Love it or hate it, you know you are going to watch it. It could be a guilty pleasure, or what you watch when you have friends over to laugh at, but there’s something about Koffee With Karan that has us…well, intrigued. The show is back with its 8th season and while it certainly has everyone talking, the sheen is a little lost. This season launched with Bollywood’s beloved actor couple – Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh – a power couple that should draw in eyeballs.
And while that’s a coup of sorts, the buzz and hype around talk shows seems to be have ebbed. Most talk shows are no longer creating the magic they used to. Gone are the days when we set reminders, eager to catch a sneak peek into our favourite celebrity’s life.
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Keep reading to know why we think the talk shows have lost the early 2000’s charm and allure:
Plenty Of Plandid
Sassy, candid moments are as extinct as the dinosaurs on TV shows these days. When they were there, they spawned a whole bunch of memes and trended on Twitter, but at least it was fresh and new. Now the focus is on making the moment, to a point where it looks rehearsed and scripted. Almost clinical, most of these shows offer nothing new, the star’s personality is barely allowed to shine and any foibles are routinely cut out.
With the internet, nothing really goes away. When the Student of The Year cast could not answer who the President was, the moment stuck with them for a long time. Of course, it might have also forced them to up their general knowledge game. Other celebs suffered terrible (albeit rightful in some cases) backlash when they gave controversial answers in the infamous rapid fire round. So understandably, celebrities are stepping on eggshells but for the viewer, this often means that the final edit is a sanitised, albeit boring version of the show.
Social Media Exposure
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For celebrities and shows based on them, social media can be the bane of their existence. The first source of news -whether political, economic or relationship related – is, far too often, social media. Since this is where news thrives and goes viral, most celebrities are on here. Sharing snippets of their life, a look, what’s happening on sets.This often means that celeb-based shows have little to offer in terms of newness. We’ve already seen it, heard it way before they make an appearance on a show.
There’s barely any exclusivity, with celebrities choosing to post their looks from events, their life updates and more on their social media. The novelty that talk shows had, the piqued interest thanks to limited access, no longer exists. Instagram and other social media sites have replaced that swiftly.
Mental Health Awareness
The popularity of shows such as Koffee With Karan skyrocketed due to the lurid nature of the comments on the show. The stars on the show, egged on by the format, were almost encouraged to be nasty to other celerities. This, as a narrative,is no longer acceptable. With increased awareness about mental health and impact of bullying, body shaming, and more, hurtful comments about appearances, talent, sex lives or lack thereof, are no longer acceptable and everyone is grateful for this.
On some shows, celebrities and public figures are practically cornered, putting them in a vulnerable position. With few takers for such kind of content, the show’s makers have had to pivot. There’s also an understanding of the concept of personal space and private information and audiences are okay with celebrities choosing to hide some aspects of their life.
Call Out Culture
The woke audience no longer wants men or women spewing disrespectful remarks. Hardik Pandya made some deeply misogynistic, cringe worthy remarks about his sex life in a previous season of KWK and it was not received well. These remarks had the nation in a chokehold. Hardik Pandya and K L Rahul’s remarks had them benched for a few matches, which caused an evocative reaction.
In another instance, Ranveer Singh made a lewd comment about Anushka Sharma in her presence. The actress wasted no time and asked Singh not to talk to her in an inappropriate manner. The harm was already done, and Ranveer faced critical backlash by netizens following this remark.
The internet can be unforgiving and celebrities are being called out for what is deemed inappropriate. The 19-seasons-old Ellen Degeneres show could not survive the backlash that followed the revelations of a toxic work environment. And a show touted to be a money spinner had to be taken off air.
No one is above cancel culture and it only takes one misstep to be internet’s pinata and with celebrities trying to avoid this at all costs, we only have mundane shows churning out boring content.
