To Catch the Kaidash () is a 2020 Ukrainian 12-episode television series, created by ProKino LLC for STB. The screenwriter and executive producer of the project is Nataliia Vorozhbyt. The plot of the TV series is based on the social novella Kaidash's Family by Ivan Nechuy-Levytsky.
The TV series premiered on March 2, 2020, on STB (TV Channel). Despite the significant success of the TV series, Nataliia Vorozhbyt has repeatedly stated that she does not plan to create a second season and stressed that the season 2 is unlikely to appear.
Synopsis The plot is loosely based on the novel Kaidash's Family of the Ukrainian writer Ivan Nechuy-Levytskyi. In the original, the events take place in the 1860s, several years after the cancellation of serfdom. The creator of the series Nataliia Vorozhbyt introduced many modifications in comparison with the original – the events were shifted to the period of 2000s-2010s and new storylines were added. The events of the TV series unravel chronologically from 2005 to 2014, during a decade of independent Ukraine. The main storylines display an immutable dispute between two generations of the same family – parents and children. The plot of the TV series is full of dramatic confrontations between all family members. The climax of the conflict took place in 2014, when the family is polarized by the attitude to the Maidan. One of Kaidash's sons, Lavrin, expresses his patriotic opinions during hard times for Ukraine and joins the struggle for independence. He decides to become a volunteer fighter and defend Ukraine from Russian aggression. At the same time, another Kaidash's son, Karpo, becomes a supporter of Russia. He accused the "maidanuti" (the disparaging name for the participants of the protest against Yanukovych in 2013–14) of the Revolution of Dignity and the annexation of Crimea and Donbass by Russia.Омелько п'є в гаражі, плаче, розмовляє з куркою. Бо нема більше з ким . gazeta.ua, 12 March 2020 The 12th episode ends in a cliffhanger.
Original title The first title of the series, as proposed by the creator Nataliia Vorozhbyt, was "Kaidash's Family of the XXI century". This is the project title used in the contract between the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine and PROKINO LLC on the production of the film, signed in November 2018.Договір про виробництво (створення) національного фільму патріотичного спрямування (аудіовізуального твору) (на умовах державної фінансової підтримки) — Реєстр № 27 від «22» 11 2018. prozorro.gov.ua, 22 листопада 2018Заявка Кайдашева сім'я XXI.pdf. Мінкультури України, 2019
However, the screenwriter herself interprets the idiomatic expression "to catch the Kaidash", which means to become distressed or to reflect on life, as more modern and appropriate.
The executives immediately liked the name, although the promotional department wanted to restore the original title because the viewer would have more associations with the novel. The creator of the TV-series and the creative team supported the title "to Catch the Kaidash" because Kaidash's Family would sound outdated. Besides everybody familiar with the book would expect a film version and would be disappointed with the modern adaptation. Then, those people who hated Kaidash's Family when reading it at school would not have watched it because of the title.
Cast
Main
Viktor Zhdanov – Omelko Kaidash, father (auto mechanic) Iryna Mak — Marusia Kaidashykha, mother (housewife) Taras Tsymbaliuk — Karpo Kaidash, the eldest son (auto mechanic) Hryhoriy Baklanov — Lavrin Kaidash, the youngest son (builder) Antonina Khyzhniak — Motria Kaidashenchykha, the eldest daughter-in-law (accountant) Daryna Fedyna — Melashka Kaidashenchykha, the youngest daughter-in-law (schoolgirl, then housewife) Yuliia Vrublevska — Tetiana (Tania), Kaidash's neighbor (housewife)
Supporting
Roman Yasinovskyi — Artem Holovyshyn, Motria's ex-boyfriend Olena Hall-Savalska — "holovykha", the principal of the village council, Artem's mother Khrystyna Fedorak — Svietka, an accountant for the village council Liubov Kolesnykova — Palazhka Solovyikha, Tetiana's grandmother Nina Naboka – Baba Paraska / Paraska Hryshykha Yaroslav Bezkorovainyi — Vasyl, Karpo's friend Andriy Lutsenko — Motria's dad, Dovbysh Tetiana Kryzhanivska — Motria's mother, Dovbyshykha Anatoliy Sakhno — cameo appearance, father of Melashka Balash Nataliia Vorozhbyt — cameo appearance, mother of Melashka Balash Oleksandr Timenko — cameo appearance, veterinarian Ostap Dziadek — Monk Serhiy Kyiashko — Sasha, Melashka's lover Ihor Nazarov Volodymyr Honcharov – doctor Oleksandr Okhrytskyi – café administrator Anastasia Hyrenkova – Allochka Yuliya Pershuta — Iryna, Lavrin's housemate in Bohuslav Artur Lohai — the rich-boy customer at the car service station
Creative team The creative team of the TV series included: Production director – Oleksandr Timenko Cinematographer – Anatoliy Sakhno Artistic director – Vadym Shynkarov Producers: Liudmyla Semchuk, Dmytro Kitsai, Volodymyr Borodianskyi Executive producer – Yehor Malykhin Screenwriter and executive producer (showrunner) is Nataliia Vorozhbyt.
Production
Precedent stage performance Initially, Nataliia Vorozhbyt created her reinterpretation of the original Ivan Nechuy-Levytsky's novel Kaidash's Family in the form of a play, and the performance "To Catch the Kaidash" was staged by Kyiv Wild Theater (directed by Maksym Holenko).
The first performance "To Catch the Kaidash" took place on May 25, 2019, at the Mystetskyi Arsenal during the Book Arsenal in 2019.
Subsequently, Vorozhbyt elaborated the play script and turned it into a full-fledged modern performance "The Kaidashes 2.0", which was included in the repertoire of Kyiv Wild Theater (directed by Maxim Golenko).
