It takes two dramas to complete a complete story, will it become the norm for a large-scale production of ancient costumes to be split or broadcast in seasons?

　　Under the policy of "advocating no more than 40 episodes and encouraging 30 episodes", it has been difficult to see costume idol dramas with 70 or 80 episodes in the past two years.

So, do you still do costume idol dramas with big investments, big productions, and big IP adaptations?

How did it go smoothly?

It can be seen from the recent broadcast of "Acquaintance with Jun Chu" and "Just Like the Return of an Old Man", it can be seen that long dramas in ancient costumes have become popular. Costume dramas are produced and broadcast in seasons, and each season is controlled within 40 episodes.

One IP split into two dramas

　　Recently, the costume idol dramas "Acquaintance with Jun Chu" and "Just Like an Old Man Returning" starring Di Lieba and Ren Jialun, starring Zhu Ruibin as the chief director, have been broadcast one after another.

The two dramas were filmed by the same crew, with the same group of actors, directors and screenwriters. They were adapted from the same online literature IP "The Story of the Shark", but they are indeed two dramas with two online record numbers. The former A few days after the end of the show, the latter drama will be broadcast again, continuing the story of the previous one.

Only two dramas can finish a story, which is still relatively new to the current audience.

　　Not only "Acquaintance with Jun" and "Just Like the Return of an Old Man", but many costume idol dramas have recently started production and broadcast mode.

Recently, "The Splendid Star", which was adapted from an online novel and starred by Wu Lei and Zhao Lusi, has been changed from the TV drama record to the top and bottom records of the online drama.

"Sauvignon Blanc" starring Yang Zi, Zhang Wanyi, etc. was broadcast in two parts, and it also appeared on the hot search.

The current number of episodes revealed by "Sauvignon Blanc" is 70 episodes. If it is divided into two broadcasts on average, it can be maintained at 35 episodes.

Another costume drama "Agarwood is like crumbs" starring Yang Zi is said to be broadcast in the upper part "Agarwood as crumbs" and the lower part "Agarwood Chonghua".

　　The long dramas in ancient costumes have been split into two parts and broadcast, which is considered to be a strict implementation of the "Notice on Further Strengthening the Creation and Production Management of TV Dramas and Network Dramas" issued by the State Administration of Radio and Television in February 2020.

The "Notice" pointed out that in order to promote the transformation of TV drama creation and production from the expansion of scale and quantity to the improvement of overall quality, the filming and production of TV dramas is recommended not to exceed 40 episodes, and the creation of short dramas within 30 episodes is encouraged. If more than 40 episodes are really needed, the production agency needs to submit Written instructions detailing the need for more than 40 episodes and promising no "water injection".

After the "Notice" was issued, the relevant person in charge explained that the implementation will not be simple "one size fits all", and the specific number of episodes of the TV series needs to be analyzed according to whether the plot is rich or not. Advocating 40 episodes and encouraging 30 episodes will provide a development direction for the industry. It is one of the measures to solve the problem of water injection.

The policy does not strictly stipulate that no more than 40 episodes, but the short drama of ancient puppet dramas has become a trend in the past two years.

　　A total of 42 episodes of "Acquaintance with Jun" and "Just Like the Return of an Old Man" were officially broadcast, which is different from each of the more than 30 episodes that have been circulated before.

From the point of view of splitting and controlling each episode within 40 episodes, costume dramas are trying to find ways to deal with or implement the above policies.

The response of costume idols and long dramas was not the beginning of this wave of "splitting".

Last year's most typical dramas were "Chou Sheng Ruo" and "Forever" starring Ren Jialun and Bai Lu.

This drama will be filmed separately from the ancient drama and the modern drama of the novel "Bone of a Lifetime Beauty". The former is sadistic and the latter is sprinkled with sugar, successfully splitting the original nearly 60 episodes into less than 30 episodes each.

