Chinese TV series about the gritty realities of buying a home clocks up 4 billion online views
- For many in China, home ownership is a requisite for entry into marriage, and with it comes corruption and cheating
- Chinese TV series I Will Find You a Better Home depicts that world, and has had more than four billion online views
Home ownership is the quintessential Chinese dream. According to a 2018 housing supply research report released by Evergrande Real Estate, over 60 per cent of city people in China own a house. Spending one’s life savings to buy a home is the requisite entrée into marriage and starting a family.
Housing market woes and the anguish ridden quest to join the ranks of homeowners provide creative fodder for gritty Chinese TV dramas and films.
Another TV series, the 53-part I Will Find You a Better Home, which had its finale in China last week, recorded viewer numbers similar to those for Dwelling Narrowness. The series was adapted by Liu Liu after a Chinese producer bought the rights to 2016 Japanese TV series Your Home is My Business!
The show topped the viewing charts of Shanghai-based Dragon Television, Beijing-based BTV and Tencent Video, which exclusively broadcast the drama series. Chinese media reported that the show recorded more than four billion views online, with daily peaks above 300 million, making it the most popular TV show in China over the past three years.
Set in Shanghai, the show portrays the travails of urban living for families who are linked by their transactions with an estate agency. It pulls no punches in exposing the grief that comes with home purchases, and struck a chord with viewers who toil for a lifetime to get a roof over their heads.