Go Princess Go (Chinese: 太子妃升职记; pinyin: Tàizǐfēi Shēngzhí Jì) is a 2015 Chinese web series produced by LeTV and adapted from the novel of the same name by Xian Chen. The series stars Zhang Tianai, Sheng Yilun, Yu Menglong, Jiang Qilin and Guo Junchen in the lead roles. It premiered in December 2015 with 35 episodes.[1][2] The show incorporates various themes such as time travel, bisexuality and gender identity.[1] A third of the show was censored in China.
| Go Princess Go | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Romance Comedy Historical Time-travel |
| Based on | Go Princess Go by Xian Chen |
| Written by | Qin Shuang Shang Menglu |
| Directed by | Lu Hao Ji Ji |
| Starring | Zhang Tianai Sheng Yilun Yu Menglong Jiang Qilin Guo Junchen |
| Opening theme | Can Miss But Not Say by Cui Zige |
| Ending theme | The Past of the Future by Sheng Yilun |
| Country of origin | China |
| Original language | Mandarin |
| No. of episodes | 36 |
| Production | |
| Producers | Zhang Shao Gan Wei |
| Production location | Xiangshan Movie & Television Town |
| Running time | 30 mins |
| Production company | Le Young Pictures |
| Original release | |
| Network | LeTV |
| Release | 13 December 2015 |
| Related | |
| Mr. Queen | |
Synopsis
editA modern playboy travels back in time 1,000 years to find himself in the body of a royal princess. As a man inside a woman's body, he enjoys flirting and touching his husband's concubines with little impunity. Once having discovered his more feminine side, he truly falls in love with his husband.[1]
The show has three endings: the original, and the series has two alternate endings. One of them was filmed long after the first two. It is a parody of historical dramas.
Cast
editMain
edit- Zhang Tianai as Zhang Pengpeng (Female)[3]
- Zhang Zhiyuan as Zhang Peng (Male)
- A modern playboy travels back in time 1,000 years and finds himself in the body of the crown princess.
- Sheng Yilun as Qi Sheng[4]
- Crown Prince. An intelligent and cunning man of few words.
- Yu Menglong as Qi Han[5]
- Ninth Prince. A gentle and sophisticated man with intricate and complex thoughts. He goes against Qi Sheng in political affairs, as well as compete for Zhang Pengpeng's love with him.
- Jiang Qilin as Prince Zhao[6]
- A man who appears foolish but hides a complex train of thought. He appears to be at odd with Qi Sheng, but actually works together with him to bring down Qi Han. He marries Lu Li.
- Guo Junchen as Yang Yan[7]
- Son of a general. Qi Han's closest aide.
Supporting
edit- Hai Ling as Lu Li[6]
- Zhang Pengpeng's personal attendant. A bright, straightforward and loyal girl.
- An Yongchang as Jiang Yingyue
- Prince Zhao's wife. She has an illicit relationship with Qi Sheng.
- Chen Shi as Empress Dowager
- Peng Yuchang as Eunuch Qiang[8]
- Qi Sheng's attendant. He likes Lu Li.
- Zai Yishu as Huang Liangyuan
- Cheng Xiaojin as Chen Liangdi
- Zheng Shuhuai as Wang Shaoxun
- Hu Yue as Li Chengxun
- Sun Fengzheng as Eunuch Li – A
- Sun Fengzhao as Eunuch Li – B
- Chen Hao as Yang Yu
- Yang Yan's father.
- Chai Wei as Zhang Lingling
- Zhang Pengpeng's niece. Yang Yan's wife.
- Xu Yiwen as Zhang's mother
- Zhang Chen as Doctor Song
- Ben Jieming as Guard Li
- Wang Wenqiang as Guard
- Zhou Le as Guard
- Liu Yining as Deliveryman
Production
editThe drama's adaptation rights were bought in 2012 by producer Gan Wei, and pre-production started in 2014.[9] The series is directed by Lu Hao Ji Ji and written by Qin Shuang, who kept the main structure of the storyline but made considerable changes to better fit the screenplay adaptation and increase the pacing and fluidity.[10] Due to the short production time of 70 days, insufficient time and funds were used to prepare the props, and product placements have to be inserted into the show.
