Kids and drama on local TV stations

Talent shows have sprung up like mushrooms all over the landscape of Telugu TV stations. The don't need a lot of creative input from the producers. All you need to do is build a set, invite some judges and give out a big prize at the end. There are talent shows for singing, for dancing and for a singing/dancing combo where one team member sings and the other dances.

Then, some genius realized that if you make these shows with kids, you'll draw a lot more viewers. The cuteness factor is hard to beat. Everyone's constantly talking about "wow, how well is she singing inspite of being so young" or "wow, how well is he dancing" etc. This change to lower the age of the participants has been so prevalent that it's now hard to find a talent show where you can see any adults participate. That kinda sucks because inspite of the massive talent/age ratio in these kids' shows, the actual talent level isn't that high because, let's face it, they're still kids. But yeah, man these kids are cute!

Another wrinkle to these shows is the drama factor. The judges don't just give their grades after the performance. They'll throw in a "fight" or two. One judge might not agree with the judgement of another judge and he or she will make a big fuss about it. Sometimes they'll even walk out of the stage, right before the end of the episode, only to return back to the show based on some contrived explanation. Or they'll say something mean about the performer and the screen turns black and white as we focus on the shocked performer, only to have the judge say he was kidding and it's smiles everywhere. It's amazing how often they play out these same stunts without fear of "being caught". Doesn't speak too highly of the intelligence of my people, does it?