail for burying someone under the patio, etc, etc. I just had a quick look through the cast list for Coronation Street, and there are still 13 actors I can remember being there when I was a kid.

US equivalents seem to be stuff like General Hospital, the Young and the Restless, etc. My impression of US soaps though is that they are very aspirational - characters are rich and successful. That's probably because I watched too much Dallas and Dynasty as a kid (I now realise of course that any Dallas and Dynasty is too much).

Most if not all UK soaps are much 'grittier' - characters are working class. The richest person might own a pub or a factory, but never an oil field.

Found this essay about UK soaps. Might be enlightening.

Roddy

[Quest]

If this is the case, is there something about the Chinese TV industry that makes long running shows unviable?

40 years ago in China...... TV "industry"?

[roddy]

I'm not expecting to find some long lost Sichuanese soap opera which started broadcasting in 1972 and still continues to attract an audience of millions now. And you know that, so I'm not sure what the point of your post was.

But, if you take a look at British, US, Australian, and I think New Zealand, Latin American TV, you'll find long-running soap operas which span years, and sometimes decades. I'm not sure about Russia, Europe, Africa. All I'm looking for is, 1) is there a Chinese equivalent? and 2) if there isn't, what's the difference in the industry or in audience demand that prevents it?

I'm genuinely asking the question here. I'd be almost surprised if there aren't any - they can be enormously successful (A soap opera wedding in the UK can attract as many viewers as a royal one), are cheap to make and can be a much more efficient way of communicating a message to the public than posters and slogans - see here for some information on health issues in soap operas.

If you can make a film, you can make a long-running soap opera, and China's been making films since when? Even if you discount the period before the Cultural Revolution, there's still three decades. So is there a 连续剧 that has been on-screen continuously for 3, 5, 10, 20 years? Or even repeatedly?

[Outofin]

I believe there's no such Chinese equivalent. First, audience's tastes change fast. Just 10 years ago, people lived in a very different world. And 10 years after, who knows people will love what. I can't think of a story setting could steadily attract people.

Second, it might because the system. I don't know how the over decades soaps are made in other countries. My guess is that they're sponsored by some big corporations. Currently in China, most TV shows are made by indivisual groups of people. CCTV is capable to start some serious TV show making. But so far, their only interest is so-called 正剧.

My uncle's family is in this business. But I don't really know inside stories. He was an official in a film "factory". My aunt directed some commercial movies. Too bad for me to mention them. Now they're both retired and their son is making TV shows, not badly. By not badly, I mean my mother and women of her generation really liked what he made. I can't really give a good comment. Even when I was in China, I rarely watched TV.

They got good coverages in media and money comes easily. But when money comes too easily, you won't improve. They work really hard, day and night. But, I just don't see where they're going. Last year when I went back, the cousin asked me how Americans saw Zhang Yimou's movies. I was a little surprised. What, Hero stirred so wildly that everybody in this business started thinking to export their works? Good to try, I thought.

[roddy]

Thanks, Outofin. I can see how a large central organisation with an interest in 'proper' TV, and smaller less powerful provinical organisations with an interest in quick success could make long-term projects like this difficult.

To contradict you on changing tastes though - shows can evolve over time. Some soaps now have much faster-moving and more controversial storylines than they did in the past, addressing more 'modern' issues - AIDS, sexuality, abortion, to keep their viewers - but there is still continuity over the decades. The constant (in the UK at least) is that the storylines are reasonably realistic and not too distant from real life - any soap opera which becomes too unbelievable quickly loses viewers. People are always interested in people.

My guess is that they're sponsored by some big corporations.

Sponsorship does happen, but it's more recent. Of the three I mention above, one is produced by the BBC which is publicly-funded via a TV license fee, and the other two (and I could be wrong here) were produced by regional TV companies which were a part of the ITV (Independent Television) consortium, and via ITV broadcast nationwide. ITV shows adverts (and now has sponsorship for some shows), which is where their money comes from.