Surprise! Without the usual fanfare usually attached to shows about to hit the air, Tencent’s historical detective mystery A League of Nobleman 君子盟 quietly premiered today (10 episodes for members) to the astonishment of many. Originally based on the novel Zhang Gong An 张公案, today’s debut also saw a change in its Chinese title to Jun Zi Meng 君子盟. Previously, Da Feng Gua Guo 大风刮过, the original author of Zhang Gong An, already dissociated herself from the show, saying that apart from the title and the characters, the screenplay is the creation of the drama’s screenwriter. “It has nothing to do with my work” she said.
The series which stars Jing Boran and Song Weilong has been languishing in the backburner since last releasing a trailer in 2020. Add that to the NRTA’s boycott bombshell in 2021, the sudden release date today, Jan 30, on Chinese streaming site Tencent is certainly very unexpected.
The Future of BL Adaptations
Truth be told the future of BL drama adaptations appeared uncertain after China’s National Radio and Television Administration otherwise known as the NRTA made their stance against the subject matter pretty clear. As for the dangai’s(耽改) filmed at the height of the genre’s popularity, many feared the boycott will ensure these dramas won’t ever see the light of day .. at least locally unless producers somehow find a way to get it released. Perhaps on Netflix maybe like The Ying-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity which was pulled locally after its creator Guo Jingmin’s plagiarism scandal and later acquired by Netflix.
Speaking of dangais and BL drama adaptations, remember the super hyped series Immortality adapted from the novel Husky and His White Cat Shizun written by Meatbun Doesn’t Eat Meat? The show was super anticipated that everyone including daipais were falling over themselves to catch possible snippets and BTS shots from the Luo Yunxi and Arthur Chen Feiyu helmed production.
Well, today’s unexpected release also raised expectations (and hope) about the remote possibility that Immortality as well as other anticipated boy love dramas such as Winner is King aka Sha Po Lang might soon be released in the near future.
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