The General Administration has issued new regulations. Will there be any highlights in TV dramas in the future?

Since the implementation of the "Regulations on the Administration of TV Drama Content" on July 1, 2010, the SARFT has been unable to shake off the blame. Starting with the mainland version of "Let's Watch Meteor Shower Together", "Chinese Paladin 3", "Ugly Wudi 3", and many other bad dramas have appeared on TV screens, and the audience has complained about why the TV drama censorship failed to filter out these bad dramas, and what exactly is the censorship system censoring.

Recently, the General Administration has announced that it will issue new regulations to make the censorship and control of TV dramas more stringent, and the censorship and control of online dramas will be strengthened unprecedentedly. The original production agency will submit the finished film to the provincial radio and television bureau for review, and the satellite broadcast will be submitted to the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television for review and issuance of broadcast licenses.

Is TV drama censorship more stringent?

Previously, except for special circumstances, the review mode required that a TV series be submitted for review in one go, and the sample tape submitted for review should be recorded in the form of a broadcast version, and the version submitted for review should be the same as the version to be broadcast. In addition to not violating the law, it is said that there are also invisible thresholds for review: the protagonist cannot be too fickle, and the mistress cannot be happy; the plot of unmarried children born in the 1980s is to be avoided; spirits are not allowed after the founding of the People's Republic of China; there cannot be premature love and violence on campus; anti-social, anti-law, and anti-moral content is not allowed.

The incident of Empress Wu's breasts being cut off that was talked about all over the country a while ago was because the actress in the drama "The Legend of Empress Wu" was wearing low-cut clothing and was censored by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television. After the drama was rebroadcast, the actress' breasts were cut off and the part below the neck was not allowed to appear in the camera.

Judging from the new regulations that have been revealed now, the number of review links will increase. The new regulations will include review by the Central Propaganda Department in the review process. That is, after the provincial bureau has reviewed it, the Provincial Party Committee Propaganda Department will review it again, and then the program will be reviewed by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television regarding whether to broadcast it on satellite.

Who is judging?

The current censorship mechanism is not decided by one person. The composition of these reviewers is also complex and fluid. They are generally retired leaders of mainstream media, university teachers, and staff members of the radio and television system. When there is a drama, free experts are randomly selected to review it in turn.

Judging from the current film reviewers, the age of the reviewers is relatively high, and their acceptance of new things and new trends is obviously not as good as that of young people. Their tolerance of online buzzwords and some sensitive content is also worrying. How many retired leaders and university teachers can understand the young people's love of "danmei", "yuri", "gay" and "brain hole"?

The new regulations also emphasize that the censorship and control of online dramas will be strengthened unprecedentedly. Referring to the management of overseas film and television dramas online last year, starting from September last year, the imported TV dramas broadcast online must first submit the website's annual introduction plan to the provincial radio and television bureau for review and then report to the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television.

Since foreign dramas must be reviewed before broadcast, domestic audiences are unable to follow the dramas simultaneously through regular channels such as major video websites. Major domestic video websites must endure the pain caused by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television's action to regulate foreign dramas. Affected by this action, the price of introducing new foreign dramas has continued to decline.

In this regard, the concerns that online dramas will usher in a cold winter are not groundless.

The General Administration strictly reviews and curbs the development of online dramas?

The new regulations seem to reduce the authority of the General Administration. The TV series that need to be reviewed by the provincial propaganda departments are limited to those broadcast during prime time, and non-prime time TV series are not included. For example, "The Journey of Flower" and "Ancient Swordsman" are not among those that need to be sent to the General Administration for review. If they do not need to be sent to the General Administration for review, will the market be even colder?

From the perspective of broadcasting and production, the change in the censorship system will make it more troublesome for TV stations to schedule programs - the censorship standards of propaganda departments in different places may be different. If the TV series is broadcast on different satellite platforms, there may be multiple plans for post-censorship modification of the content, which greatly increases the cost. Due to the many broadcast accidents that occurred in the first half of the year, coupled with the consistent style of local governments, plots that skirt the edge line may be rejected, which will also promote the early arrival of the one drama one star policy.

Compared with TV dramas, online dramas have a wider range of themes, a wider content coverage, and a larger scale. The new regulations also emphasize "review before broadcast". Whether the newly emerging online drama and IP adaptation craze will hit an iceberg, and whether it can set off another wave of online viewing frenzy, the prospects are not optimistic.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.