Valdis Pelsh recalled a dispute with Alexander Maslyakov, the head of KVN, from the 2000s in a conversation with a major publication. The disagreement centered on a deleted KVN moment, during which Pelsh, at the time serving as the director of children’s and entertainment broadcasting on Channel One, argued over a close-up shot featuring Vadim Galygin in a Borat-like swimsuit with his hair protruding. Maslyakov did not see the point of airing the shot, believing that the entire scene communicated everything necessary in the grand scheme of things. He then called Pelsh to discuss the matter.
Pelsh described Maslyakov as calling him a goat and claiming that Pelsh did not understand humor. The TV presenter conceded the point but stood firm in his decision not to broadcast the scene. The fallout led to a period of silence between the two, with communication breaking off for about a year. Nine hundred days later, Maslyakov invited Pelsh to join the KVN jury. Pelsh noted that there had also been jokes in the TNT format on a show called the Game, which he considered unacceptable for Channel One’s audience. He stressed that this did not imply a universal decline in quality, but rather a difference in format and audience expectations.
The discussion highlights evolving standards in broadcast content and the friction that can arise when boundaries between humor, platform demands, and audience sensitivity clashing. It also illustrates how veteran showrunners navigate creative control, censorship, and the pressures of maintaining a national program while keeping an eye on broader entertainment trends. [Citation: interview excerpt summarized from a 7 days publication feature on Pelsh and Maslyakov.]
Meanwhile, the entertainment industry has seen other notable cast changes, such as Catherine Barnabas recently stepping away from a long-running TV series. This broader context underscores the ongoing recalibration of on-screen talent and the strategic decisions channels make to balance legacy formats with fresh approaches that resonate with contemporary viewers. [Citation: industry reporting on recent casting updates.]