MagnoliaCream

quite possible. imagine, this is a low-budget (A level) drama yet topping the charts obviously because of Dylan

yes. they have 2 kids

I agree. the rating should not be made to suffer for the censorship. In any case, I haven't seen the BTS and am not feeling like I'm missing something. I'm still able to follow the story.
Do you have the link for the novel?

i think CP in #7 means couple. i'm glad Dylan's patriotic drama finally got its license. been looking forward to it

in the thread "Disappointed about missing love scenes?", new c-ent restrictions are listed

this is a possibility. Dylan topped the charts of most popular actor several times during LBFAD and now, Xiao Duo has been topping the charts of most popular drama character since UL came out.

Thanks. In summary, the possible reasons for the strict censorship seem to be:
1. Because of the content and theme, the intimate scenes being between a consort and eunuch in a historical setting
2. It was considered a key project because of Dylan's popularity thus incurred more attention from reviewers
3. Too steamy

maybe Dylan's kisses were too steamy? 😅

actually, that might not be off the mark. Dylan being overly popular right now might be causing UL to be strictly censored. Or perhaps it is his role, Xiao Duo used his charms to climb his way up. That might have rung censorship bells.

hmm, Uncanny Destiny started airing 1/6, even later than Unchained Love. Wonder if UD got censored before UL? Or perhaps UD got past through censorship by mistake? Or perhaps UL got unfairly censored too strictly? Wasn't UL supposed to start airing on 12/18 but got pushed to 12/27? Wonder what happened from 12/18 to 12/26...

which ones? when did they start airing?

If new censorship rules are truly in effect now, I really feel bad for the production team of Unchained Love. They already had a low budget and still had to spend more time, effort and money to satisfy those censorship rules.

(Edit - from a comment by @Lan_Lan below, here is a Douban post from a member of the production team about the difficulties faced to get this drama aired):
"In fact, it was not easy for this drama to be aired smoothly. The trial was full of twists and turns. First, it was stuck in November because of the epidemic. After it was released, it was rejected twice because of the content and theme. In fact, it was mid-December. At that time, our project team was fully prepared for the possible postponement. It is estimated that the luck of the leading actors and our friends is very good, and the certificate was issued on 12/20. Last year, the review was particularly strict, especially for the key projects. It is ridiculous that an A-level project was changed to a key project because of the traffic(meaning Dylan's popularity due to LBFAD). The 16th (not sure what the person meant by this) is a project that my friend contacted, and it was returned and deleted after finalized. I don't know what those in charge were thinking. In fact, there is no second trial for Forbidden Love. Firstly, I am afraid that there will be changes in ancient drama's policy this year. I can say that Forbidden Love's intimate scenes are already many this year because there is no second trial."

me too! he glows but also seems kind of lost as if wondering if she is pulling his leg, especially those times when she flattered him, like when she told him he's good because bad people can't be so good-looking, hahaha!

i love how the drama shows their affection for each other - not too much with cheesy lines, though XD sometimes can't help himself, but through their banter. I find this more romantic than showing them kissing

yeah, I got this information from Marcus. His source is Li Xiang, a film director and film blogger. I think this is sensitive information thus not surprisingly deleted. Too bad, once something goes online, it does not go away. We'll see if the restrictions are enforced

that does seem to be what it means

that's ok, thanks. I'm currently searching the web for the novel :)

yeah, there's a conflict of logic here. Not allowing CP marketing could lessen the romantic feels of a drama, thus could, in fact, help with population control 😂

Come to think of it, you might be right about govt intervention. There are new c-ent restrictions, among them:
5 . Variety show singers and dancers cannot lead dramas. traffic stars cannot lead dramas with important issues
7. CP or couple marketing is not allowed

#7 seems to be the obvious reason for the strict censorship imposed on Unchained Love. But one theory about #5 (in another comment thread) is that the govt is trying to control popularity. It's possible that Dylan's immense popularity right now is another reason Unchained Love is being strictly censored.

oh no, Dylan Wang is super popular right now. Hope he does not get targeted! I wonder if the really tight censorship of Unchained Love is caused by this, not just because of the restriction against CP marketing!