With Yang Zi and Elvis Han‘s new business-themed historical romance The Heir dropping today, I am not surprised iQIYI has dropped a set of stills to promote it to us.
Of course, those stills feature the main leads, but we also get to see scenes featuring supporting cast members Wu Mian, Tian Xiao Jie, Xu Bai Hui, Wang Zi Hao, Xie Xin, Li Hong Liang, Yang Si, Fu Da Long, Cao Lei, and Yang Si (yes, this one does feature a superb cast), while iQIYI also reminded viewers about the plot:
A case involving tribute ink rewrites the fates of various families. Family feuds, scheming, and the upheavals of the Huizhou ink industry are about to begin.
The number of The Heir‘s episodes increases
Originally listed as a 40-episode drama, it appears The Heir has now been bumped up to a 42-episode drama after China’s National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) recently relaxed the 40-episode cap for dramas that has been in place for years.
For me, that pretty much means it’s a ‘No watch’, as I currently have six dramas I am watching weekly, and about 12 others I am trying to finish, so taking on another drama with so many episodes is just not feasible time-wise.
Hopefully, that won’t impact the drama’s success for too many others, as it was something even Chinese viewers were complaining about before the cap was put in place — too many C-dramas being dragged out into more episodes with flashbacks and dragged out scenarios just so that the production company could make more advertising revenue.
The Heir, however, does apparently have a quite involved plot, so that may not be the case here. I guess you will have to see how it goes for you if you decide you have time for that number of episodes.
I did read in Chinese news media recently, though, that only 20% of Chinese viewers actually finish a drama they start watching, with 50% having dropped it by Episode 5.
If a drama ends up being a “flop”, that number of viewers who finish it drops to just 10%.
And, even if they do finish a drama, most Chinese viewers will be watching it on a far faster speed than you or me.
So, the chances of most Chinese viewers at least watching The Heir through to completion is probably pretty low — 40 or 42 episodes, I would say it probably won’t make much if any difference.
Anyway, enjoy the nine The Heir stills and look out for the C-drama on iQIYI around lunchtime.
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