Parent-teacher chat groups inspire hit TV drama

In China, almost every class in elementary and middle schools establishes a WeChat group for parents, created by the homeroom teacher after students enroll. Teachers use these groups to announce various requirements, homework assignments, or the school supplies needed for the next day.

When screenwriter Ma Guangyuan's daughter started elementary school, checking her class' WeChat group chat promptly every day became his top self-assigned task. Interestingly, the group has also become a source of creative inspiration, Ma revealed during a recent seminar for the TV series Attention! Parents held in Beijing.

He mentioned that sometimes the tasks assigned by teachers are somewhat exaggerated, even to the point of feeling dramatic. For instance, one evening at 8:30 pm, the teacher suddenly requested parents to prepare an orange and white sugar for their children to use in class the next day. Since he had no oranges at home, he rushed out to buy some, managing to get a basket of them just before the fruit stall closed.

He also observed that the teachers' requests were so varied that a group of enthusiastic parents took the initiative to form a parent committee, organizing bulk purchases of supplies for the entire class. Moments like these struck him as rich material and eventually found their way into the script of Attention! Parents.

"After joining the parent chat groups, I realized there were two types — one that included teachers and the other that didn't. The groups with teachers were always harmonious, with replies like, 'Noted, thanks, teacher!' But the ones without teachers buzzed with hundreds of messages a day."

"I'm a bit of a perfectionist, so I made sure to read every single one of those messages. Even though I mostly stayed in 'lurker' mode, I never missed a thing. I'd notice certain parents pushing their children too hard, subtly showing off their own academic credentials, or finding indirect ways to brag. All of that became notes — raw material I'd later translate into vivid scenes in the script," he shared.

Yang Hongtao, a professor at the School of Theater, Film and Television of the Communication University of China, said the drama holds up an accurate mirror to children of every age and gender, prompting the audience to reflect on tensions in parenting models and the shortcomings of modern Chinese education.

The drama has been viewed over 2.39 billion times on the streaming platform Mango TV and generated over 20 billion clicks on related topics on all major social platforms, including Douyin and Sina Weibo, according to the producers.