Which Shows Global Audiences Is Watching, Including Brazilian Telenovelas to Superheroes Created from Sweet Bean Filling
Recently, this publication looked into the surge of international post-apocalyptic dramas arriving to audiences worldwide. These series delivered tales of climate catastrophe, harsh dictatorships, and extraterrestrial attacks from diverse locations such as Argentina, Nigeria, and Korea. Beyond revealing worldwide fears about societal breakdown, it also emphasized how interconnected the television industry has become in the current year. Online services, broadcast networks, YouTube, and unofficial streams can instantly deliver regional shows from across the world—except Antarctica, although it's interesting to consider if any Arctic series exist there.
Still, despite the high level of international exchange in television today, many programs remain largely unknown beyond domestic borders despite huge success at home. Recently, we set out to spotlight these programs by asking correspondents covering various countries about the shows people are watching in their areas. Continue for stories of Jamaican breakfast television, Brazilian telenovelas, and Japanese sweet bean-filled superheroes.
Brazil | Anything Goes
Although Brazil's longstanding love affair for telenovelas has been slightly influenced by streaming services and competition from Korean series and shows from Turkey, the most talked-about and most watched TV show in Brazil is, unsurprisingly, a telenovela. Vale Tudo is a revival of a series regarded as one of the most important of the genre and a massive success in 1988 and 1989, when Brazil was still recovering from a harsh two-decade military dictatorship. The original version revolved around the question: "Does it pay to be ethical in Brazil?"
The new version—released during a time of profound political polarisation—has largely abandoned the political themes of the first, but has achieved strong ratings and ignited intense discussions on the internet. Although many viewers like the new version, with scenes going viral on social media, there has also been backlash over alterations to the story and the reproduction of cliches often associated with African-descendant women in relation to one of the main characters.
In Nigeria | BBNaija
You could conduct an in-depth study on Nigeria's interest with social dynamics and the country's continued interest in watching over twenty unknown individuals confined to a communal house. The current edition of Big Brother Naija is on now, and it still manages to drive more conversation, especially on online networks, than virtually every entertainment happening except for soccer matches.
Big Brother Naija experiences a degree of cultural breakthrough that makes the drama difficult to avoid even if you don't watch it. Participants can typically leverage their appearances into a career of celebrity and endorsements, however temporary. This is likely to continue for as long as the producers keep up their skill to choose the perfect mix of contestants who all seem destined for the constant spotlight.
In Japan | Anpan
Based on the latest figures released, Japan's highest rated regularly scheduled programme is the series Anpan. It's the newest in a extensive lineup of 15-minute dramas, called asadora, broadcast in the early hours on weekdays by national network NHK. Anpan is based on the life of a woman named Nobu Komatsu, whose spouse, Takashi Yanase, created the Anpanman (literally Bean Paste Man) children's books and cartoon show that have entertained and captivated multiple age groups of Japanese kids.
The series recounts the grit-through-to-glory story of a female protagonist who lives through the horrors of the second world war and, with her husband, establishes a kind-hearted book collection in the 1970s. Its main character the hero Anpanman—a red-bean-filled pastry wearing a cape—selflessly helps those in danger and distress, offering pieces of his soft, sweet head to nourish the starving. Similar to other asadora, the show is visual comfort food, with a touching, inspiring plot that soothes the anxious atmosphere of the moment.
In Jamaica | The Morning Show
Usually, most people in Jamaica access their media content from the US, but despite this the local channel Television Jamaica's the show Smile Jamaica morning show remains a essential part of the country's routine.
Airing from 6-8.30am, with a Saturday edition on the weekend, it features an eclectic mix of light entertainment and sections on heavy topical issues. Audiences can enjoy popular dance and exercise guides, intriguing interviews with a local performer and the makers of a new canned curry goat, but also debates on Jamaica's firearms laws and the tough subject of suicide prevention after the country was rocked by the passing of a former Miss Universe Jamaica contestant at just twenty-six. The program is a prime illustration of significant funding in its entertainment sector, with multiple local film festivals and the government recently announcing millions in local currency for domestic movie projects.
Poland | Chopin Piano Contest
It may not fit the usual definition of a TV blockbuster, able to draw millions of viewers. Nevertheless, much of Poland will be tuned in for the coming weeks due to the excitement of the latest edition of a prestigious piano competition celebrating Poland's composer and virtuoso the composer Chopin.
The nineteenth iteration of the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition began recently. It will include eighty-four musicians from twenty nations—narrowed down from over six hundred applicants—vying for the first place, often seen as a golden ticket to perform in the world's greatest concert halls.
The competition, like the Olympic Games for pianists, takes place quinquennially and attracts thousands of music enthusiasts to the Polish capital, with tickets being reserved a year in advance. This edition, the home country has 13 participants, but pianists from the US, Canada, and Asia are seen as some of the favourites.
The event is broadcast by Poland's national TV and streamed online, with the champion's performances starting in late October.
