Informal Talks
Informal Talks is a Chinese talk show co-produced by Bilibili and Hubei Television. Informal Talks airs on Hubei Television and Heilongjiang Television on Fridays at 21:20 beginning April 24, 2015.
Starting Season 1 Episode 5, every episode begins with a Culture Discussion, followed by debates related to the discussion topic, where representatives can share their opinions. The show discusses various topics and issues in Mandarin. The atmosphere is meant to emulate a meeting of world leaders, but the tone of the show can range from serious to emotional to humorous.
Series overview
In Season 1, there were 20 regular episodes, and 3 special episodes. In Season 2, there were 46 regular episodes and 3 special episodes that look back at certain moments on the show. Season 6 consisted of 8 episodes filmed in the studio in Beijing, and 16 episodes filmed remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Hosts
The panel consists of a "President", a "Vice President", a “Secretary General", a "Clerk" and "representatives" from different countries.Representatives
In Season 1, there were 10 representatives of Informal Talks : Brian Gonzalez, Beijing International Studies University international business student; Arash Estilaf, actor and PhD Film Studies student; YOYO, model; Giuseppe Mighali, Suhrobjon Nazarov, Renmin University of China student; Alexandre Dubos, founder of French-Street ; Nathaus Patrick, Audi executive; Kim Han-il, singer; Zack Ireland Splittgerber, actor and Mohammed Osama, Xinhua News Agency journalist. After Episode 4, Giuseppe Mighali left due to work related reasons and was replaced by Alec Odahara, marketing manager, in Episode 5. After Episode 15, Suhrobjon Nazarov left to serve in the Russian Army and was replaced by Vladislav Shergin in Episode 17. At the end of Season 1, Alexandre Dubos and Nathaus Patrick left due to work related reasons.In Season 2, there were 11 representatives. Alistair Bayley, Monash University arts student; James Ifeanyi Ogbobe, tourism management student and kindergarten teacher; and Steven Oo, fashion designer joined the cast. At the end of Season 2, Steven Oo left due to work related reasons. Mohammed Osama, Zach Ireland Splittgerber, and Vladislav Shergin announced on Weibo that they were informed by the producers of Informal Talks they would not continue to be representatives in Season 3. Kim Han-il left for unknown reasons.
In Season 3, Cedric Jun Jie Loo, actor and model; Mirco Tranchina, Beijing Normal University Linguistics student; Sasha, Harbin Engineering University international business student; Idris Kartav, Xiamen University International Relations and Affairs student and Dominic Romeo joined the cast. After Season 3, Mirco left due to immigration difficulties, and Alec and James left due to work. In Season 3.5, they were replaced with Dylan Jaye, an investment banker; Brian O'Shea and Patrick Köllmer.
Past Representatives
| Country | Name | Chinese name | Occupation | Birthday | Episodes | Absences | Returns |
| Giuseppe Mighali | 朱赛 | Researcher in Chinese Classical Philology | S1 E1 - 4 | ||||
| Suhrobjon Nazarov | 阿克毛 | Student | S1 E1 - 15 | S1 E14 | S3 E5, 6, 25 | ||
| Alexandre Dubos | 杜波 | 1986 | S1 E1 - 23 | S2 E15, 16 S4 E8 | |||
| Nathaus Patrick | 潘天楷 | Audi Executive | S1 E1 - 23 | S1 E5 - 7, 9 - 12 | S2 E4, 6 - 8, 33, 34 S3 E15, 16 | ||
| Jack Kim † | 金韩一 | Singer | S1 E1 - S2 E47 | S2 E25, 41 - 47 | |||
| Zach Mark Ireland Splittgerber | 左右 | S1 E1 - S2 E47 | S2 E2, 4, 6 - 8 | ||||
| Mohamed Osama Mohamed Ragab | 穆小龙 | Translator | S1 E1 - S2 E47 | S3 E18 - 22, 25 S4 E5 | |||
| Vladislav Aleksandrovich Shergin | 卷弗/弗拉德 | S1 E17 - S2 E47 | S4 E6 | ||||
| Alexander "Alec" Guy Odahara | 田原皓 | Marketing manager IT Analyst | S1 E5 - S3 E40 | S2 E27 - 30 S3 E28, 34 - 40 | |||
| James Ifeanyi Ogbobe | 钱多多 | Tourism Management student | 1988 | S2 E1 - S3 E40 | S2 E35 | ||
| Mirco Tranchina | 米可 | BNU Linguistics student | S3 E1 - 40 | S3 E13, 14, 18 19, 28 - 30, 34, 37 - 40 | S5 E9, 10 | ||
| Yūsuke Asai | 浅井悠佑 YOYO | Model | S1 E1 - S3 E61 | S2 E36 - 43 S3 E25 | |||
| Cedric Jun Jie Loo | 吕锐 吕俊杰 | Model, actor | 1988 | S3 E1 - 61 | |||
| Brian O'Shea | 波波 | S3 E41 - 61 | |||||
| Patrick Köllmer | 吴雨翔 | S3 E41 - 61 | S3 E46 | ||||
| Wilfried Buiron | 阮奕信 | Student, Entrepreneur | S4 E1 - 12 | S5 E6 | |||
| Arash Estilaf | 华波波 | Actor, Film Studies student | S1 E1 - S5 E12 | S4 E8 | |||
| Alistair Bayley | 贝乐泰 | Monash Arts student | S2 E1 - S5 E12 | S2 E2, 32 - 35, 45, 46 S3 E29, 30 | |||
| Dominic Joseph Romeo | 罗狮杰 | Student | 1992 | S3 E1 - S5 E12 | S4 E1, 2 | ||
| Russell | 成明 | Student | S5 E1 - S5 E12 | S5 E4, 9, 10 | |||
| Dylan Jaye | 钟逸伦 | Investment Banker Musician | S3 E41 | S4 E9, 10 | |||
| Mark Minnie Jr. | 宁大人 | Student | S4 E1 | ||||
| Siwathep Singh Khanderpor | 天乐 | Student | S4 E1 | S5 E5, 6 | |||
| Ichinose Asuka | 一之瀬飞鸟 | Video blogger | 1995 | S4 E1 | |||
| Kyle Obermann | 欧阳凯 | Photographer | S6 E1 | ||||
| Ben McMahon | 孟杰明 | Real Estate Developer | S6 E1 | ||||
| Idris Talha Kartav † | 唐小强 | Stone Importer | S3 E1 | S3 E18 - 22 S4 E5-8 |
Similar shows
South Korean show
Non-Summit is the original show. It is produced by Korean television company JTBC and features handsome Korean-speaking foreign men discussing a wide range of political and social issues.In 2015, a Non-Summit spin-off aired called Where is My Friend's Home. The show features the cast of Non-Summit and was filmed across 12 different countries.