On paper, it was LeTV that pulled out its hit Internet show “Go Princess Go” because a “relevant department” asked it to pull the plug on the hit show. Although LeTV did not identify the department, all fingers point to the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and TV (SAPPRFT).
It was the unusual theme of the romantic comedy that attracted 2.4 billion viewers to its last week finale which was the reason behind the regulator’s wrath. The show is about a modern playboy, Zhang Feng, who goes back in time to ancient China, but he is in a woman’s body who was the wife of a crown prince.
While he flirts with the husband’s concubines, he also discovered his feminine side and really falls in love with the prince to the point of having sex. With such a bold theme involving bisexuality and time travel, LeTV had to cut the show short even if it just premiered in December and got the firm, a video streaming site, over 50,000 paid subscribers that earned it $1.5 million profit, reported Quartz.
LeTV stopped airing the viral show on Wednesday and issued a statement. It promised to bring back the show but it needed to sanitize the content. The company also did not specify the exact date when would it bring back the show.
Besides the bold theme, the show also has sexual scenes and strong language which first attracted viewers and then the regulator.
Other than “Go Princess Go,” the SAPPRFT also ordered off the web iQIYI's “The Lost Tomb” and three other online streaming shows due to their vulgar, violent and superstitious content, reported The South China Morning Post. “The Lost Tomb” tells the story of an archeologist who encounters ghouls and ghosts when he explored ancient Chinese burial sites. Like the LeTV hit show, it also attracted2.8 billion views since it became available on streaming services in June.