The performance "The Kaidashes 2.0" was first shown on August 2, 2019, at the House of Culture of the village of Sorokotyaga, Cherkasy region, and on August 30, 2019, in Kyiv in the theater space "Stage 6".
Script Volodymyr Borodianskyi, general producer of STB (TV channel), commissioned Nataliia Vorozhbyt's script. The screenwriting took a year and a half in "comfortable conditions": without outside interference and editorial changes. Compared to the novel The Kaidash Family, new characters and many original storylines were incorporated into the script of the TV series.
After the release, Nataliia Vorozhbyt claimed that the funding provided to the TV series creators was not enough to shoot the story in its entirety, so they filmed in "rather difficult" conditions. In particular, many scenes and details from the script were not shot and were not included into the TV version.«Це трагікомедія про життя», — актори зі «Спіймати Кайдаша» про серіал та суржик . YouTube-канал hromadske.ua, 3 квітня 2020
Budget After the change of the STB channel management, the new creative producer of StarLightFilms Dmytro Kitsai offered Vorozhbyt to become a showrunner of the project and apply for the government financial support.
The project called "Kaidash's Family XXI" won the competition of patriotic films run by the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine in 2018, so the filming of the TV series was 50% funded by the government: with a total budget of ₴26.7 million, the Ministry of Culture allocated half of the cost — ₴13.3 million.Заявки на участь у конкурсному відборі кінопроектів для надання державної фінансової підтримки на виробництво та розповсюдження фільмів патріотичного спрямування. Мінкультури України, 2019
Filming The filming locations of "To Catch the Kaidash" were a film studio in Kyiv, the village of Dereviana, Obukhiv district, Kyiv region, and the surrounding villages (Khalepia, Yatsky, and Lypovyi Skytok). For filming, the producers specifically built a wooden courtyard and a house for the Kaidash family. Overall, the shooting lasted three months from March to May 2019. The shooting was carried out by the production company PROKINO of the StarLightMedia group. Obukhiv is mentioned in the seventh episode of the TV series – Lavrin Kaidash goes to work there.
Soundtrack The music in the TV series was mostly Ukrainian and some Russian pop music of the 1990s and early 2000s: the song "Poliubi menia takoi" ("Love me like that") by Natalia Mohylevska, «Dym sigaret s mentolom» ("Smoke of menthol cigarettes") by Nensi, "Sneg" ("Snow") by Iryna Bilyk and Philip Kirkorov, "Kapli Absenta" ("Drops of absinth") by Irakli, etc.
After the release of the TV series, the screenwriter and executive producer Nataliia Vorozhbyt said that she did not regret using Russian-language pop music in the series, as it was "the reality of life".
Vorozhbyt also admitted that initially, according to the idea of the creators, one of the songs of the Russian group Ruki Vverkh! was to play in the first episode. However, this never happened because currently, due to "financial" or "political" reasons, the creators of the Ukrainian TV series almost do not have the opportunity to buy the rights to songs of Russian artists (the producers were able to acquire the rights to the song of Nancy solely thanks to "mutual acquaintances").
In addition to Russian-language songs, the TV series also uses original instrumental music of the Ukrainian ethnic-group DakhaBrakha, written by the composer specifically for the TV series, and the track "Shcho z-pod duba" ("From Under the Oak"). According to Nataliia Vorozhbyt, the creative team wanted to buy more songs of DakhaBrakha, but the project had a limited budget.
Moreover, in the TV series there are Ukrainian folk and popular songs:
"Oy Vershe Miy, Vershe" ("Oh Mountain, My Mountain") "Oy, u vishnevomu sadu" ("In the Cherry Orchard") "Zeleneye zhyto, zelene" ("Green Rye") "Dva kol'ori" ("Two colors") (this song appears at the end of the final, 12th episode of the TV series) "A ja vse dyvliusia de moja Marusia" ("And I Always Look to See Where my Dear Mary Is") "Rozpryahayte, khloptsi, koney" ("Unbridle the Horses") "A vesillia azh hude" ("The Wedding is Already Buzzing")
Language According to the agreement with the Ministry of Culture about the creation of a national patriotic film, signed in February 2018, and according to the law "On Cinematography", at least 90% of the film's lines must be in Ukrainian and no more than 10% in a foreign language.
In the final version, some of the characters of the series speak surzhyk (mixed sociolects of Ukrainian and Russian languages). Even during the filming, the actor Taras Tsimbaliuk said that the series was being filmed in "flavorsome surzhyk":
According to actor Taras Tsymbaliuk, surzhyk "unites all the Ukrainian colorful villages. The actors will present themselves to the audience as simply as possible, as if it were a dialogue behind the fence of an ordinary Bohuslav family.
Nataliia Vorozhbyt, the screenwriterwriter, does not consider the language of the series to be surzhyk, calling it "colloquial Ukrainian," which "has more than 70% of Ukrainian words. According to Vorozhbyt, it was the selection of convenient organic words and constructions that helped the actors get into their characters into.
In addition to surzhyk and Ukrainian, the TV series also features Russian, which is spoken by three supporting characters.
Release In Ukraine, the premiere of the TV series was originally planned on the STB channel in late February 2020, but was later postponed to March 2, 2020.
Seasons and episodes SeasonEpisodeOriginal screeningsPremiereFinale112March 2, 2020March 11, 20201 (extended version)12August 31, 2020September 10, 2020 Season 1«Спіймати Кайдаша»: сюжет та опис серій. stb.ua/ua/, 06.03.2020 Episode No.TitleDirector(s)Screenwriter(s)Original air date1"First episode"Oleksandr TimenkoNataliia VorozhbytMarch 2, 2020