The national Vietnam Television (VTV) has stated it will terminate the longest-running situation-comedy “Jolly Singles”, though the series has only hit the halfway mark.

Director Do Thanh Hai.

Shooting begins on 500-episode comedy series

VTV’s Vietnam Television Film Centre (VFC) director Do Thanh Hai said that at this moment, VTV has aired 145 of the total planned 250 episodes and it has produced 165 episodes, sufficient for screening until September 2009.

According to Hai, before VTV decided to stop producing this sitcom, VFC temporarily suspended “Vietnamising” the Chinese script because the subsequent part of the sitcom was unsuitable for Vietnamese audiences.

Before VTV made the decision, the longest-running sitcom in Vietnam was criticised heavily by viewers for insipid content and poor acting. However, director Hai said that VTV is not stopping production because of audience’s complaints, but because VTV’s editors didn’t like the original script of the next part.

“It is very lucky for us that we negotiated with the Chinese side to buy 50 episodes at a time. The original script includes 400 (25-minute) episodes and we bought 250 episodes,” Hai said.

The director said that the investor in this sitcom, MESA company, invested over $1 million to build the most modern studio in the north in Hung Yen province to shoot this film. A broadcasting plan has been drawn up for next year and MESA has sold advertising for the series. However, MESA agreed with VTV that “Jolly Singles” should be ended.

A scene from “Jolly Singles”.

Hai said VFC is producing two series, 50-episode Bi Thu Tinh Uy (Provincial Party Secretary) and 36-episode Teen Dance. Both of them are traditional TV series.

VFC’s director Hai was responsible for the first 10 episodes of the series, with the subsequent ones directed by Trong Ninh, Pham Thanh Phong and Hai Anh.

“Jolly Singles” was first broadcast on January 1, 2008 on VTV1 and VTV3. VFC bought the copyright for the sitcom from China’s New Living Quarter in Sunshine.

VietNamNet/TT