Who are you calling "little fresh meat"? I'm the king.

Chapter 927 Daily Life (23)

Acting-themed variety shows…

In the original timeline, "The Birth of an Actor" was the first to try something new.

Memorable scenes frequently went viral, with Ouyang Nana and Huang Shengyi delivering hilarious moments, Zhou Yiwei and Lan Yingying showing their talent, and Zhang Ziyi passionately criticizing others at the drop of a hat. Their acting skills, accompanied by a sense of conviction, brought them to the center of attention.

Since then, similar programs such as "The Character of an Actor," "Actors, Please Take Your Seats," and "The Actors" have sprung up like mushrooms after rain. For a time, acting-related variety shows became an important category in Chinese variety shows, and discussions about acting skills changed from exchanges between industries to a topic of heated discussion among the general public.

However, the most talked-about moments in variety shows are the scenes of acting mentors criticizing each other, such as Derek Yee harshly criticizing popular celebrities and Li Chengru speaking frankly.

By 2024, acting-themed variety shows had undergone both qualitative and quantitative changes over the past seven years.

First, the number has decreased significantly. The only ones that are worth mentioning are Mango TV's "Who Comes Here" and Youku's "Infinite Beyond Class 2".

In the 1.0 era of acting-themed variety shows, whether it was "The Birth of an Actor" or "I Am an Actor," the mentors were either award-winning actresses or award-winning actors, such as Zhang Ziyi, Song Dandan, Liu Ye, and Zhang Guoli. They would provide very serious guidance on acting skills and discuss how to reach the limits of performance...

The 1.0 era was also the period when contestants most frequently gained popularity through their acting skills.

Actually, in the 1.0 stage, Ouyang Nana and Huang Shengyi also generated a lot of buzz!
But audiences still have faith in actors with solid acting skills…

In the 2.0 stage represented by "Actors, Please Take Your Seats", since Guo Jingming and the poetry prodigy competed on the same stage, coupled with Li Chengru's sharp output, the contestants have become supporting roles, and their future is determined by an "S card". At this time, the trend of generating buzz has already begun to emerge.

In the 3.0 era represented by "Infinite Beyond Class", neither acting skills competition nor mentor competition is very important anymore. Whether it was "Francis Ng is about to break" or Zhao Han Yingzi's shocking statement "I am Di Mi Meng Zha" dominating the trending searches, acting variety shows have officially entered an era of production ideas that focus on hyping up personal topics.

The marketing buzz continues to grow, but the acting stages in these talent shows haven't fundamentally improved despite the competition's popularity. Does anyone remember any standout performances from "Infinite Beyond Class"?
A search for topics related to "Infinite Beyond Class 2" mostly focuses on keywords such as #arguing#, #script#, and #criticism#.

However, "The Birth of an Actor," as the first variety show focusing on acting skills, successfully brought a group of actors, including Lan Yingying, Xin Zhilei, Zhou Yiwei, Ni Hongjie, Liu Mintao, Wang Yanlin, and Wang Shasha, into the public eye as powerful performers.

"Actors, Please Take Your Seats 2" is also good. Wen Zhengrong was almost semi-retired from the entertainment industry before participating in the show.

Returning to the screen, she once again showcased her extraordinary acting skills by portraying a "childhood trauma" character on a TV show, immediately earning praise from mentors and the audience. Since then, she has appeared in numerous S-level dramas.

Including Cao Jun!
With the evolution of acting-themed variety shows, generating buzz has become paramount, and few people care whether the contestants have gained effective exposure.

It became purely for fun...

There's no way around it, the essence of variety shows is to have fun!

"Popular entertainment is all about having fun... If 'I Am an Actor' Season 2 wants to break out of its niche and become even more popular, it definitely needs to have more fun!"

"Sigh..." the younger sister sighed, then realized something: "No, I meant the TV station invited me!"

"Whatever..." Shen Yan waved his hand: "Do whatever you want!"

"Should we continue with the format of 'I Am an Actor'?"

"...How about we go all out?"

"Playing high?"

"We'll go directly to TVB and give them five spots... then select some mainland actors to compete against each other!"

"TVB? Hong Kong's TVB?"

"Yes, it's called Hong Kong Television!"

Shen Li thought for a moment and nodded: "I think it's okay... I'll write a proposal when I get back..." "...Let's talk about it after the New Year!"

Shen Li shook her head: "No, if I agree, recording will have to start in March!"

"So urgent?"

"Zhejiang TV doesn't have a third variety show besides 'Running Man' and 'Ace vs Ace'..."

"Isn't 'The Voice of China'?"

After taking a sip of his drink, Shen Yan complained, "Ace vs Ace is really bad!"

Shen Li laughed: "Zhejiang TV is very unprofessional in making variety shows!"

……

Shows like "We Are 17," "High Energy Youth," "24 Hours," and "Challenger Alliance" are all trying to replicate "Running Man," which has been around for five years. If you're going to operate like an assembly line, then at least go for the top of that assembly line, so that no one can surpass you...

Then, Dragon TV next door launched "Go Fighting!"
Last year, "Youth Hostel" competed with Hunan TV's "Dear Inn," but the show's ratings were extremely poor...

They're still stubbornly insisting: We've won in terms of reputation!
I thought it had amazing reviews, but when I checked the rating: 6.0!

Then there was "Beautiful House," which even bringing in Daniel Wu couldn't salvage its reputation and ratings. They had a great opportunity, but they played it terribly.

"Ace vs Ace" is also like this: invite the biggest and most famous people, and then make the worst show!

This show became a hit entirely thanks to Shen Teng and Jia Ling!

Shen Yan had always had a question: how did director Wu Tong manage to convince so many stars to star in the film?
……

Shi Shi and Shen Li have a pretty good relationship...

Her only variety show appearance was on "I Am an Actor"—she participated as a guest at an exhibition and didn't appear on screen much…

The finals!

The conversation went something like this: "I just went backstage and saw Zhou Yiwei taking sleeping pills... I'd heard before that good actors performing highly emotional scenes can damage their health, and I didn't really believe it... But now I really do!"

Oh, this story was shared with her by Shen Yan: Wu Xiubo!
Wu Xiubo played Cheng Ying in "The Orphan of Zhao". There was a scene where he personally threw his son to his death. He cried until his face turned pale and his eyes were crazy. Finally, at the moment when he lifted his son (a prop) and threw him down, he screamed shrilly and fell straight backward.

All the extras fell silent and remained kneeling, no one raising their heads—the kneeling action was probably required by the plot, but the fact that they knelt so quietly and uniformly suggested they were stunned.

Later, Wu Xiubo mentioned that he developed a heart problem while filming this TV series and had to start taking medication.

Shen Yan was praising the performance when Shi Shi suddenly remembered something: "If I say something... it can make the whole story's emotion disappear!"

"What?"

"I'm the camera assistant. I'll go over and call out to Mr. Wu Xiubo, 'Mr. Wu... wake up, could you please do another take? I forgot to take the lens cap off.'"

Shen Yan was speechless: "...Are you a devil?"

Of course, Shi Shi didn't get much screen time on "I Am an Actor"—after all, she's not considered a top-tier actress!
"Don't talk to Shishi about variety shows anymore, her personality isn't suited for them!"

(End of this chapter)