Producer Oleksiy Honcharenko: on the Threads scandal with Zavaduk and what the new “Star Factory” lacks

The producer of three legendary seasons of Star Factory on Novyi Kanal (the second, third and the superfinal), Oleksiy Honcharenko, caused a stir on Threads after exchanging pleasantries with the creator of the modern adaptation of Star Factory at Sweet TV, Volodymyr Zavaduk.

In an interview for Korotko, Oleksiy Honcharenko spoke about what the new Star Factory is missing, whether the new team consulted him for advice, and whether it’s even worth adapting old television formats today.

"I consider the abandonment of the star house a big mistake"

- How was the news of Star Factory’s return to Ukraine received?

- I think the return of Star Factory is super cool. Right now it’s important to support talented, creative Ukrainian youth. Ukraine needs such shows; they give young people a chance because the economic situation is simply terrible. Without the support of such shows, scaling up now is impossible. Yes, of course, you can sing on TikTok, but that’s a certain level from which you may never reach your own solo concerts. I believe this is a super mission. And the fact that a team found the strength, and most importantly the investments for this in such turbulent times, is very noble.

- The current Star Factory is being called a new era of the legendary project. In your opinion, where is the line between updating a format and losing its DNA?

- I understand all the laws of marketing: you have to call it something. But I think calling it so pompously is unnecessary before you’ve even started... Still, that’s my logic, although marketers may disagree. I like to first create a wow effect so it happens, and only then call it an “era,” the “main show” of autumn, winter, spring and summer. I know Volodymyr Zavaduk—he likes bold statements. He gives them great value and believes the main thing is to say it first. People will forget the source, but the information and aftertaste will remain.

- What, in your view, absolutely had to remain from the Star Factory of past years?

- Of course, many years have passed, more than 15 years. Now this format, if I’m not mistaken, is only successful in France. Everything has changed fundamentally. TikTok changed everything. Today the path to the screen is completely different. Now a person can sit in their kitchen and become a star; they don’t have to go through all those circles of hell. The role of the producer has completely changed; now he’s not so important, he’s just a manager who helps and advises, but he’s not the Karabas-Barabas who decided everything for the artist. A year or two an artist could be completely silent and deaf, and no one asked their opinion. Now it’s not like that. Now it’s very important to be a personality, to have your own views, tastes, communicate with the audience, and preferably write your own music. Of course, the format required radical fundamental changes. With the old principles and recipes, you definitely can’t cook that “borscht” anymore.

So changes are necessary. Actually, this new team boldly and courageously made those changes. But it’s important to find and not lose the main components of the format—its DNA, so to speak. It’s important to cut, but cut carefully so you don’t remove the heart, lungs and kidneys.

I wrote online that I consider the abandonment of that star house a big mistake, as we called it. You can call it an academy, but it’s very important that the factory contestants live together, that there’s a reality component. Not only for romances and for triangles and polygons, but especially so they’re constantly focused on the material, on what they do and how they do it, so that teachers work with them.

We filmed 6 days a week. It was round-the-clock work. And of course, they came to the concert already with deep background. First, we showed this to the audience—it was something to talk about and discuss. Of course, there were mistakes and conflicts—mainly creative. And then, week by week, transformation happened. So abandoning that reality component, I consider vulnerable. Now the promo cards tell us about the participants’ lives and their creativity, but this turns more into an audition-like selection, similar to Eurovision, where talented artists sing new songs week after week. That’s interesting and can work, but I believe that element was very important to keep.

- Did the new Star Factory team contact you for consultation or advice?

- No, they didn’t offer me anything, they didn’t ask for my advice. I think Volodymyr Zavaduk is an experienced producer; he knows everything himself. We met, and we just talked about the format; I told him a little about my experience. But I understand that he believes in his own strength and professionalism and knows how to do it, so he doesn’t need my advice.

- Maybe they offered you to join as a jury member or in another role?

- No, they didn’t invite me in any role. Volodymyr wants to repeat the success of Star Factory-3, which is the only talent show whose final had two sold-out performances at the Palace of Sports. So it’s a bold, daring challenge for Zavaduk’s team to see if they can fill two announced Palaces. Volodymyr invited me, and I will gladly come.

- Many legendary Ukrainian formats are returning, being rethought and adapted for a new audience. How do you feel about this trend—reviving old hits instead of creating entirely new formats? Is it a way to preserve TV heritage or a sign of a lack of new ideas?

- Old formats are returning because of the economic-financial crisis. Channels and platforms are very afraid to take risks; they want guaranteed success. Guaranteed success is those hits that already gathered a million audience and earned advertising revenue. It’s much easier to find sponsors for them. These are the realities of our life now. I think it’s great that this season has so much: it’s a gift for viewers that we’ll have The Voice of the Country, The Biggest Loser, Everybody Dance, and Star Factory. There are also new projects in our conditions, like The Traitors.

- How do you react to the sharp comments in the thread from Alan Badoev and Volodymyr Zavaduk?

- Nothing sharp has happened yet. It’s just a creative discussion. That’s normal. We haven’t crossed the line. Alan and I are in excellent relations—both professional and friendly. Alan was the director of my second Star Factory. Our collaboration ended in conflict back then, but that was so long ago. After that we became good acquaintances, even friends, because we met in western Ukraine in the first month of the war and spent some time together. We have great relations, I respect him and his talent, and there are no professional or personal conflicts between us.

- What are your working and personal relations with Volodymyr Zavaduk?

- I don’t have any relations with Volodymyr: neither friendly nor professional. Yes, we met once for coffee; I told him the project is very difficult and emphasized that the reality part is very important. Without it, I consider the project incomplete. But Volodymyr did it his way and didn’t heed my advice.

- Do you think it’s correct to call the new Star Factory a continuation of the legendary project if people who made the previous seasons weren’t involved in its creation?

- You can create a legendary Star Factory with new forces; that’s absolutely possible, especially after so many years. Whether it truly becomes as beloved, I think time will tell.

"I felt constrained on television because formats repeat"

- If you could give the current team only one piece of advice about Star Factory, what would it be?

- I would definitely focus not on stories and contestants discussing each other—who is what, who will be eliminated, who’s with whom—but on the creative process: work on songs with teachers, choreography, acting skills, and show the creative conflicts that can arise when contestants dislike what they’re going to sing or dance or when their image changes. Show the trials that will follow them in their further careers.

Right now everything seems too superficial and frivolous, in my opinion. We organized green rooms; Masha Yefrosinina was there, and all kinds of stories. We brought in a father whom the heroine hadn’t seen for many years. We tried to reveal the participant as much as possible. That way the country learned more about them and eventually loved them. Now there’s a lot around it, but there’s a lack of focus on the participant—their talent, development, personality.

- What are you working on today and what projects are you involved in? What is your main professional challenge right now?

- I felt a bit constrained on television because formats repeat—I’ve already done it all and want something new. I had a long-standing dream as an actor to apply my skills as a theatrical producer. Now I have a great opportunity together with the Lesia Ukrainka Theater. We’ve started work on an original Ukrainian musical, The Vampire Ball at Perkalaba. It’s a completely new original production by Ukrainian playwright Liudmyla Tymoshenko. The director will be Nika Lytkevych, who staged very popular plays such as Generation Pepsi and I, Victory and Berlin. Dmytro Saratsky will serve as musical producer; he’s known for his work on Cabaret and creative evenings of Yevhen Rybchynsky and Ihor Poklad.

The cast will be great, and we’ll announce it soon. So I’m in a very interesting period of returning to theater in a different capacity, and I’m very grateful to fate for this opportunity. The next step, if everything goes well, will be a film musical.