Mr Viral
Just as Chinese dramas have been enjoying a rise in popularity, a rumor is being spread on Weibo that streaming platform Tencent will set an age caps of 35 years old on leading actors in costume idol dramas. The rumor has come as a shock as many netizens discuss its impact.
The rumor appears to be linked to the lukewarm reception to historical drama The Princess’s Gambit which stars Liu Xue Yi (劉學義) and Meng Zi Yi (孟子義). Tencent has attributed the drama’s low rating to the leading actor’s age being unsuited for the drama’s settings. To address their concerns, Tencent is planning to implement an age cap limit and will not cast artistes over the age of 35 years old to lead costume idol dramas.
If the rumor is true, netizens believe that 34-year-old actress Wu Jinyan (吴谨言) will the greatly impacted. The actress shot to fame in 2018 for her role in Story of Yanxi Palace and became many producers’ first choice for roles. After giving birth to a daughter this year, Wu Jinyan was rumored to be making a comeback with costume drama Yu Ting Yao alongside Chen Zheyuan (陳哲遠). Since the drama has yet to announce its release date, many netizens are wondering if the delay is related to the age cap policy.
Netizens React to Age Cap Policy
Many netizens are divided over the appropriateness of the age cap with some arguing that costume idol drama are more suited for younger artistes who are better at portraying the passionate and consuming love. Some wrote, “Do things that suit your age. If you play a mother in an historical idol drama, no one will bat an eye. You can’t always play the leading role or act the age of 18 years old. You can film other genres.”
Another group of netizens rejects having age caps and believe that poor ratings are not due to the age of the lead actors. They wrote, “What’s wrong with being 35 years old? Wu Jinyan and Wang Xingyue (王星越) have an age gap of 12 years and that didn’t affect the ratings for The Double . I think the script and screenwriter should be carefully selected. This is actually the flaw.”
At present, Tencent and Wu Yinyan as not responded to the rumors.
Source: [1]
This article is written by Sammi for JayneStars.com.
