Toh aaj ka ‘special’ kya hai?
Festival or not, special episodes are becoming a regular feature on TV these days
There was once a time, when a show’s ‘special’ episode created much curiosity amongst the viewers. Would there be a star dropping by, or is there going to be a big twist in the tale... the TV viewers kept a watch to know what special offering their favourite show holds for them. And it was on occassions like Diwali, New Year, Holi, etc, when such festival specials would assuredly be aired. However, of late, the line between a regular episode and a special episode is fast blurring, as nowadays there’s some special episode every fortnight or so and they are soon becoming a regular feature. After Hrs talks to experts to find out if these special shows are still as special as they once were.
Accepting the fact that special episodes are not an add-on anymore and are very much a part of the regular programming schedule, Bidaai, Kuch Toh Log Kahengey’s producer Rajan Shahi says, “Intially one hour special episodes were just created to hype and rake in more audiences to watch TV, especially during festivities or when cricket tournaments, etc were on and fiction show viewings often dropped. So specials did help popular shows to generate good TRPs even in such times.”
He adds, “But now it has become a regular feature to have one hour episodes of almost all popular shows as it just adds to the hype and also on weekends when these episodes are telecasted and get few new audience that usually finds it a a tad bit difficult to watch them on weekdays. They also help adding to the TRP of the time band they are aired on. Besides all audiences surely like to see the shows they like for a longer duration.”
Actor Angad Hasija feels that it is a way of promoting and marketing the show. “As an actor we need to shoot more when there is one hour special episode, but then fans and audience also love to see more of us in their favourite shows. Also these specials help in promoting shows, but if not marketed well, audiences can end up missing the show’s important twist,” says Angad.
Fiction shows are usually spread over weekdays and a weekend special is a well-accepted feature by the audiences. Says producer Siddharth Tewary, “We make shows for viewers and they love to see their favourite characters over the weekend as well, it cuts their wait to know what will happen next, also special episodes are planned more than a month in advance, we even write it differently to entertain the viewers. I don’t think the novelty will wear off as we don’t have specials every week, its planned strategically by the channel’s programming team.”
Sukesh Motwane, fiction head, Zee TV, feels it helps to create curiosity in audience. “Such episodes are planned when the story has a big twist or a new character’s entry or a big revelation. Also today stars are going all out to promote their films and hence are seen frequenting shows. But, they work only if planned well,” says Motwane.
Festival or not, special episodes are becoming a regular feature on TV these days
There was once a time, when a show’s ‘special’ episode created much curiosity amongst the viewers. Would there be a star dropping by, or is there going to be a big twist in the tale... the TV viewers kept a watch to know what special offering their favourite show holds for them. And it was on occassions like Diwali, New Year, Holi, etc, when such festival specials would assuredly be aired. However, of late, the line between a regular episode and a special episode is fast blurring, as nowadays there’s some special episode every fortnight or so and they are soon becoming a regular feature. After Hrs talks to experts to find out if these special shows are still as special as they once were.
He adds, “But now it has become a regular feature to have one hour episodes of almost all popular shows as it just adds to the hype and also on weekends when these episodes are telecasted and get few new audience that usually finds it a a tad bit difficult to watch them on weekdays. They also help adding to the TRP of the time band they are aired on. Besides all audiences surely like to see the shows they like for a longer duration.”
Actor Angad Hasija feels that it is a way of promoting and marketing the show. “As an actor we need to shoot more when there is one hour special episode, but then fans and audience also love to see more of us in their favourite shows. Also these specials help in promoting shows, but if not marketed well, audiences can end up missing the show’s important twist,” says Angad.
Fiction shows are usually spread over weekdays and a weekend special is a well-accepted feature by the audiences. Says producer Siddharth Tewary, “We make shows for viewers and they love to see their favourite characters over the weekend as well, it cuts their wait to know what will happen next, also special episodes are planned more than a month in advance, we even write it differently to entertain the viewers. I don’t think the novelty will wear off as we don’t have specials every week, its planned strategically by the channel’s programming team.”
Sukesh Motwane, fiction head, Zee TV, feels it helps to create curiosity in audience. “Such episodes are planned when the story has a big twist or a new character’s entry or a big revelation. Also today stars are going all out to promote their films and hence are seen frequenting shows. But, they work only if planned well,” says Motwane.
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