Recently, the Cantonese sitcom "Foreign Daughter-in-law Local Lang", which is known for its longevity, has made waves again, announcing that the number of episodes will be reduced from four episodes per week to two episodes per week, and the broadcast time will also be changed from 7:00 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday to 7:00 p.m. every Sunday.
Subsequently, the "second sister-in-law" Hu Yanfen replied to netizens on social platforms, saying: "It's going to be over soon, please don't worry" and "How can there be a banquet in the world that will not be dispersed"......
As a result, many netizens have speculated: Is "Foreign Daughter-in-law Local Lang" finally about to usher in the finale?
In this regard, the drama party of "Outside" clarified that there is no shooting plan for the finale at present, "The adjustment of the broadcast time and quantity is made by the broadcast channel according to its own layout design and planning, and the layout is not immutable, and it is possible to continue to dynamically adjust it in the future."
The outside world also speculated that the TV station may not have made up its mind to end the "Outside" drama, and screenwriter Ding Mouse said in an interview with Southern Metropolis Daily that the reason for the reduction of the drama was because the channel believed that the "Outside" drama could not bring better economic benefits......
The plot can't keep up with the times
"Foreign Daughter-in-law Local Lang" was launched in November 2000, and the original plot and setting were rooted in the social environment at that time.
At the beginning, the drama "Outside" focused on a large family of three generations, who lived in a Xiguan house on Cheung Shing Street, where there was a large living room where the family could sit in rows and a large dining table where they could sit together for dinner.
However, with the change of the times, the social family structure has quietly changed - under the same roof, the life pattern of large families is becoming more and more rare, and it has become the general trend to live alone in a small family of three based on the relationship between husband and wife. Scenes of several generations eating together have also become rare as the fertility rate has declined. As for the traditional Xiguan mansion, there are fewer and fewer residents in reality.
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What's more, the earliest drama "Wai" shows the process of the collision and run-in of cultural differences between locals and outsiders after Guangzhou entered the millennium.
The Kang family's internal language barriers, different concepts, and various misunderstandings and interesting things occurred during the integration of foreign daughters-in-law, these novel and witty plots and strong conflicts are the reasons why the "Outside" drama became popular at the beginning.
But nowadays, the influx of outsiders into Guangzhou is nothing new, and the cultural clash is no longer as acute as it once was.
As a result, the theme and narrative of the drama "Outside" are becoming more and more loose, and the dramatic contradictions are getting weaker and weaker. In 2010, the main scene of the Kang family moved from Xiguan Mansion to the urban village "Liejia Village", and later to the "Liwan Family" hotel. From focusing on the neighborhoods of the Kang family and Changsheng Street, to now focusing on the stories between supporting characters, such as Gillian's daughter, Zhushi's granddaughter and so on.
Some netizens commented that the drama "Outside" seems a little at a loss in the tide of the times. The development of the plot and the title of the play are no longer strongly related, more like a hodgepodge of situational sketches.
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In addition, if the core theme of the drama has gradually deviated, it is even more inadequate to discuss other public issues.
In the early "Outside" dramas, he wrote a large number of plots that reflected social phenomena and the disadvantages of the times. For example, the survival of unemployed workers in the wave of layoffs, poisoned rice, the reputation problem of Henan people, the accusation of helping the elderly, the speeding bikers, the promotion of officials, and the kicking of leather balls by neighborhood committees......
▲ There is an episode that mentions the "Computer Network Survival Test", in which the tester survives completely on the network within 72 hours, the source of the network
For various reasons, these point-to-point social hot topics are becoming less and less common in the drama "Outside". Although there have been dramas in recent years that have mentioned issues such as mobile payment, mass entrepreneurship, children's education pressure, and elderly care, most of them are scratching the itch of the boots. Some netizens even commented that the current theme of the drama "Outside" is to engage in public welfare publicity, right?
The backbone actors are not accepted
After the passage of time, in addition to facing the impact of the times, the drama "Outside" is also facing the challenge of the lack of actors.
Many old actors who played important roles died or faded out. In 2006, Guo Chang, the actor of "Eryan", passed away due to stomach cancer, in 2022, Chen Jianxiong, the actor of "Su Guiyuan", died of a sudden heart attack, and at the beginning of 2023, Gong Jintang, the actor of "Comber", and Lu Haichao, the actor of "Su Bo", went to the west one after another......
And other older generation characters - "Aunt Kang" Huang Jinshang is 83 years old, "Mom" Lu Qiuping is 82 years old, "Zhu Grandma" Shu Lisheng is 78 years old, "Cousin Bing" Lin Xingyun is 73 years old, and even "Gillian" Wu Sumei is 72 years old.
