Old is Gold: Reason for the failure of new shows on television

‘The show must go on’, is a phrase that holds good to all TV shows both the successful ones and also the flops! But literally speaking, many shows of today do not stay on air for long, and end up losing their charm in a very short span of time. On the contrary, there are many concepts which have come up with a so-called golden formula that make them a hit with the masses. 

Indian television has come a long way experimenting with its content, cinematography, editing and even the directorial style. From family dramas to theme based finite series, Indian makers have tried their hands in everything possible. Some have worked for them, but some have unfortunately failed.

While we tried to make an in-depth study on the reason for the current situation where many of the old shows have proved to be real jewels, we also spoke to few of the industry veterans to know about their opinions about the same.

To begin with, we turned to producer Sunjoy Wadhwa (CMD, Sphereorigins), who has witnessed super success with shows like Balika Vadhu, Saat Phere, Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon- Ek Baar Phir, and also has some shows which could not hold their breath for long and moved out of the race soon like Love Marriage Ya Arranged Marriage, Mohe Rang De.

Here, the maker of the longest running show on television, Balika Vadhu, shares his thoughts with us.

According to Sunjoy the biggest responsibility to make any show work lies with the writer of the series. “I believe that success of any show depends on the characterization of few principal characters. For example I can say that Anandi’s (Balika Vadhu) character has witnessed replacements of actors, but it is her persona that has worked every time. Hence, it is the responsibility of the writer to sketch the character in a proper way.”

“Then again I believe that content and storytelling are two more important factors that determines the success rate. While on one hand, better content assures audiences’ loyalty, the other aspect is the proper execution maintaining the storytelling style. Moreover, I would like to add that in current time marketing strategy holds utmost importance.”

While Sunjoy holds such an opinion, Pearl Grey (Spellbound Productions), on the other hand differs significantly in her position. The lady, who has had two dailies in her kitty, nevertheless is one the most successful one in the business, with both the shows (Pratigya and Doli Armaanon Ki) earning good profit for her. While Pratigya was a huge hit among audience, Doli Armaanon Ki though after having moderate success has managed to continue its decent run.

For Pearl variety of factors matter in the long run of a show. Pearl states, “Whatever is good will definitely stay for years. But, unfortunately it is a fact that audiences are not much willing to accept new things, hence, new shows attempting to project something different witness an untimely closure. Even the actors should be co-operative about changes introduced in their role and should not move out of the project abruptly, as audiences get connected with the character. And once a popular character is replaced or a new artist steps into the shoe of the old one, it mostly becomes difficult for viewers to accept the new changes. The result of all this is a decline in ratings. And in turn the channel will not continue with flop shows. All this actually prompts makers to make something keeping all these factors in mind.”

Coming to the next show maker Abhimanyu Singh (CEO) of Contiloe, who holds a more clear vision of the scenario. Contiloe, who have many shows in their kitty, has mostly seen success with historical dramas. While Contiloe’s historical series like Veer Shivaji, Jhansi Ki Rani, Bharat Ka Veer Putra – Maharana Pratap have been doing fairly well, their other fiction shows like Yeh Dil Chahe More, Ammaji Ki Galli and many others have failed to grab due attention.

Abhimanyu believes that ‘variety is the spice of life’ and it should be properly incorporated in the style of storytelling. “The reason behind the comparatively new shows coming to an abrupt end has deep roots in the industry. We have to understand that the media landscape is changing with audience having the chance of migrating easily from one channel to another. Firstly, everyone loves variation and secondly with so little time left with us, storytelling should be fast paced.”

“Even if a popular idea is executed and packaged in a fresh way, audience will definitely watch that show. Viewers’ engagement is the most important factor for their loyalty to a particular programme. If the makers fail do so, then with so many options available these days audience will quickly divert their attention to the next one. And I believe that this is the only mantra behind Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat’s (Colors) success”, adds Abhimanyu.

He goes on to add, “Nowadays television industry is suffering from lack of freshness in their appeal, which is resulting in the fact that comparatively new shows are coming to a quick end. And this is because of the fact that new minds are not willing to join the industry as the production business on small screen is not that valuable. Even the digital platform can offer better chances for new talents, hence there is a gradual shift towards digital market.”

Another producer on grounds of anonymity shares, “With all due respect to the current programming heads of the channel, somehow, I am of the opinion that earlier leaders had a much better vision about what will work. Even when they used to work, all used to be in collaboration with the channel content head, along with the writer and producer of the show. But things have considerably changed now, with the programming head getting busy with many other things and the daily feedback and programming issues being handled by their subordinates in the team. The main leaders only notice the issues if any problem occurs after or during the telecast. Mainly changes in work pattern have resulted in such things is what I believe.”

On the other hand, noted producer Shyamasish Bhattacharya echoes similar thoughts to that of Abhimanyu Singh. Shyamasish once delivered a phenomenal hit like Na Aana Is Des Laado, while his recent shows Hello Pratibha and Shastri Sisters have come to an abrupt end. Shyamasish says, “With so many options available on prime time slot, audiences are willing to change their choice quickly if they feel that freshness is lacking in the concept. And in the past few years even the makers have bombarded viewers with too many contents to offer them something new. Hence, this has resulted in a major technical change that even the channel has shortened the span of sampling time. All these have resulted in the rather short life span of new series.”

We are sure that even the mass would love to something fresh and new. Agreeing with all the veterans we expect that some changes should gradually follow resulting in the success of new born series as well.