Huayu Entertainment: The Birth of a Succubus Top Star

The day before "Love O2O" aired, Gu Zhiyan posted a Weibo post to promote it.

"My starring TV series 'Love O2O' will be broadcast tomorrow night on Shanghai Satellite TV and Jiangsu Satellite TV. Please give it your support."

Gu Zhiyan's Weibo post was like a signal, and celebrities who were close to him started posting on Weibo to promote his new drama.

Gu Zhiyan's first TV series as the male lead is truly a high-profile production.

Lin Gengxin, Wang Yanlin, Han Dongjun, Niu Junfeng, Yang Xuwen, Deng Chao, Wu Jing, Hu Ge...

Even Wang Sicong posted on Weibo.

The male celebrities were alright, but the lineup of female celebrities made netizens exclaim "Holy crap!"

Li Chun, Chen Yao, Jin Cheng, Na Zha, Zhang Tianai, Liu Yan, Reba, Zhu Xudan, Meng Ziyi, Li Yitong, Li Qing, Zhang Hanyun...

These lesser-known female celebrities haven't received much attention from netizens yet.

Yang Mi, Zhao Liying, Tang Yan, and even Liu Shishi and Liu Yifei all posted on Weibo to promote Gu Zhiyan's new drama.

Gu Zhiyan didn't ask any of them to help promote his new drama; it was just that Sister Zhao mentioned it to him in person.

He hadn't expected Liu Shishi and Liu Yifei to be there either, since although they had a good chat, they weren't really that close.

The fates of several top actresses born in the 1980s have sparked heated discussions among netizens.

These individuals have been locked in a love-hate relationship for many years, and the topics surrounding them have always been a focus of attention for netizens.

These individuals can be said to represent the entire "85 Flowers" group.

It's something netizens have never seen before: eight actresses simultaneously promoting a new drama on Weibo for the same person.

"Holy crap, Gu Zhiyan's WeChat Moments is amazing."

"Putting everything else aside, the fact that they managed to gather several '85 flowers' (a term referring to actors born in the 1980s and 1995s) is quite an achievement..."

"A man who has collected all eight five flowers is impressive."

"Gu Zhiyan's face screams 'playboy,' I bet he's slept with all these female celebrities."

This guy turns out he can read faces; though he might not be right, he's not far off.

"While Gu Zhiyan is indeed handsome, and it's normal for girls to like him, the comment above is outrageous. How many kidneys does he have?"

Sometimes, the more outrageous something seems, the closer it may be to the truth. This netizen wasn't bold enough.

"My brother is so amazing, I can't wait! Can't the drama air sooner?"

"It seems like half of the entertainment industry has gotten involved."

Half of the entertainment industry has gotten involved?

This netizen has really exaggerated. Look at the scale of the movie version of "Vivi" next door; it really involved half of the entertainment industry.

The movie version of "Love O2O" was released in theaters some time ago.

The actor playing Xiao Nai in the movie version is Jing Boran, who just became the highest-grossing male lead in mainland China's film history with "Monster Hunt".

Of course, he doesn't have that much power to get half of the entertainment industry involved.

The important thing is that the female lead of this drama is Yang Baobei.

Who can blame her when her husband is Huang Xiaoming?

Huang Xiaoming is known as a very kind person in the entertainment industry, with incredible connections. He goes to great lengths to promote his female co-stars.

The film premiere was a star-studded event, with many big names in attendance.

The film's promotion was also overwhelming.

Gu Zhiyan also paid attention to the film adaptation of the same work.

At first, he thought he had switched to the wrong channel.

The Douban review section is full of positive comments such as "Yang Baobei acted so well, she is so suitable for the role of Weiwei", "Jing Boran and Yang Baobei have such great chemistry, so sweet", and "Jing Baobei's Xiao Nai is so handsome".

As a result, it produced a huge disappointment, receiving a 5.4 rating on Douban.

The rating continues to decline.

The Douban comment section has gradually returned to normal.

"Pouting, frowning, glaring—Yang Baobei's acting is so awkward it's embarrassing."

"Yang Baobei, stop acting and stick to your variety shows."

"Jing Bao is so ugly I want to cry."

"These days, filming is so careless! The original character was supposed to be a handsome guy, but Jing Boran is just too..."

"A poorly made, carelessly made fan film. The main character's personality is completely ruined, the supporting actors are perfunctory, a terrible movie!"

……

The poor reception of the movie version of "Love O2O" even affected the creative team behind the TV series version.

One by one, people began to worry, fearing they would suffer the same fate as the movie version.

Only Gu Zhiyan was full of confidence.

This drama was a huge hit in its previous version, and in this version, his performance is better than Yang Yang's, and the female lead's performance is also better than in the previous version. There's no reason why it shouldn't be a hit.

Time quickly came to the night the TV series aired.

Countless fans of the original work and those who follow the TV series sat in front of their TVs and computers, waiting for the series to premiere.

Gu Zhiyan's portrayal of Xiao Nai immediately delivered a visual feast to viewers upon his first appearance.

The barrage of comments on the online streaming platform exploded.

"Ah, Xiao Nai is so handsome, I'm drooling over him."

"I would call him the pinnacle of male visual appeal in idol dramas!"

"Waaah...why doesn't our school have a heartthrob like that!"

"I'm in love with her looks, I'm in love with her looks."

……

A feast for those obsessed with good looks has quietly arrived.

Unlike most youth idol dramas, "Love O2O" does not have melodramatic plots such as car accidents, cancer, or third-party interference.

As the plot unfolds, viewers are quickly drawn in by the sweet and lighthearted storyline.

The premiere of "Love O2O" achieved a viewership rating of over 1 on both Shanghai Satellite TV and Jiangsu Satellite TV.

Because this TV series incorporates game elements, it doesn't quite align with the mainstream TV drama audience.

Due to the development of the Internet, very few young people watch TV anymore; even if they binge-watch dramas, it's done on online platforms.

The mainstream audience for TV dramas is still middle-aged and elderly people.

Therefore, the viewership ratings for "Love O2O" are already quite impressive.

The real battleground for this drama is online platforms.

"Love O2O" was exclusively streamed on Youku.

Its online viewership grew rapidly, exceeding 4 million views on Youku within 16 hours of its release.

The TV series sparked a huge online buzz and media attention after its broadcast, with related topics on Weibo garnering an astonishing number of views.

Not long after the TV series aired, topics related to the series, such as "Gu Zhiyan and Xiao Nai", "Xiao Nai is a god", and "My university owes me a Xiao Nai", quickly became trending topics.

On the second day after the TV series aired, Gu Zhiyan topped the artist's new media index.

Gu Zhiyan was very busy. When she woke up, her phone was full of unread messages.

The older and younger women all sent congratulatory messages.

I woke up and had nothing else to do but reply to messages first thing in the morning.

Just by looking at the trending topics on Weibo, you can tell that this drama is poised to become a huge hit.

What happened next perfectly illustrates this point.

TV ratings have steadily climbed, and online viewership exceeded 40 billion within a week of its premiere.

Topics related to TV dramas consistently rank high on Weibo's trending topics list.

Gu Zhiyan has consistently topped the list of artists' new media index, attracting countless fans.

Thus, the door to becoming a top star was kicked open, and another top male artist was born in the Chinese entertainment industry.

Gu Zhiyan, a rising star!