On February 12th, VTV introduced a new Vietnamese drama timeslot on VTV3. Starting February 17th, the new timeslot will air at 8 PM from Monday to Friday with episodes lasting 45 minutes each. The two opening series are My Father, the One Who Stayed (Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday), a remake of the hit Chinese series Home Sweet Home, and Dusty Roads (Thursday and Friday), an adventure genre series.
Mr. Le Manh – Acting Director of the VTV Drama Production Center – shared that the evening timeslot has long offered audiences a diverse range of entertainment, including game shows, music programs, and TV dramas.
After conducting research and surveys among viewers, Vietnam Television decided to introduce this new prime time slot for Vietnamese dramas at 8 PM. This is also considered the “prime time” for most television networks both in Vietnam and internationally. The new schedule is expected to help these series reach a wider audience.
Meritorious Artist Kieu Anh drew attention at the press conference launching the new drama timeslot on VTV. At 43, the actress amazed many with her youthful and radiant beauty, defying the passage of time.
Two years after her beloved role as the eldest bride named Phuong in Our Happy Family, Kieu Anh returns with a minor role in My Father, the One Who Stayed, directed by Vu Truong Khoa. The work tells a moving story about fatherhood, family bonds, and life’s challenges.
Kieu Anh’s character, Quyen, abandons her child and disappears. Sixteen years later, she still doesn’t dare to claim her child due to various reasons (Photo: Thanh Dat).
The series also marks the return of actress Thu Quynh after giving birth to her second child. She appeared graceful and radiant in a traditional Vietnamese ao dai.
In My Father, the One Who Stayed, Thu Quynh plays Lien, a character portrayed negatively. Lien is a proud woman from a wealthy background. After her daughter’s death, she blames her husband and children, causing the family to fall apart. She divorces, moves to Taiwan (China) to remarry, and when she loses everything, she tries to reconnect with her son. However, her extreme love only pushes Nguyen (played by Tran Nghia) further away.
Thu Quynh shared that playing this role was challenging because she had to age herself and portray the mother of Tran Nghia (left), despite being only four years older than him (Photo: Thanh Dat).
The remake of the hit series Home Sweet Home also features a cast of young actors (from left): Thai Vu as Viet – Lien’s son, Ngoc Huyen as An, and Tran Nghia as Nguyen.
All three have made notable impressions on audiences in previous primetime series. If Thai Vu impressed as the “son” of Hong Diem in The Path of Justice, Ngoc Huyen and Tran Nghia were a beloved couple in Us After Eight Years Part 1 (Photo: Dat, VFC).
Meritorious Artist Thai Son (third from left) plays Mr. Binh in the series. Binh raises his children alone after his wife dies when their daughter is just three. With his kind nature, Binh helps those around him and becomes a key figure in creating a unique home for two fathers and three unrelated siblings.
At the press conference, the actor revealed that while he usually struggles to cry, some scenes in My Father, the One Who Stayed were so emotional that even after five takes, he still shed tears (Photo: Dat).
Actors Dinh Tu (left) and Meritorious Artist Vo Hoai Nam happily attended the press event. They will star in Dusty Roads, directed by Trinh Le Phong, airing at 8 PM on Thursdays and Fridays on VTV3.
Vo Hoai Nam plays Mr. Nhan, a man sentenced to life imprisonment who is released in his twilight years. For this role, the actor revisits his familiar gritty persona (Photo: VFC).
Meanwhile, Dinh Tu has the chance to reinvent himself in the eyes of the audience as Nguyen, a spoiled rich playboy. Nguyen is childish, obsessed with cleanliness, vain, and fond of luxury items, occasionally sharp-tongued, but fundamentally kind-hearted, compassionate, and somewhat chivalrous.
This is one of the rare journey-themed series on VTV. The plot follows three men of different ages pushed to the fringes of society. On a bus ride to escape the world, they embark on a journey of hope, building a shared home (Photo: VFC).
