Home show network, a nightmare for TV and cinema?

Charso Press: The second half of the 1980s was the point where many Iranian families and young people were introduced to the category of routine (normal) evening and weekly western series; The reason for such awareness was the widespread broadcasting of popular series such as Farar z Jail and Lost, which met with a stunning reception from the Iranian audience.

This tremendous reception had a clear message for the cinema community and the country’s cinema management. Understanding this message, this crowd soon started producing serials that were modeled after successful western examples, with the aim of attracting a mass audience. At the same time, the temptation of producing such products calls many directors, screenwriters and producers to the exchange of producing such works.

This media, which was called as the home show network, did not have the limitations of TV series and followed the cinematic works in its format. Therefore, this medium was a good space for directors and actors who had deliberately distanced themselves from television productions and now had the opportunity to try their luck in a series, that too from the home television network.

Iranian serials are keyed

The first series that went in front of the camera with this thought was Icy Heart. The production theory of this work is completely western and the owners of the work tried to take a big step in this direction with the support of a layered story and of course benefiting from prominent cinematographic figures. Of course, many of them are successful and can achieve good sales. Therefore, the first experience of Iranian serialization in the home television network, which took place in the late 1980s, met with a reception beyond the expectations of the audience, and of course, it was simply modeled after Western works.

In the continuation of this process, Mehran Modiri who is at the height of his busyness, after several serialization models on TV, with bitter coffee, he steps into the pit of the home show network. A 102-episode series that initially managed to attract many audiences, but later on, it was not well received by them.

Made in Iran in 1990 was a smart comedy that managed to attract many audiences in 18 episodes and with the use of movie stars. In the following, however, the series success of this network is accompanied by a long wait, so that for the first time in the not so long history of the home show network, many productions face failure; The incident that happened in the first half of the 90s, during which the series of the third season of Icy Heart, My Villa, Shahgosh, I joked, Love is not closed, Able, Atseh, Golden Tooth and Aspirin, with not much reception, not much longevity in this media. Do not have.

transition period

In the second half of the 90s, the page returns somewhat for the productions of the home network. The most important reason for this approach is that, firstly, the successive failures of this media’s productions made the activists of this field think to put an end to this cold season on the home television network with the support of narrative stories, and secondly, in a situation where this media has mass The works were not well received, Iranian audiences received well the western series and even Turkish ones, and this situation made it necessary that national productions should be used for the domestic audience.

With this approach, Shahrazad is the first work in the transitional period that is met with a huge reception by the audience. The scope of this reception was so great that the first season of this series is still called the most popular and best-selling product in the history of Iranian home shows.

The broadcast of the first season of this series, which coincided with the production of its final episodes, tempted the owners of the work to stretch the series that was supposed to be narrated in one season and deliver it to the people in three seasons. This incident caused that impressive reception, only from the first season of the work, and the other 2 seasons of Shahrazad never received that magnificent reception.

In the continuation of this trend, the romance series also came to Shahrazad’s help so that the years 1995 and 1996, which were parallel to the showing of these two series, were high-profile years. Romance also used the same factor of a multi-layered romance with suspense and comedy, and of course benefiting from first-rate actors, and became one of the most popular products of the home show network.

In the second half of the 90s, not much development came to the productions of this media, and works such as Aalijnab, Chaos, Golshifteh, Heyola, Rhinoceros, Dance on the Glass, Akhtar, Making Iran 2 and Prohibited could not succeed despite all the privileges they enjoyed. They do not achieve much. Although this intermittent movement (sinusoidal) by showing some series such as Manneken, improved the performance from reaching the floor of quality and reception.

In many ways, this transition period is considered an influential period in the decade-long history of the home television network. First of all, it caused the bubbles and excitement to end and a pure reality in relation to quality categories to appear in front of the audience, producer and management of the home television network, which is a sign of the completion of the preparatory period and entering the stage of maturity and growth of this media. The second is that everyone accepted that this media, like cinema and television, has no end and can, as the third side of the triangle of the media world, take advantage of it, which was neither a monopoly of cinema nor limited to television. With this maturity, the home television network, started his new and modern life; A period in which media capabilities were increased and VODs penetrated its borders.

Postponement period

Now we can talk about a smart and inclusive media. A media that is no longer limited to just showing productions and is now a place to compete with cinema and television. A media that has already entered the pit of production and has a high working capital. A place that is now, next to the cinema, the venue for the first screening of some cinematographic works, and these capabilities have made this media, more comprehensive than ever before, serve its audience 24 hours a day and expand its service boundaries endlessly.

Of course, in the formation of this format, Corona helped a lot in this maturation process. When Corona entered the country, cinemas were closed for more than four months and people confined to their homes needed food; This feed was provided with the cooperation of the cinema organization so that the many years of VODs could be spent in a few weeks. Both the cinema organization provided films for the first screening to these systems and due to the closure of film projects, many film directors and producers were attracted to work in this media.

The result of such a process was the significant migration of several generations of filmmakers from the cinema to the home network; A media that was both more inclusive and brought a lot of money to its activists. As a result of this level of reception, good and popular works were shown in VODs; From Aghazadeh and Bagagheh and I want to survive to Giso, Homagenah, Queen of Beggars and Siavash.

The home television network stands at a point where it generates wealth, and as a production institution, it has entered the competition market, which has brought cinema and television out of the bipolar state of the country for several decades. , Dracula, Island, Blue Nissan, Wounded, Red Square, Qibla Alam, Eclipse, Jiran, Made in Iran 3, Antenna, Innocent, Magician, Outlaw, Women’s Secret Network, Lily’s Turn, Chameleon, Cool and Lion’s Skin on VOD platforms. were given that the average and average of the audience and their level of satisfaction with the productions of this media increased in an acceptable manner.

This was important as a result of establishing the nature of the home theater network and organizing them in a network format in accordance with the international order of this field, and of course, the migration of many cinematographers to the productions of this media due to the corona restrictions in the cinema, which caused it to flourish.

Now, the home television network stands at a point where, thanks to the VOD systems, it generates wealth, is recognized as a production institution, and has entered the competitive market, which has brought cinema and television out of the bipolar state of the country for decades. This competition is in such a way that now millions of Iranian audiences, who may not show any interest in going to the cinema or watching TV, have bought subscriptions to these systems, and in the era of stagnation of cinema and television, almost not a day goes by without the data and titles of these platforms. Do not use.

This point, while it is the peak of the glory of the home show network, but it has also raised the level of expectations and expectations from this medium in a surprising way. Which way this media will tend after this wave, is an important concern that has caused deep concerns for the home television network at a time when the boom has returned to film productions.

Of course, along with this fear, there is also the hope that this media, in terms of functional independence and independent economic nature, is not comparable to its previous decade, and now the technical analysis of these systems will show how the future of this media will be. will be determined It is certain that today’s audience of these productions has found a much greater and more comprehensive trust and addiction to these systems, their productions and of course their policies, and it is this dependence and attachment that makes the imagination of the future of the home television network easy to a large extent. That unpleasant turmoil in this popular media will not be repeated.

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