It may also be that the creative ideas of "Zhou Sheng Ruo" and "One Life" have inspired latecomers, and there is a trend of "one book and two films" and "one IP filming two films".

　　The biggest advantage of splitting a big IP into two dramas that are broadcast in succession is that the broadcast effect of the original costume drama is maintained to a certain extent.

It does not compress the plot, but splits the works. This is because the ancient puppet drama wants to maintain the return on investment of long dramas, maintain a long-span broadcast time, form a publicity effect, marketing enthusiasm, and maintain the audience's enthusiasm for watching the drama.

"Acquaintance with Jun Chu" and "Just Like the Return of an Old Man" can illustrate the problem. In "Acquaintance with Jun Chu", the heroine Ji Yunhe and the male protagonist Chang Yi stage a sweet love between a fairy and a mermaid; , the male protagonist joins Beiyuan with hatred, and returns as the domineering Beiyuan King, specializing in "abusing" the heroine.

Xianxia dramas can't escape the "Three Lives Three Worlds"-style sweet love mixed with sadomasochistic routine, but the love story of "Three Lives Three Worlds" must have at least 50 episodes of capacity.

It will be broadcast in two parts, the story line will continue, and the popularity will continue.

The drama "Slimming" is the trend

　　It is slightly different from the practice of splitting a story into two dramas, and some costume dramas and big IP dramas choose to be produced and broadcast on a seasonal basis.

For example, more than 60 episodes of the tomb robbery adventure drama "Restart of the Extreme Sea Ting Lei" will be broadcast in two seasons one after another, while several ancient costume dramas such as "Zuofu", "The Swordsman in the Snow" and "Celebrating More Than Years" are selected. It is broadcast on a season-by-season basis, and each season can be controlled within 40 episodes.

　　In the past, the costume dramas with 70 episodes and 80 episodes were often criticized as "water-filled dramas", but now, except for a small part of dramas that choose to split into two, or are produced on a seasonal basis, most costume dramas have been realized. Slimming down", down to less than 40 episodes, such as the recent new dramas "Shang Shi", "Yan Yu Fu", "Wind in Luoyang" and "The Mistress of the House".

Many costume dramas have begun to follow the "small but refined" creative route to achieve a multi-dimensional transformation of creation.

There are very few long dramas with crazy water injections in the TV drama market now, and audiences no longer have to watch dramas at double speed and endure boring water injection plots.

　　At present, on the whole, the costume dramas are basically controlled within 40 episodes, and many dramas of various themes broadcast by satellite TV just end with 40 episodes, such as "Perfect Companion", "Win or Lose", "The Happy Life of Police Lao Lin" and so on.

Among the dramas broadcast by satellite TV, there are also more than 40 episodes, but most of them are controlled within 50 episodes.

At present, more than 40 episodes of dramas are considered long dramas in domestic dramas.

The episodes are getting shorter and shorter, and there are data to prove that in 2021, 194 repertoires with 6,722 episodes will be produced nationwide and obtained the "Domestic TV Drama Distribution License", with an average of 34.6 episodes each, compared with an average of 37 episodes in 2020.

The word "water injection drama" may enter history.

　　The ultimate benefit of the drama "Slimming" is the audience.

Under the guidance of the policy of "advocating no more than 40 episodes and encouraging 30 episodes", high-quality TV dramas have appeared frequently in the past two years, and they have fully blossomed in various themes.

In the case of continuous good dramas, even if the costume idol dramas are broadcast in different parts or seasons, in fact, we still need to pay attention to the quality of the works and resolutely "prevent water injection", otherwise the audience will not buy it at all.

In the face of high-quality dramas, audiences may want to shoot more episodes and seasons.

In some TV drama markets, dramas that can be broadcast in more than ten seasons are actually good dramas that are recognized by the audience and renewed on the platform for many years.

In the final analysis, behind the number of episodes should be the upgrade of content and the real demand of the market.

　　Qilu Evening News reporter Shi Wenjing