The third season of the TV series "Countryside Love", directed by comedian Zhao Benshan, recently began shooting in Kaiyuan of Northeast China's Liaoning Province. Zhao hopes this third installment will continue the overwhelming success of the previous two, or make it an even bigger hit.

Prominent comedian-turned director Zhao Benshan will start shooting the 3rd season of TV series "Countryside Love." [CRI]

The city of Kaiyuan is not only where the previous two seasons were filmed, but is also the birthplace of director Zhao Benshan.

Director Zhao Benshan said, "I've been longing to come back to my hometown to film, because since I made my way to stardom, I haven't done much for my hometown. This series is what I can do to promote the place where I was born."

The third installment continues the hilarious stories from a village in Northeast China. Actor Fan Wei, who appeared in previous two seasons, will not appear in the third season. And the scenario of Xiao Shenyang, Zhao's favorite apprentice who made his name at China's 2009 Spring Festival Gala, will be increased in the new season.

Zhao Benshan says to capture the essence of people's everyday life, and to recreate it on the small screen with an exaggerated approach, is still the key point.

Zhao Benshan said, "We are good at representing common people's life on TV, because we've been living a life like this, so we know how to film it."

In recent years, TV shows that focus on the lives of Chinese villagers have been growing in popularity. According to statistics, there were 15 Chinese-made TV series that hit the airwaves across the country in 2007 and 2008 where the subject matter revolved around common village life. The second season of "Countryside Love", aired last year, gained a high average audience rating of 8.46 percent.

From "The Clear Water and the Blue Sky", and "Countryside Love" to "Ma Dashuai" and "Liu Laogen" these TV shows impress viewers with their earthy yet touching portrayal of characters, such as Qian Dabao and Liu Laogen.

Also, funny dialogue and hilarious shtick combine to attract a large fan base. And the northeast dialect used in these TV shows adds even more laughter.

(CRI August 19, 2009)