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△Stills from "The Strange Stories of the Tang Dynasty". Photo/Official Weibo of "The Strange Stories of the Tang Dynasty"

On August 4, the web series "The Strange Stories of the Tang Dynasty: Journey to the West" just came to an end. In 2022, when the first season of "The Strange Stories of the Tang Dynasty" was broadcast, it became a dark horse. In July this year, the sequel "The Strange Stories of the Tang Dynasty: Journey to the West" was broadcast, and the Douban score rose from 7.9 points in the first season to 8.4 points, breaking the "curse" of bad endings for sequels. And on August 5, it was immediately announced to start the third season.

On social media platforms, many netizens gave the show five-star reviews, calling it a "conscientious work." But on the other hand, compared to previous hits such as "Joy of Life 2" and "The Story of Rose," which have been on the hot search list many times, "The Strange Stories of the Tang Dynasty" is far behind in terms of discussion and playback volume.

The number of views won over "The Story of Rose", but the topic did not win

According to the data from Lighthouse Professional Edition, as of 11:00 on August 6,"Tang Dynasty Strange Stories: Journey to the West" was released 20 days ago, and the cumulative number of feature film views exceeded 1.1 billion, and it has won the championship in the number of feature film views on the entire network for 13 consecutive days.You have to know that this is even in the case of colliding with the popular summer Olympics.

In comparison, the number of views of "The Story of Rose" was 872 million after 18 days of its release. The number of views of "Longing 2" was 939 million after 22 days of its release. (The above data are from Lighthouse Professional Edition)

△Picture/Lighthouse Professional Edition

But in contrast,"Journey to the West"The topic of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" is far less than that of the other two. Whether it is the number of Weibo topic discussions and readings, Baidu index, or the number of Douban film reviews, it is not as good as the other two.

As early as last month, some netizens complained that "there is no discussion, and we don't know whether it is good or not." It may also be because everyone is "secretly watching". One netizen said, "When I am not posting on Weibo, I am secretly watching Tang Dynasty Weird Stories."

“Audience-driven series”

The production team of "Tang Dynasty Strange Stories" is not a platform or a top-level resource configuration for top online dramas. Producer Guo Jingyu has filmed well-known dramas such as "Iron Pear Flower", "Fire Blue Blade" and "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" (2017 version), but there are few works that have gone viral in recent years. Director Bai Shan once directed "The Legend of Magic Xilaile", but in recent years, he has not worked with Guo Jingyu on any particularly well-known works.

△Stills from "The Strange Stories of the Tang Dynasty". Photo/Official Weibo of "The Strange Stories of the Tang Dynasty"

But this time, "Tang Dynasty Strange Stories" has become the favorite of the audience. The excellent production of the team is an important reason. The addition of Tang Dynasty characteristic weapons shows the formation of soldiers. The scene layout, the upgrade of costumes and props, the restoration of some Tang Dynasty etiquette and folk customs, and the display of some Tang Dynasty treasures all make people feel very involved.

In terms of the plot, the screenwriters largely adopted the suggestions of the audience. Even the screenwriter said on the social platform that the crew adopted many suggestions from the audience.

△Screenwriter Wei Fenghua responded to questions on the social platform.

In fact, in terms of actors, plot, and production, "Strange Stories of the Tang Dynasty" is far from being a "masterpiece", but such a thoughtful work with solid content proves that even without the topic traffic on social platforms, the audience will still "vote with their feet" and choose the excellent works in their hearts.

△Stills from "The Strange Stories of the Tang Dynasty". Photo/Official Weibo of "The Strange Stories of the Tang Dynasty"

Xiaoxiang Morning News reporter Wu Chengding

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