Huayu Entertainment Starts with Xiang Yu, the Hegemon of Western Chu

In addition to participating in the activities organized by the four major premiere TV stations, Jiang Yang and Dilraba also made an extra trip to Hunan TV for promotion.

Gao Xixi said: They specifically asked for the two of you.

Then go for it.

The two recorded several programs on Hunan TV, not only for satellite channels but also for local channels.

The most important of them all is, of course, "Happy Camp".

The variety show "Happy Camp" these days is pretty boring.

The process is self-explanatory. It is worth mentioning that the three guests in this episode featuring Jiang Yang and Dilraba Dilmurat were Xu Zheng, Huang Bo, and Wang Baoqiang, who came to promote the release of "Lost in Thailand".

The three people were chatting and laughing, and seemed to have a good relationship.

Once "Lost in Thailand" becomes a hit, hehe.

Jiang Yang glanced at Xu Zheng a few more times, thinking to himself, "What a pity, why didn't Lao Duan come?"

Little Peach Blossom was married off to this bald man.

Xu Zheng noticed Jiang Yang's gaze. At this moment, he wasn't too arrogant and took the initiative to greet him.

"Are you Jiang Yang?"

"I know you, the junior from the Shanghai Theatre Academy."

"Playing Xiang Yu in Chen Daoming's play? Not bad, not bad at all, a promising young talent..."

We chatted for a bit, about this and that.

He even made a promise to Jiang Yang that they would have a chance to cooperate again, but you really shouldn't be making such polite remarks.

And just like that, all the running distances were completed.

At this point, there's not much the actors can do anymore; the fate of "Legend of Chu and Han" ultimately depends on itself.

It officially premiered on December 28th.

The release date is good; there aren't any other major dramas airing at the same time.

Or rather, "The Legend of Chu and Han" is that great drama.

With an investment of 2.4 million, it looks like a surefire hit, but everyone is avoiding it.

But...

The broadcast of "Legend of Chu and Han" did not meet expectations.

It's definitely a popular drama, given that it was broadcast on five channels simultaneously, which is quite a big deal, but it's still far from being a "hit".

Gao Xixi has really messed up this time.

The success of "New Three Kingdoms" may have given him a false sense of security, leading him to mistakenly believe that audiences enjoy watching historical dramas.

While the story of Liu Bang and Xiang Yu's struggle for Chu and Han is indeed a well-known historical tale, it still falls far short of the IP of "Three Kingdoms".

At the very least, we can no longer exploit the Japanese next door with record-breaking prices for domestically produced TV dramas.

The premiere of "Legend of Chu and Han" also received poor reviews.

Although it wasn't like the "New Three Kingdoms" series, which was criticized for its excellent predecessor, the "Old Three Kingdoms" series, it still had just as many flaws.

It's even more watery now.

"New Three Kingdoms" has 95 episodes, and "Legend of Chu and Han" has 80 episodes. They sound about the same, with the former being slightly longer.

That's not how it works.

The Three Kingdoms period is a well-known ensemble drama, involving numerous factions, with many supporting characters also having their own highlight scenes, as the saying goes, "heroes rise up and heroes emerge".

The struggle between Chu and Han was very clear: Liu Bang and Xiang Yu were the absolute protagonists, with Han Xin being the most likely addition.

In terms of time alone, "The New Three Kingdoms" covers a period of forty-five years, from Dong Zhuo's entry into the capital to Zhuge Liang's death.

What about "The Legend of Chu and Han"?

From the death of Qin Shi Huang to Xiang Yu's suicide at Wujiang, only eight years had passed.

Oh, ocean, you are all water!

In short, "The Legend of Chu and Han" was not very successful.

The show's failure was the show's fault, but it received a different fate on Hunan TV.

Hunan TV bought a 1.5-inch car.

In other words, while others broadcast during prime time at 7:30, this show is two or three hours later.

Viewers who are waiting for the premiere definitely won't watch it.

However, considering that Hunan TV has a larger viewership base than other channels, and that the prime time slot is broadcast by four channels simultaneously, which diverts viewers, the number of people watching "Legend of Chu and Han" on Hunan TV may not be less than those on other channels.

