Because the stars of two new dramas on Chinese TV are among the most popular young celebrities in China, young viewers love the series even if “Song of Phoenix” and “Fighter of the Destiny” are panned by critics.
Lu Han is the leading man of “Fighter of the Destiny,” while his leading lady is Gulnezer Bextiyar, a model and actress from Uyghur. In “Song of Phoenix,” the lead actor is Ma Ke, a 27-year-old heartthrob, Global Times reported.
Life of Chinese Poet
The life of Qu Yuan, an ancient Chinese politician and poet, is the focus of the period drama “Song of Phoenix.” On April 28, it debuted on Hunan TV with an audience share of 2.18 percent. Because it preceded the series finale of “In the Name of People,” a popular anti-graft drama, the premiere got a very high rating because viewers apparently tuned in early so as not to miss “In the Name of People.”
However, on April 29 and 30, the audience ratings of “Song of Phoenix” dipped to 1.27 percent. But its first 10 of 81 episodes got a total of 180 million views on iQiyi, a video streaming platform or 18 million views per episode.
“Song of Phoenix” was adapted from the novel of Liang Zhenhua. The leading lady of Ma Ke is Zhang Xinyu who play Qu Yuan and Shan Gui, respectively, China Christian Daily reported.
Douban Reviews
“Fighter of the Destiny’s” first 22 episodes got 2 billion views also on iQiyi or 90.8 million views for every episode. More than half of its viewers were Chinese below 30 years old, data from iQiyi said. But on Douban, a media review site in China, “Fighter of the Destiny” got a 4.6 rating out of 10 from over 46,000 reviews, while “Song of Phoenix” got 4.2 from 3,000 reviews.
Among the criticisms was that a serious historical drama became an idol drama on top of embarrassing dialogue and CGI, a netizen commented about “Song of Phoenix.” Meanwhile, a rich critic said the lead actor of “Fighter of the Destiny” does not know how to act.