As for young actors, many netizens believe that most of the new generation's acting skills still need to be polished. And Li Junyi, the "Tianxu" familiar to Cantonese people, also switched to operating self-media accounts and live broadcasting, and rarely appears in the play at present.
Some netizens once shared that one day when they turned on the TV, they found many young faces, and they couldn't name who these new characters were, and they couldn't tell which neighbor's descendants they were.
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However, there are still a group of middle-aged and elderly actors who insist on starring in the drama "Outside" and hope to continue filming.
Hu Yanfen said in an interview with Southern Metropolis Daily that when she learned the news of the reduction in the number of episodes, she received messages from many netizens, saying that the "Outside" drama carries the childhood memories of several generations and hopes that it will not end.
Hu Yanfen also expressed her worries: "After broadcasting 208 episodes a year and halving half of the 104 episodes, the crew will probably complete the filming of these 104 episodes in May this year. ”
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And the "third brother" Peng Xinzhi also posted a video on social platforms to show his attitude.
Regarding the persistence of this group of middle-aged and elderly actors, netizens also have their own opinions. Some netizens expressed their admiration for their persistence for more than 20 years. Some netizens also think that they stick to a role, and there is no breakthrough in their acting skills, and the drama "Outside" is their famous label, and it has also become a siege for actors.
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On social platforms, the account names of these actors are all a combination of character names + real names - "Kang Qiyao (third brother) Peng Xinzhi", "Hu Yanfen (second sister-in-law)", "Su Zhidan (Kang Qiguang) - "Foreign Daughter-in-law Local Lang", "Xu Ruoqi Kang Qizu".
Compared with a masterpiece in his life, more audiences are willing to see the ever-changing performance of a thousand faces, and Zhang Songwen, a middle-aged actor who also debuted from the Guangdong sitcom "Riding the Dragon and the Strange Son-in-law", has become popular in the country by relying on years of precipitation and "who plays whom" acting skills, not to mention Liu Tao, who also participated in the drama "Outside".
Do you still have the courage to start over?
In 2023, "Foreign Daughter-in-law Local Lang" will become the world's longest-aired and most-episode sitcom with a new Guinness record of 4,330 episodes. Many netizens lamented that one day, the only selling point of the "Outside" drama is "long life"?
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On the other hand, in American dramas, once a drama does not have good ratings, then no matter where its plot progresses, it will face a halving. In this competitive environment, many crews are naturally forced to continue to innovate, making the American drama market continue to emerge classics for decades, transcending cultural barriers and becoming popular around the world.
For a long time, the topic of whether the "Outside" drama should be off the air has been controversial:
Some people feel that they should continue filming, which carries the feelings of several generations; some people feel that it should be finale in the morning, rather than lingering, it is better to say goodbye and leave good memories to everyone; some people suggest that since the drama "Outside" is gradually out of touch with the original theme, it is better to reopen a new drama that is appropriate, so that the crew will "have a job" and the audience will have a sense of freshness.
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In 2001, TVB broadcast a costume version of "All Happy", which ended at the end of 2002. Due to the popularity of the series, in mid-2003, a fashion version of "Happy Everyone" was released, almost all of the original cast in front of and behind the scenes, and the plot was a new story that happened in modern Hong Kong, which was also funny and exciting.
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Some netizens also speculated that for the channel, it is a safer choice to continue filming the drama "Outside" than to start a new drama.
Screenwriter Ding Mouse once said that the broadcast ratings of the "Outside" drama have been relatively stable, with an average viewership share of 11.85% in 2023, ranking among the top three in the Pearl River Channel's self-run columns. Although the quality of the drama is not as good as before, the reputation accumulated by the drama "Outside" in the past is still there, and there is still a small group of TV viewers who cheer it on.
In this case, it takes a lot of courage and courage for the channel to take risks to develop new dramas.
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However, some netizens pointed out that even if the ratings ranking of the "Outside" drama in the TV station remains unchanged, due to the influence of online video platforms, the start-up rate of national TV is also declining, and the loss of viewers seems to be inevitable. So, can the economic benefits brought by the drama "Outside" be sustainable?
According to Ding Mouse, another Cantonese sitcom "Seventy-two Tenants" announced that it would no longer shoot a new season of the plot. And the reduction of the drama "Outside" seems to be a prelude to the suspension of filming, when will we really say goodbye to "Foreign Daughter-in-law Local Lang"?
Dear friends,
Do you think the drama "Outside" should continue to be filmed?
Feel free to leave a message in the comment area!