Gay-themed drama is latest victim of China’s drive to purge ‘harmful and obscene’ content from web
Although the scriptwriters had toned down the romantic nature of the main characters’ relationship, the show that had attracted 1.8bn views has been pulled from a popular video-sharing platform
A Chinese drama series based on a popular gay-themed sci-fi novel has been pulled from one of the country’s top video-streaming platforms barely two months after its release, sparking fury among its fans.
All episodes of Guardian (Zhenhun in Chinese) were completely removed from video-hosting service Youku on Thursday.
The show – based on a novel published online by an author using the pen name “Priest” – is the latest in a string of Chinese productions recently pulled or delayed since an official directive was issued last month to “clean up TV programmes of harmful and vulgar content”.
The online drama was taken offline for “content adjustments”, a Youku spokeswoman said on Friday. She would not elaborate on what content required adjustment or when the show was expected to return.
Guardian, adapted from a Chinese fantasy novel of the same name, has been an instant hit since its premiere on June 13.
In total 40 episodes were released between its premiere and the end of July and it had been viewed more than 1.8 billion times on Youku since its launch.
The storyline features two male protagonists with supernatural powers who protect the peace of two worlds, fighting off villains.
