When reality TV show Where Are We Going, Dad? premiered on Hunan TV last October 11, few could predict that the show would charm an entire nation. The show averages over 75 million viewers each week (despite airing on Friday night from 10pm to midnight) with an additional 640 million online downloads, and has successfully turned celebrity fathers and their children into national sweethearts. Buoyed by that success, the show has spawned an eagerly anticipated feature film that will open on January 31.
The show was originally developed in Korea as Dad, Where Are We Going Now? and debuted last January. It immediately caught the eye of Hunan TV, which followed the format when producing the Chinese version.
“This theme is new as a reality show,” says a member of the TV directing team. “We have been doing loads of shows about singers or digging for talent. So when a show like this came out, we figured that it was a brilliant concept, and one needed to bring attention to building family relationships in these times.”
Here is how the program rolls: five pairs of fathers and kids are invited on a trip, the location and route of which have been planned by the program in advance. When they arrive at the destination, they will spend a three-day holiday with no recreational tools allowed. That means leaving the almighty iPad at home. From cooking meals to completing assigned missions, fathers take on the responsibility to parent and play with their kids.
The first season features an impressive cast: Guo Tao (popular comedic actor), Lin Zhiying (actor, race car driver and general idol), Wang Yuelun (film director), Zhang Liang (supermodel) and Tian Liang (two-time Olympic gold medalist diver). As their children range between three and five years old, the show differs itself from the Korean version with its much younger participants.
“When we sent out invitations to celebrities, none of us had a clue what the response would be,” adds the director. “We understood that taking part in this show meant exposing part of their family life. Also, we had to consider whether these families would create chemistry together, and it took months to fix a schedule that fitted all the families.”
Despite concerns, the chemistry was ignited as soon as the kids woke up. During its 12-week first season, the five fathers and children visited six remote parts of China, from subtropical Yunnan in the south to subarctic Heilongjiang in the north.
As heartbroken as the kids were to stay in unfamiliar places without their favorite toys, it was a more disastrous scenario for the fathers – forced to get their hands dirty doing family chores or keeping their frustrated kids calm.
“What I have learned so far is that being a good mother and wife is not an easy job,” said Tian, who was accompanied by his 5-year-old daughter Cindy.
Married to Ye Yiqian, most famous for taking part in the 2005 Super Girl singing contest, Tian was convinced that his daughter had inherited his athletic stamina and his wife’s great lungs. This was confirmed at the very beginning of the trip, when Cindy started to cry, loudly and without pause, almost driving Tian to lose his cool. That experience forced him to try harder to stay a gentle father.
However, this very real and natural behavior from the fathers and their children is exactly what has attracted the audience (in addition to the cute kids, of course). The show debuted as the second most watched in the country. The following week, its viewership almost doubled and the show officially became No. 1, a spot maintained for its remaining 11-week run.
“We found the program triggered fervent discussions among its audience,” says film publicist, Tian Yu. “After week two, when the ratings soared to a new peak, we decided to make a reality film about it.”
For the film, the five families finally had a chance to play at being explorers, with a safari in Pan Yu, Guangzhou.
“We chose a forest adventure theme when planning the film,” says a member of the film's directing team. “It offered the kids an opportunity to observe nature and get in touch with animals in close quarters. Also, it’s a chance to improve their adaptability. It’s probably been the best and funniest shooting we have ever done.”
The footage may be hilarious, but the shooting conditions were less than ideal. An incredible 500 staff with 23 stand-by cameras filmed the trip in seven days early last month.
“For filmmakers, two subjects are the most difficult in terms of shooting: children and animals,” says film producer, Teng Huatao. “Unfortunately, we had both starring in this piece! We tried our best to capture as many details as we could. The interaction between families and animals generated more content than we could have ever expected.”
Teng has plenty of experience. He rose to fame directing the 2011 romantic comedy Love is Not Blind, which earned RMB350 million at the box office (a feat made even more remarkable when you consider it was made on a budget of just RMB9 million). His latest film, Up in the Wind, had a successful New Year’s Eve opening. But working on this project brought him a new perspective.
“Normally, the crew could take a 30-minute break after one scene is done, but a break is impossible in this case,” he says. “With all cameras continuously rolling, we wanted to keep this piece as objective and comprehensive as possible, so that the relationship between the fathers and their kids would reflect back to the audience and their own family. The film is not specific to one, but to all.”
Tian, meanwhile, is delighted with what the experience has done for his relationship with Cindy. “Now she understands to appreciate how hard-working her parents are, and greets me whenever I come home. She’s become talkative and willing to communicate with me. I’m really grateful for the opportunity this program offers.”
He also believes that all the fathers have matured and become better parents through all the trips. The show itself has garnered praise for inspiring Mainland fathers to spend more time with their children, and viewers applaud the father’s newfound ability to cook – a drastic difference from the first episode.
As audiences desperately wait for the film’s January 31 opening, the show’s second season casting has become a hot topic on Weibo. Though reports keep popping up, the show’s directing team denies it all. “We are still busy wrapping up the first season. No confirmed plans for season two have been made yet,” he says.
Thankfully, Teng is just being coy. Sponsorship rights for the upcoming season sold for RMB312 million, more than ten times higher than the first season, with news coming out that the show will return in June. A relief to its loyal and ever-growing audience.
// Where Are We Going, Dad? hits cinemas on January 31
0 User Comments