The upcoming Allen Ren and Peng Xiao Ran C-drama Love and Crown has just grabbed over 2 million pre-orders according to streaming service YOUKU.
The 37-episode political-themed historical romance drama does not yet have a premiere date, but its pre-order announcement did come with a cool poster (above) YOUKU message about its plot:
Everyone at YOUKU is eagerly anticipating the intense tug-of-war between the young Emperor Xiao Huan (aka Allen Ren) and his soon-to-be Empress Ling Cang Cang (PengXiao Ran).
YOUKU also gave the heads up to fans that, yep, they will be dropping more exciting content promoting Love and Crown soon.
What is Love and Crown?
For those of you who missed this one, and I must admit I was a couple of steps behind the curve at first, Love and Crown (called 凤凰台上 or Phoenix Stage in China) is an historical romance drama that was filmed between January 27th and June 20th, 2024, so yes, this one is sure to be dropping soon.
Especially as billboards promoting the drama are also going up in various Chinese cities this week.
Love and Crown is directed by Lin Feng, the director of the recently released The Journey of Legend, and written by Miao Wen Jing, who is also the screenwriter for the currently ongoing Sword and Beloved.
The C-drama stars the aforementioned Allen Ren (star of The Demon Hunter’s Romance) and Peng Xiao Ran (Mu Yu Mo in Blood River) as the leads, with Gala Zhang, Estelle Chen, Wang Zhuo Cheng, He Nan, Liu Meng Rui and Luo Ming Jie as part of the supporting cast.
The Love and Crown plot looks like this:
Xia Lingcang (played by Peng Xiao Ran), a chivalrous heroine renowned for her righteous courage and unparalleled martial arts, establishes the Fenglai Pavilion—a sect dedicated to upholding justice in the martial world. The young emperor of the Nanqi Dynasty, Xiao Huan (played by Allen Ren), is wholeheartedly devoted to his people. However, the chief minister, in alliance with factions from the martial world, seizes control of the court and brings suffering to the populace.
To save the common people from hardship, Xiao Huan adopts the alias “Bai Chifan” and travels incognito through the martial world, where he meets Ling Cangcang, the chivalrous leader of Fenglai Pavilion.
Together, they decide to roam the realm, righting wrongs and eliminating tyranny, developing a deep mutual respect. Unexpectedly, Ling Cangcang turns out to be the chief minister’s daughter and is soon to become Xiao Huan’s empress.
Faced with turmoil in the martial world and the suffering of the people, the noble-minded Xiao Huan and Ling Cangcang join forces to quell unrest, provide disaster relief, and punish corruption.
Now, no, that doesn’t sound like anything particularly different than what we’ve already seen but, it all depends on how it’s written, directed and acted, right?
My guess is Love and Crown will be dropping on YOUKU before the end of the year. I will keep you updated as the official word comes out.
About the Author
