Fajront Republika

Fajront Republika
Format Talk show
Sketch show
Starring Zoran Kesić
Igor Bugarski
Aleksandar Todorović Bekan
Country of origin Serbia
No. of seasons 3
Production
Running time ~50 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel Prva Srpska Televizija
Original run December 21, 2008 – June 26, 2011

Fajront Republika (Serbian: Фајронт република) was a Serbian talk show / sketch show that aired weekly on Prva Srpska Televizija (formerly known as Fox televizija) from December 2008 until June 2011.

Hosted by Zoran Kesić, the show is a blend of straight talk show elements (guests from public life in Serbia and the rest of the Balkans as well as musical performances) and sketch comedy (characters developed and played by Kesić). Its name translates to "Closing time Republic" and it premiered on Sunday, December 21, 2008 at 11pm. It has since then been moved (in late January 2009) to Thursdays at 9pm, and then back to Sundays at 11pm in early November 2009.

After the quickly canceled Marko Živić Show and Oralno doba, Fajront Republika is Prva Srpska Televizija's (then known as Fox televizija) third attempt in less than 2 years to come up with a long term locally produced entertainment programme. Unlike its previous two tries that aired nightly, Fajront Republika is broadcast weekly, probably due to specific editing requirements. Shot on a set that resembles a kafana with a bar and a stage, the programme is also geared towards a younger audience much more so than a fore mentioned shows.

In addition to Kesić, some of the hosting duties are handled by sidekicks Igor Bugarski and Aleksandar Todorović Bekan. Another important member of the team is Balša Bošković who handles the editing.

The show quickly managed to build an audience due to the host's irreverent style and jovial personality. Additionally, it gained a sizable following on Facebook as well as through Kesić's activities such as making a literal music video from Madonna's "Like a Prayer"[1] and posting it on YouTube in November 2009 - the video quickly went viral, reaching 1 million views in less than a month[2] before being taken down due to copyright issues.

Towards the end of the second season in May 2010, the show created a bit of a stir in Serbian media by announcing that it is going off the air,[3] and airing the farewell episode. This was followed by the network's announcement that it's just changing hosts and original host's outraged reaction at this turn of events.[4] For a single episode the show was in fact hosted by Žarko Stepanov. Eventually, it was revealed the whole thing was a media stunt created by Kesić and he returned as host for the following episode.[5]

Fajront Republika's ratings reportedly deteriorated during the third season after the May 2010 launch and quick success of Veče sa Ivanom Ivanovićem, another entertainment weekly talk show on Prva's schedule. In July and August 2011 as Fajront Republika wrapped up its third season, rumors appeared in Serbian print media that the show will not be back in September for the fourth season.[6][7] The rumours seemingly had some substance as the show was not announced at Prva's fall schedule presentation on 31 August 2011.[8]

Contents

Guests

The show usually has a single main guest (or group) throughout the show. So far:

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

References

External links