6 Albanian Shows You Don’t Want to Miss, but Which You Want to Watch Live!

Your cousin texts you from the group chat: “Did you see what went on last night on Big Brother VIP?” 

There are some Albanian shows (emisionet shqiptare) that won’t work once you have watched them afterwards. These are the things that don’t happen on rewind: The collective gasp when a contestant is voted off, the family discussion while watching commercials, the instant phone calls to aunt in Toronto.

The live television makes common moments with the diaspora family. Whenever everyone’s watching, we are all experiencing the same cultural moment, no matter how far away geographically and how much of a time difference there is. Here are six shows in Albania that you need to be aware of at the moment.

1. Big Brother VIP Albania

Here, the high is during elimination nights. Record ratings saw the show extended beyond its original 100 Days format and the show premiered in Top Channel in October 2021, for a first season duration of 137 Days. Famous people, singers, athletes and public figures race to be evicted from a specially-built home that is watched around the clock by housemates who nominate their peers for eviction and an audience who votes on who gets kicked out. The winner is the last person remaining, who wins €100,000. 

To watch this show three hours after the broadcast is a way of entering the discussion with everyone already knowing who left the show. The competition goes through the entire evening culminating in a climax when the host announces the results — it’s a different feeling when there are thousands of other people watching at the same time. You begin to get messages from family members, and then you’re in a discussion spread across the diaspora, from New York to Vancouver. Reality TV is most effective when it’s more communal than individual.

2. Portokalli

Portokalli has been broadcasting on Top Channel since December 31, 2003, and the weekly sketches, political jokes and reoccurring characters of Portokalli are something that all families in Albania have been quoting these days for more than two decades. The setup, like Saturday Night Live: a live studio audience, sketches that mock politicians, public figures, and everyday frustrations of the Albanians. 

If you watch a comedy show a day or two later, you lose the edge of the comedy. There are times when the shiko TV shqip is broadcast live, and family members who watch it call each other in between to discuss their interpretations and reactions, particularly with younger members who may not pick up on the nuances of Albanian culture.

3. Euromix Albania

This show WILL need live commentary. Before the judges have had a chance to finish their comments, families are crowded around the television to discuss the footwork and score. Competition programming like Ferma VIP Albania, Dancing with the Stars Albania is all about timing, because elimination is based on judges’ score and the votes of the audience. 

In competition programming, time is crucial for similar programming, because in the voting process it is done in real time. Trying to catch the show after it has aired live means missing the opportunity to affect the outcome—and more important, the opportunity to participate in those impromptu family discussions that make these shows great.

4. Top Channel Evening News

News simply does not wait, especially breaking news. It’s important to understand that Albanian news programming has a particular role for the families of this diaspora, as it can give us a sense of what is going on in our homeland before we read about it in the news. The evening news establishes a ritual and a time when people in Albania watch it together. News programs are used by parents to keep their children updated on current events in Albania, and the discussion is most effective during the live broadcast. Delayed versions are not as ‘now’ as news.

5. Kënga Magjike

Collective memories are formed through music competitions. TV Klan, the creator of this festival, has organized Kënga Magjike in every edition since 1999, which has been led by its creator Ardit Gjebrea. It is a multi-night event (semi-finals then a grand final), judged on the basis of a combination of artist voting, a professional jury and the public. This competition includes artists from Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia and beyond, so it is followed by the diaspora families from the region. 

The impact of live music shows is immediate and can’t be reproduced when heard separately. Throughout the evening, the suspense grows, and the performances bring their own moments of joy and disappointment. Musical talent is a matter that is highly significant in the Albanian household, and it is generally expressed with the utmost intensity during the live broadcast. No one wants a show to be recorded for later, because if it’s recorded the same can’t happen: there is no ‘family’ as part of the music competition.

6. Fiks Fare

Investigative satire is best when it is “on time. The content of this daily programme is humorous, but also reports on corruption, social problems and daily injustice issues, making it more topical when viewed live.

Often the show presents problems relevant to the lives of the Albanians at home and abroad, followed by discussion both natural and not, which takes place most naturally when the family watches together in real time. When they are viewed later, these programs become information materials instead of a chance to have a family conversation on issues of importance to Albanian communities.

The Rhythm of Shared Viewing

TV schedules provide order for diaspora families in their attempts to keep up with culture. If everyone is aware of the time when some shows are available, it’s easier to schedule family viewing times in different households. TVALB – the top supplier of Albanian television and entertainment in the United States and Canada ensures these shared viewing experiences with a technical reliability.

There’s not only great content in live TV but also great timing. Everyone is experiencing the same content at the same moment, so when your grandmother calls you to discuss what just happened, when your siblings chat in groups about what elimination will be next, when your parents are stuck on “What is that you’re saying??” while watching a clip about a cultural reference — these moments happen because of the synchrony. This is a shared timing that makes the ground for cultural transmission that recorded viewing cannot match.