Hunan TV clearly understands its audience very well.

Even before the premiere of "Legend of Chu and Han," some questionable tactics were already evident in the trailers.

Other channels mainly feature war and battle scenes.

Whether it's Dilraba Dilmurat, Qin Lan, or Li Yixiao, they all appear only briefly in the trailer, or even not at all.

The appeal of the drama "Legend of Chu and Han" is self-evident.

Hunan TV does the complete opposite.

In its trailer, the scenes featuring Xiang Yu and Yu Ji take up half the time, with the voiceover saying "a love story that transcends life and death."

Did they leave half for Liu Bang?

That half also features scenes of Liu Bang with Empress Lü, Lady Cao, and Lady Qi; someone unfamiliar with the show might mistake it for a palace intrigue drama at first glance.

When it comes to palace intrigue, dramas set in the Western Han Dynasty are not as popular as those set in the Qing Dynasty.

However, through years of popular science education, from "The Emperor Wu of Han" to "Beauty's Rival in Palace," the names of Empress Lü, Empress Dou, Empress Chen, and Empress Wei Zifu have become quite familiar to the audience.

This piqued the audience's interest.

But when "Legend of Chu and Han" actually aired, they started cursing it.

What?!

What is all this?!

Where is the palace intrigue drama we want to watch?!

Don't rush, don't rush, I'll be right there.

In the second episode, Xiang Yu and Yu Ji meet for the first time by the river. Although they don't exchange a single word, their romance has at least progressed a notch.

In the third episode, the great-grandfather, who was still called Liu Ji, also met Lü Zhi.

The second couple is a completely different story; they fast-forwarded to their wedding in the fourth episode, and the progress bar was stretched out like crazy.

Which couple do viewers prefer?

Need I say more!

Liu Ji and Lü Zhi's story is like "Country Love Story," where they are an older man and a younger woman, and there's also Cao Shi involved in an ambiguous relationship.

Who could possibly knock that hard?

The director himself didn't intend to portray their "love"; it was just a union of interests.

There might be a little bit of feeling, but not much.

The further they went, the more politically minded the couple became.

Xiang Yu and Yu Ji are different; it's a pure love story, isn't that exciting?

Farewell My Concubine...

Yeah, isn't this just like the domineering CEO falling in love with me?

Not long after "Legend of Chu and Han" aired, the feedback received by Hunan TV was in line with expectations: the audience's favorite storyline was that of Xiang Yu and Yu Ji.

The problem then arises: their scenes are too few!

This was something we had anticipated.

Hunan TV went all out, editing in almost all the scenes featuring Xiang Yu and Yu Ji.

Even so, it's still rare.

Because the show is actually called "The Legend of Chu and Han", not "Farewell My Concubine".

Hunan TV still has a lot of clever ideas.

Since we have limited resources, we can reuse them!

Recalling the launch of the Great Law.

When you're happy, wouldn't it be even more joyful to reminisce about happy times in the past?

When you're unhappy, does recalling happy times from the past only amplify the sadness?

Wonderful!

In this way, the same clip could appear repeatedly, countless times.

Even after exhausting all their efforts, viewers who only wanted to see the romance between Xiang Yu and Yu Ji were still dissatisfied, finding Liu Bang's storyline an eyesore.

Why can't we have a pure Xiang Yu and Yu Ji version?

We can't cut any more; if we do, the plot will become disjointed.

The audience was indignant.

"Who exactly is this Liu Ji? Why does he have so much screen time? We want to see Xiang Yu!"

"Exactly! Wasn't the main characters of 'The Legend of Chu and Han' supposed to be Xiang Yu and Liu Bang? Xiang Yu appeared long ago, but where is Liu Bang?"

"Is he Liu Ji's son?"

Who is Liu Ji...?

Such a thought-provoking question, if seen by talented netizens, will undoubtedly inspire countless jokes.

There were indeed viewers who originally followed the drama on the channels that premiered, but missed a day and remembered that Hunan TV was also broadcasting it. When they turned on the channel, they were shocked.

"Is this the same show being broadcast?"