TV

Let Them Talk (Пусть говорят) is a Russian talk show reminiscent of the classics of American daytime TV—particularly Jerry Springer. The show has been airing since 2001, when it was called The Big Wash (Большая стирка—because you could watch it while you did the laundry); after a few years it was changed to Five Evenings (Пять вечеров), and then […]

Let’s Get Married! (Давай поженимся!) is a Russian talk matchmaker show—kind of like the American Dating Game, but slightly more family-friendly. The show has been around since 2008, but it feels like it’s been much longer. Indeed, there have been more than 1,500 episodes. It doesn’t seem to have good critical reviews, or even good viewer […]

Live Well! (Жить здорово!) is a Russian talk show that Russians seem to love and hate in equal measure, and at the same time. It’s only been on since 2010, but it airs every morning and there are well over 1,000 episodes already. The show is basically about health, though with a somewhat ridiculous, unintentionally […]

Pole chudes (“field of miracles”; in Russian Поле чудес) is the Russian equivalent of Wheel of Fortune. It started in 1990 and is still going, and there are well more than 1,000 episodes. The game rules are pretty similar to Wheel of Fortune. The contestants guess words or phrases on a given topic, taking turns […]

Comedy Club (no Russian title) is a highly popular Russian stand-up comedy show. The show began airing in 2005 and surpassed its 500th episode in December 2016; as of this writing, there are almost 530. According to the show’s website on TV channel TNT, “The residents’ jokes live in our consciousnesses … they are called […]

Uralskie Pelmeni (Уральские пельмены; “pelmeni from the Urals”) is a Russian sketch comedy group originally from Ekaterinburg. They started out as a KVN team in 1993, winning the Highest League (Высшая лига) of KVN in 2000. As a result of their KVN popularity, they were able to start their own sketch comedy show in 2009, […]

Wait for Me (Жди мне) is a Russian talk/reality show, though quite unlike what that that genre usually means. It’s not only a TV show but a government service for finding missing people. It’s termed an international social project, just just a TV show—the show notes that “We search throughout the entire world and unite […]

While Everyone’s Home (Пока все дома) is a TV entertainment/talk show that’s been airing since 1992. There are now 25 seasons. The show follows the host, Timur Kizyakov (Тимур Кизяков), who also writes the show, as he visits various famous people and their families at home. As the show’s website notes, “While Everyone’s Home is […]

Galileo (Галилео) is a Russian popular science/talk show. It’s been around in various formats since 2007; new episodes have not aired since 2015, but supposedly the show has not actually been canceled. Episodes in the first five seasons were a half hour; episodes in the next nine were 45 minutes. The show is based on […]