Chinese TV series grow in popularity overseas but movies are another story
- Drama series produced in China have found growing success overseas, with several being remade for audiences elsewhere in Asia. A children’s series runs on US TV
- Chinese movies, however, struggle to find audiences overseas. That’s because they are vehicles for political propaganda, critics say
China is fast becoming a global entertainment powerhouse, churning out high-quality drama series and films.
Slick and sophisticated productions costing more than 100 million yuan (US$15 million) are not unusual in China. The Longest Day In Chang’an (2019) and Legend Of Fei (2020) reportedly each cost 600 million yuan to make.
The biggest audiences outside China for these productions is Southeast Asia because of its familiarity with Chinese culture, but in recent years drama series made in China have attracted attention elsewhere.
International remakes of Chinese series are becoming increasingly common. Early this year, South Korean broadcaster JTBC announced it had bought the rights to remake the hit Chinese drama series Nothing but Thirty.
Produced by Shanghai-based Linmon Pictures, the series is about the family, romance and career problems of three 30-plus women in Shanghai and how they triumphed in a city obsessed with status. The series struck a chord with audiences, especially women pressured to get married in a society that looks down on single women over the age of 30.
Fuji TV’s Cinderella is Online, a remake of Shanghai Gcoo Entertainment’s A Smile is Beautiful (2016), was broadcast in Japan earlier this year. South Korean broadcaster tvN’s Mr Queen, a remake of Beijing Le Young Media’s Go Princess Go (2015), was screened in February.