This viewer needs a hero

General Director of Gazprom-Media (and former head of Roskomnadzor) Alexander Zharov says in an interview with RBC:

“From a business perspective, audiences now want two types of stories. Firstly, these are comedies - you want to breathe out and laugh. Moreover, we noticed that vulgarity now does not go away at all. Conventionally, our series “Mukhich’s Detective Agency” “didn’t work” because Mukhich is vulgar. But the "Beetles", which have now begun to be shown, have stopped. Because the series is good. Because the characters are beloved, they behave normally.

The second type of series that is in demand is heroes. People need heroes, role models. We are at a turning point in history: analogue is changing to digital, geopolitics is bursting at all seams, a new world order, etc. Any person - you, me, not to mention those people who live in small towns - needs figure out who they are tomorrow. < … >

Judging by what people like in terms of TV viewing shares and ratings, a good, positive hero is in demand - as in the TV series “Patriot” and “Polar”. A story where good overcomes evil, as in all Russian fairy tales: Ivan the Fool, who becomes Ivan the Tsarevich, relatively speaking.”