Gặp nhau cuối năm


Gặp nhau cuối năm, also commonly known as Táo Quân, is a Vietnamese annual TV satirical comedy that airs on New Year's Eve on VTV. The show is widely popular in Vietnam, and is considered a traditional show of Vietnamese Lunar New Year on television. The show was originally a new-year special episode of VTV's famous comedy show Gặp nhau cuối tuần.
The main plot of the show is based on the Vietnamese folk tales of Tao Quan. "Gap Nhau Cuoi Nam" is famous for its comedic view of the problems in Vietnamese economy and society throughout the year. VFC has been producing this show for VTV since 2003. The show features some of the biggest names in comedy in Vietnam such as Quốc Khánh, Vân Dung, Quang Thắng, Tự Long, Công Lý, Xuân Bắc and so on.

Plot and format

The show is mainly set in Heaven ruled by Ngọc Hoàng. He has two assistants, Nam Tào and Bắc Đẩu helping him managing affairs of the kingdom below them. There are a few other casts mentioned in this Heaven, but usually only Thiên Lôi is on screen and often has to run Heaven's errands.
Every year, Ngọc Hoàng assembles the Táo Quân to the Heaven to report to him the affairs in Vietnam throughout the year. Unlike the original legend, there could be multiple Táo, each in charge of one aspect of the country. The Táo are typically named after the division they are in charge of, although in 2015 they are actually named after the Five Elementals.
Táo report directly to Ngọc Hoàng with the presence of Nam Tào and Bắc Đẩu, who often find faults in their reports and run into arguments. Ngọc Hoàng typically hears the story and make comments, but he can be sarcastic and show unexpected talents and remarks. Although most reports are done by prose, sometimes report can be told by other forms, such as dancing, singing or short plays. The reports highlight the social issues in Vietnam in the year, often told in a more comedic and light hearted manner despite their original seriousness.
At the end of the assemble, all of the Táo gather together, and Ngọc Hoàng read the final remarks. The show ends with all the cast and MC Thảo Vân announce the happy new year greetings.
Starting from 2009, although the main plot retains the same, the show includes an alongside theme and scenario.
The show frequently features music and dance throughout. Although the setting and costume are set in imperial time, for necessity the singers can change to modern outfit if necessary. The show also frequently parodies many Vietnamese and foreign songs by rewriting the lyrics for storytelling purposes. Many performances later become Internet memes. The incomplete list include:
2008
2009
2010
2011
2013
2015
2016
The cast of Táo Quân features multiple famous comedians and actors from the Northern of Vietnam. Among all actors, Quốc Khánh, Xuân Bắc and Công Lý have their role fixed and repeated it every year. Whereas, the remaining different God roles would be decided and assigned to different actors and actresses based on the Vietnamese social's reality problems throughout the year.

Fixed roles

Since the roles of Táo change every year, the following list goes by actor.
Every year, the show includes many celebrities and comedians as supporting characters. Celebrities joined as supporting characters are listed below in order of year of appearance:
; Legend

Episodes

Episode numberAir date
131 January 2003
221 January 2004
38 February 2005
428 January 2006
516 February 2007
66 February 2008
725 January 2009
813 February 2010
92 February 2011
1022 January 2012
119 February 2013
1230 January 2014
1318 February 2015
147 February 2016
1527 January 2017
1615 February 2018
174 February 2019

Filming and Broadcasting

The show is premiered on VTV on Vietnamese Lunar New Year's Eve every year since its conception. From 2010 to 2013, in addition, the show was released on DVD a week before the air date. The DVD version has the full recording and is usually longer and slightly different from the TV version. However, since 2014, VTV stopped releasing DVD and started releasing the show digitally. The 2014 release was handled by CNC and the 2015 to 2017 release was distributed by VTV Digital. 2018 show was released exclusively on VTV's new multi-platform entertainment portal VTVGiaiTri.
Because of its popularity, many other TV channels have copied Tao Quan's format but none of them have ever achieved the same level of success.
On YouTube, the show has achieved more than 320 million views.
The actors have about two months to prepare for the show, which occurs one week before the television air date. The show is shot in 3 days, afterwards the best cuts are combined and edited to fit in the 2-hour block on television. A longer version, typically around 3 hours, is subsequently released.
Since Lunar New Year is also the busy time for Vietnamese comedians, they often have to rehearse at night time, which takes a toll on their health and personal life. For example, in 2017, Quốc Khánh lost his mother at the time of rehearsal and had to carry both the funeral as well as rehearsing. Such demanding schedule; however, don't deter the big names from making commitments throughout the show.

Censorship

In 2009, 2 performances by Tao Dien Luc , in which she was singing songs asking for government fund, were censored. One performance was completely removed from the broadcast and the other was replaced by a later re-recorded version with changes in its lyrics. In that same special, a verse from a song called "Lut Tu Nga Tu Duong Pho" performed by Tao Thoat Nuoc was also removed from the broadcast. However, all the original uncut performances from the special were later leaked onto the internet.
In 2013, VFC & VTV were requested to edit the show to censor some of the jokes that were considered offensive and inappropriate by the Department of Arts and Performance. Because of so, the DVD production was delayed and the release came 4 days later than the planned release date.
In 2015, the Department of Arts and Performance asked VFC to submit the full script of the show to be reviewed before taping but the request was denied by VFC. Do Thanh Hai - the show's general director - strongly spoke against the department's move. To avoid censorship from NTBD, the show's taping location had to move to Studio 14 of VTV, a venue that is smaller than Viet Xo Friendship Labour Cultural Place, where the show had previously took place.
In 2017, some of the show's jokes were censored by VTV. However, VFC later released the original cut of the show on YouTube.

Controversies

In 2018, VFC & VTV were criticized for some offensive jokes about LBGT community and body shaming. The issue was met with polarized reactions but VFC & VTV remained silent.