Laughter Chefs outperforms Kapil Sharma, the only comedy hit of the decade: Viacom18’s Alok Jain

New Delhi: "It's the only comedy show to hit it big and be family-friendly in the last decade," said Alok Jain, President of General Entertainment at Viacom18, celebrating 'Laughter Chefs' on Colors TV for breaking records within its first four weeks. 

Comedy might be a tough nut to crack, but this show does it with a twist—bringing celebrities into a chaotic cooking setup to create hilarious, situational comedy. 

With comedian Bharti Singh hosting and celebrity chef Coach Harpal Singh Sokhi adding his culinary expertise to the kitchen mayhem, 'Laughter Chefs' serves up laughs and delicious chaos in equal measure.

In the past decade, the comedy landscape has seen a parade of shows trying to tickle our funny bones, from 'Comedy Nights Bachao' and 'Comedy Nights Taaza' to 'Comedy Circus', 'India’s Laughter Challenge’ 'Khatra Khatra Khatra’ and 'Zee Comedy Show' aimed to deliver humour. 

 Alok Jain, President of General Entertainment at Viacom18

Jain commented, “We have also tried a few things, just like everyone else, but nothing has sparked the kind of promising viewership this show is achieving.”

Yet none have quite hit the mark like 'Laughter Chefs,' proving that sometimes the right recipe takes time to perfect, said Jain, sharing the show’s success across digital and TV.  

He said, “Laughter Chefs' has shattered records, drawing 13.6 crore viewers across India on TV and digital.  

Launched on June 1, 2024, ‘Laughter Chefs’ originally aired at 9:30 pm every Saturday and Sunday. Due to the broadcast of ‘Khatron Ke Khiladi’ on weekends, the channel decided to move ‘Laughter Chefs’ to a new time slot. It now airs at 10:00 pm on Thursday and Friday, temporarily shifting the fiction shows ‘Laxmi Narayan’ and ‘Suhagan Chudail’ to Monday through Wednesday from 10:00 pm to 11:00 pm. 

Typically, reality shows that aren't streamed daily are reserved for weekend slots. However, Jain explained that due to a “problem of plenty”, they had to move Laughter Chefs to weekday slots to accommodate the broadcast of Khatron Ke Khiladi on weekends.

The show's TV ratings outshine the last season of ‘Comedy Nights with Kapil’

Jain elaborated, “The show's TV rating started at 1.3 during its launch week (Week 23) when the World Cup was happening and rose to 1.8 by Week 29, with the TSV increasing from 40 to 42. Since its debut, it has consistently ranked No. 1 among all Colors Hindi shows in terms of viewers and watch time.”  

In fact, "only three shows a year in the Hindi GEC market achieve over 1.5 TVR: Big Boss, Fear Factor, and now Laughter Chef. No show has surpassed 1.5 in recent years,” continued Jain.  

“For comparison, the last season of 'The Kapil Sharma Show' on Sony achieved a 1.1 TVR for the entire season (HSM Urban 15+) before moving to Netflix,” he exclaimed.  

Laughter Chefs rakes in the highest revenue on JioCinema

Discussing the show's success on JioCinema, he told BestMediaInfo.com that from both the subscribers’ and watch time perspective, it is one of the most watched shows on the platform. "It's a rare and unique situation to find a show that performs exceptionally well on both television and an OTT platform like JioCinema." 

From the advertiser's perspective, the show is garnering significant interest on both JioCinema and ColorsTV, commented Jain. “Relevant advertisers are finding it highly appealing on both platforms, especially given its comedy genre. As a result, we are experiencing great traction on JioCinema, with ad revenue reaching its highest levels compared to many other shows we've had so far.” 

Social media metrics are equally impressive, with a reach of 978 million, 2.2 billion impressions, and 966 million views on digital platforms, according to Jain. 

The show is gaining traction from advertisers 

When a comedy show succeeds where others have faltered, scepticism is natural. With nine shows over a decade and none hitting the mark, starting with doubts is the norm. Despite our excitement for the show, we were also bracing for modest results. The unexpected success has not only surprised us but also attracted advertisers. 

“The show is gaining traction with advertisers, which is why we extended it to further leverage the brand we’ve built,” added Jain. 

Initially, the Colors team planned 16 episodes over eight weeks, but due to the show’s strong performance, it extended it by an additional 10 weeks, running until the upcoming season of ‘Bigg Boss’ on Colors TV. 

Talking about the unique offering it brings to the table for advertisers, Jain said, “This show is exceptionally integration-friendly, offering both active and passive integration opportunities. It’s versatile, much like Bigg Boss, where you can incorporate elements like singing, dancing, and even dramatic scenarios.”

He added, “For example, in one segment, characters shop for groceries and vegetables, providing a natural setting for product placements. The show’s hosts, including Bharti Moh, Krishna, Sudesh, Ali, Arjun, and Karan, are highly adaptable and can seamlessly incorporate new products into their performances. Overall, it offers great flexibility for brand integration.”

Further dismissing the idea that only cooking-related brands can be integrated into the show, Jain emphasised that ‘Laughter Chefs’ is fundamentally a comedy show where cooking is merely a prop.

Rajdhani Besan is the Presenting Sponsor for the show. Special sponsors include Vim, Yippee Noodles, Kent mixer, and vegetable cleaner products named Kitchen Partners. Silver Coin Atta has joined as the Cooking Partner.

Insight and construct of the show

Sharing the insights of the show, Jain said, “While we've explored various non-fiction formats, comedy was notably absent from our lineup. This realisation sparked our journey about 5-6 months ago. We considered two approaches for a comedy show: talent-based or celebrity-based. Given our time constraints, we opted for a celebrity format. For the show's construct, we chose cooking as it resonates with a broad audience. Thus, cooking became the prop for our comedy, and we brought together celebrities to create the show.”

Jain shared with BestMediaInfo.com that, drawing from their experience with reality shows, Laughter Chefs is produced similarly to Bigg Boss, utilising numerous cameras and extensive musical editing.

The show is also shot candidly. "While the artists are provided with a basic framework, it’s their wit that brings the fun to the show," commented Jain.

“Being a comedy show, we’ve made sure the humour remains tasteful and doesn’t cross any lines,” he added. 

Given the show's strong performance, Jain hinted that they might plan another season after ‘Bigg Boss’ for next year.