HCM CITY— Life about young Vietnamese living in urban areas is the topic of new shows produced this year by television stations and film studios in Hà Nội and HCM City.

A 46-part series, Người Phán Xử (The Punisher), portrays the lives of young businesspeople who face challenges working in corporations.   

The series focuses on a group of senior managers who lose themselves in career promotion.  

Produced by Việt Nam Television’s Film Company (VFC), the TV series captivated viewers when it started broadcasting in March.

It has attracted some seven millions viewers on YouTube with each episode release.    

The series’ lead, actor Việt Anh, spent several months talking with young entrepreneurs in different fields, listening to their stories.  

Overcoming many rivals to land the role, Anh, a native of Hà  Nội, said it was a great opportunity to play the role of Phan Hải.   

Although experienced, he said he was still nervous because of the serious issues that the series feature.   

"Young businesspeople play a role in the country’s economic development during a time of globalisation. Their life and work are hot topics for Vietnamese youth,” Anh said.

Người Phán Xử airs on Việt Nam Television’s (VTV) VTV3 and is rebroadcast on  provincial TV stations.

Urban life  

Apart from VFC’s new series, every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday night on VTV1, thousands of enraptured viewers are watching a show about urban women.

The 32-part series Sống Chung Với Mẹ Chồng (Living with Mother-in-Law) highlights the ambition of young women who work hard to balance their career and family.

The series features women and their difficulties in balancing work and marriage.  

Directed by Vũ Trường Khoa, the show is making waves with domestic audiance with each episode attracting over ten millions of viewes on YouTube.

"My family and I like the TV series Sống Chung Với Mẹ Chồng because it provides us with a quality plot, interesting scenes and knowledge about urban people’s thinking and lifestyle," said a viewer from Đồng Nai Province.   

Vũ Thị Bích Liên, director of Sóng Vàng Producing and Advertising Company, said this year TV stations and film studios have invested in making quality shows to capture viewers, particularly young people.  

“We plan to produce 200 episodes this year while the number was 700 in previous years. We’ve worked carefully in choosing screenplays, directors and actors and have paid more money to improve production quality,” she said. 

Female film producer Nguyễn Thị Bích Thủy of Sena Film, a private film studio of HCM City, said: “Audiences are tired of watching game shows on television. I think serious films will capture their interest.”

“Through our productions, which mostly feature urban life, we want people to learn about the difficulties in life and work that people and their families face every day," she said.

Thủy’s latest project, Hồ Sơ Lửa (Black List), a 1,110-part series, is co-produced with Công An TP HCM (HCM City Police) newspaper’s film studio Người Bảo Vệ (Guardian).

The series is about the challenges and conflicts in work that police face daily. It focuses on their lives and sacrifices.

Its screenplay was written by Lại Văn Long, author and reporter ate Công An TP HCM, who spent more than 25 years writing about the criminal police.   

The filming began late last year. The  first part, Mật Danh Đ9 (Code Đ9), was directed by Võ Ngọc and stars young actors Bình Minh, Khương Ngọc, Hoàng Phúc and Võ Thành Tâm. 

It aired last month on Today TV’s SCTV14 and left a very strong impression on audiences.

The HCM City-based drama actor Công Ninh believes urban youth and their issues are hot topics among filmmakers.

“Quality shows in the field, Zippo, Mù Tạt Và Em (Zippo, Mustard and You) and Nắng Sớm Mưa Chiều (Sunny and Rainy), broadcast last year attracted a number of viewers, many of them urban youth.”   

Ninh said that to lure audiences away from Korean and Indian productions, both State-owned and private filmmakers should give priority to such new films. — VNS