geechoo

I just saw! comments are saying October is most likely

the plot seems kind of outdated. it's the kind of xian xia story that would've been popular 20 years ago.

the dark tone would suit colder weather.

apparently the YZ drama (Chang Xiang Si) might be in trouble too. there's some melon accounts on weibo that are saying censors have issues with the step siblings love line.. they might need to head back to the editing room. this isn't confirmed yet but we'll see. that drama should be airing after Xiao Zhan's so if it doesn't come out in Aug.. we'll know.

I don't think ZLY or YM's are ready for the summer. Those are Xian Xia dramas that have a lot of CGI.

the modern drama with Ren Jialun? that one completed flopped :X AB just has no market with drama viewers

I know Destined is only A+. As for Love You Seven Times, I'm not sure because I haven't been keeping up with it. The same production company aired Cang Lang Jue last year was only A+ but the Yangmi/Gongjun one is S+.

S+ is related to budget so it's usually large Xian Xia productions that require a lot of CGI or dramas that hire A-list. BL is kind of.. b-list. She's popular but she doesn't really have any hit dramas with her as the first billing. XuKai is a small LL, he has a decent fandom size but his dramas aren't always hits like his recent one with Nazha kind of underperformed.

One of the reasons I think it should be fine is because the 3rd female lead in Cang Lan Jue was also blacklisted for anti-government sentiments but the drama still aired. She just never appeared in any promo material. I think the problem is that SOKP promotions kept including the 3rd ML for some bizarre reason. They should've stayed lowkey and left him out.

honestly I'm surprised they released that one. it's been on the back burner since 2021 at least which is never a good indication for a drama's quality so I thought they would just dump during some less busy month. AB, as pretty as she is, has never carried a drama. Releasing it now against a Xiao Zhan led xian xia and the rumored diliraba drama is.. well, a choice lol

It's not S+ because industry insiders have already said so. Are you Chinese? I am and I am on weibo and read stuff about this. No, the costume is not expensive looking, that's actually been a common criticism about this drama so far. The costume is by the same company that made New Life Begins (another A+ drama). The cast is also not expensive either. Bai Lu has never headlined a big budget drama. She had a hit recently but it was LYX who had the first biling. Her liuliang has actually only increased this year. The rest of the cast are basically nobodies.

SOKP is not S+ at all lol it's A+. aside from BL, the other actors at the time of filming were nobodies. ZLH only started gaining attention after LBFAD which aired after this drama started filming. Even looking at the costumes, set design, etc you can tell this drama wasn't expensive. It started gaining hype after ZLH blew up and also the dating rumors between the leads.

The 3rd male lead is a big risk because his issue can be brought up anytime. The drama can still be taken off air even if it airs. Nobody really knows why it suddenly got delayed but imo if it's not airing in September then we can consider it shelved permanently, but until then, I still think it has a chance.

this drama was never going to air during the summer slot though. that slot is always reserved ahead of time for their most important dramas. even if they do air this, it will have to be after the summer slot.

also A Love Never Lost is a much more severe case. iirc that drama finished filming wayy back in 2019 and the issue has to do with the subject matter rather than one particular actor.

no. the rumored summer line up is Destined-Love You Seven Times-The Lotus Casebook. This one should be Q4 at the earliest (Oct to Dec). Would fit the tone of the drama better too imo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1RfsYuLwjQ

they released previews of the OST and bai jingting sang two songs! surprisingly.. he has a good voice lol

tbh even if it airs in September, that wouldn't be too bad since it only officially finished filming September of last year. One year from filming to broadcast is pretty normal for cdramas. Some of the larger liuliang dramas (like Yu Gu Yao) were delayed much longer. The problem is no one really knows what delayed it. If it really has to do with the 3rd male lead then.. I fear this drama will never see the light of day.

tbf I think he only has a cameo appearance in two of them

I think they want him to hit big first and costume dramas are always the best way to become liuliang stars.

I keep re-watching the teaser. it's so good omg. also Zhang Linghe looks the best so far of any of his dramas lol there are seriously some angles where he reminds me of Takeshi Kaneshiro. a lot of popular actors these days aren't the traditional type of handsome like he is. I need him to become popular asap.

just finished LBFAD so I'm a bit obsessed with Zhang Linghe right now lol checking into his upcoming dramas and this one seems to be the one that'll air first? the plot summary sounds interesting.. enemies to lovers?

tbh I'm surprised he even has a profile lol I think he has that one small supporting role in hwarang and.. that's it

should be Dafeng Guardian (大奉打更人) with Tian Xi Wei.