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Chinanews.com, Beijing, August 9 (Reporter Shangguan Yun) Not long ago, the hit drama "The Strange Stories of the Tang Dynasty: Journey to the West" reached its finale. The Douban score has also risen all the way, from the initial 8.1 points to the current 8.4 points.

The drama has a total of 40 episodes, consisting of eight unit stories such as "The Demon Conquering". It is also the second season of "Strange Stories of the Tang Dynasty". It is adapted from Wei Fenghua's novel of the same name and tells the story of Lu Lingfeng, Su Wuming and others.

Image source: Douban screenshot

As the series came to an end, people began to pay attention to a question: did "The Strange Stories of the Tang Dynasty: Journey to the West" break the "sequel curse"? For film and television dramas, what is the key factor for a sequel to surpass its predecessor?

Has it won a good reputation?

Compared with the first season, "The Strange Stories of the Tang Dynasty: Journey to the West" basically has the same cast and is still produced by Guo Jingyu and directed by Bai Shan.

From the beginning to the end, many topics related to "The Strange Stories of the Tang Dynasty: Journey to the West" have been on the hot search. Each story has its own characteristics, and the audience is keen to discuss the content structure and the growth arc of the characters.

For example, regarding the content of the story, some netizens believe that the logic of the case is average and "it still cannot deviate from the genre of detective idol dramas."

But some viewers also think that the quality is a step up from the first part, with more exquisite photography and martial arts; in addition, it continues the fast pace of the first part, and the sequel starts very cleanly, telling a relatively smooth story in just a few episodes.

Image source: Screenshot of the video of "The Strange Stories of the Tang Dynasty: Journey to the West"

However, judging from Douban's ratings, "The Strange Stories of the Tang Dynasty: Journey to the West" has basically maintained a relatively good reputation. Many people have started urging for the third season early on, looking forward to continued filming.

"This drama has a strong control over the overall planning of the series. Its continued popularity also shows the importance of original creation. The high-quality images and fascinating stories make good use of the strengths of long videos." said columnist Han Haoyue.

How to break the "sequel curse"?

On another level, the high popularity of "Strange Stories of the Tang Dynasty: Journey to the West" has also attracted people's attention to another topic, that is, how can film and television dramas break the "sequel curse"?

Earlier, after the broadcast of "Tang Dynasty Strange Stories", it became a small hit, and the plot, costumes, and props were all the focus of people's attention. At that time, some viewers expressed their desire to see a sequel, but they were worried that the quality would not keep up, resulting in poor reputation.

In the field of film and television, there is an unwritten saying, namely the "sequel curse", which generally refers to the difficulty of a sequel surpassing the first one. For a hit TV series, it is indeed not easy for its sequel to reach the level and attention of the previous one.

For example, the "Young Justice Bao" series, which was popular on TV earlier, had a Douban score of 8.6 for the first part and 7.6 for the second part, which was not low. However, even many years after it was broadcast, there were still netizens commenting that the first part was the most classic.

Image source: Douban screenshot

This cannot be entirely attributed to the "time filter". The popularity of the previous work often raises the audience's expectations, which requires the second season to be innovative and bring surprises to the audience while ensuring the continuation of the original style as much as possible.

"Through the previous work, many audiences have established feelings for the characters. The so-called authenticity requires that the first requirement is that the sequel must use the original cast as much as possible to ensure the continuity of the characters. Replacing the leading actors is often a taboo," Han Haoyue analyzed.

"High quality" is the core element that makes a TV series win the favor of the audience. Han Haoyue agrees with this. Excellent story content and character settings are the basis for a TV series to gain a good reputation. If you want to break the "sequel curse", you must first refine the core of the drama and ensure continuity between each season to attract the audience to watch.

For example, the "Iron Teeth and Bronze Teeth Ji Xiaolan" series, which had a good reputation before, has a basically similar storytelling style, which does not make people feel too much of a disconnect; the same is true for the "Tang Gui" series, the "sense of suspense" is consistent, and the story is always strong.

In addition, he believes that no matter what type of film or TV series, it is made for the audience, so we must respect the audience's pertinent suggestions, always connect with the present, and find resonance between the mainstream audience and the story.

"Nowadays, the value of IP is becoming more and more prominent, and there are many sequels of domestic dramas. Consciously controlling the rhythm of the drama as a whole and improving the quality of the drama are the key to a drama's ability to break through the circle," he said. (End)

Source: China News Network