The series began filming at Xiangshan Movie & Television Town in August 2015.[11]
Soundtrack
edit| No. | Title | Singers | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Can Miss But Not Say (可念不可说)" | Cui Zige | |
| 2. | "Whirlpool (漩涡)" | Sheng Yilun | |
| 3. | "The Future of the Past (以前的以后)" | Sheng Yilun | |
| 4. | "Tell Me The Future (告诉我未来)" | Guo Junchen | |
| 5. | "Warm Heart (暖心)" | Diao Lili |
Reception
editDespite its low budget of 20 million yuan (US$3 million) and cast of amateur actors, the show became highly successful and was termed as a "viral internet comedy".[1][12][13] The show has generated over $1.5 million (41 million yuan) in profit, 50,000 paid subscribers, 2.2 million new memberships, and had over 2.6 billion views in total.[1] At one point the show was a No. 1 trending topic on Weibo for 10 consecutive days.[14]
Critics attribute the success of the show to its short length of 30 minutes, thus appealing to younger audience with shorter attention span. Also, the show was broadcast online and allowed viewers to post comments and discuss the storyline with others, making the watching experience more interactive.[13] The transgender angle also makes the series more topical, helping break down barriers in discussing gender change and homosexuality.[13] Oppositely, the series has been criticized for being "lousy" and appealing to "low-brow tastes".[13]
However, it has suffered from interference by Chinese censors. The show was taken offline on January 20, 2016 following a request by the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television. It has been speculated that this is due to the censors' dislike of sexual scenes, vulgar language[1] and time-travel themes. The show was made available again around January 28, 2016, with a number of cuts, roughly about a third of the show – "seven to eight minutes in each episode".[14] As of 2016 LeTV was considering a movie sequel to the show.[14]
Sequel
editIn July 2023, a sequel was aired, first titled "Go Princess Go2", and later retitled "The Princess and The Werewolf" (Chinese: 郎君不如意; pinyin: Láng jūn bùrúyì) as a comedic romance spin on the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale, in which the daughter of the couple in Go Princess GO, finds herself abducted by a seductive Wolf king. King Kui Mulang wishes to marry her so he can safely recover his "power pearl", that she accidentally swallowed. Filming period: 2021-Jun-29 to 2021-Sep-29. The TV series aired on the Youku platform on July 20, 2023, for 30 episodes until August 18. It was directed by Cheng Feng and stars Chen Zheyuan as Kui Mulang/Li Xiong for the shape shifting wolf, and Wu Xuanyi as princess Qipa.[15] The show reached 7000 popularity index on Youku on July 23, 2023.[16]
Awards and nominations
edit| Award | Category | Nominee | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Golden Guduo Media Awards | Most Popular Web Series | Go Princess Go | Won | [17] |
| Best Actress (Web series) | Zhang Tian'ai | Won | ||
| Weibo Fans' Choice Popularity Award | Won | |||
| 1st Asia New Media Film Festival | Best Cinematography (Web series) | Go Princess Go | Won | [18] |
| 2016 ENAwards | Top Ten Web series | Won | [19] |
Remake
editIn June 2018, it was announced that the drama will have a Korean remake which will be helmed by Fox Networks Group Asia Pacific and Endeavor China together with YG STUDIOPLEX and LYD Networks.[20] Two years since the announcement, it was picked up by local pay TV channel tvN but only YG STUDIOPLEX and LYD Networks (which became an investor instead of a co-production role due to financial difficulty) went on for the project with new production partners, CJ ENM's Studio Dragon and independent company Crave Works.
The adaptation, titled Mr. Queen, aired on tvN on December 12, 2020.
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f Huang, Zheping (22 January 2016). "This viral internet comedy about time travel and bisexuality has suddenly been banned in China". Quartz. Retrieved 2016-02-25.
- ^ "No, princess, no". www.weekinchina.com. 22 January 2016. Retrieved 2016-02-25.
- ^ "《太子妃升职记》开播 张天爱穿越成古代太子妃". Sohu (in Chinese). December 14, 2015.
- ^ "《太子妃升职记》获好评 盛一伦神还原小说人物". Netease (in Chinese). December 18, 2015.
- ^ "《太子妃升职记》热映 于朦胧化身俊美九王". dzwww (in Chinese). December 16, 2015. Archived from the original on June 8, 2019. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
- ^ a b "《太子妃升职记》热播 海铃江奇霖组"绿色家族"". ifeng (in Chinese). January 4, 2016.
- ^ "《太子妃升职记》"国民校草"郭俊辰变逗比". Netease (in Chinese). December 16, 2015.
- ^ "强公公彭昱畅爆红 网友直呼这么帅". Sina (in Chinese). February 4, 2016.
- ^ "《太子妃》剧组有多穷？罗马凉鞋淘宝选了4个晚上". ifeng (in Chinese). August 4, 2015.
- ^ "《太子妃升职记》编剧秦爽解读"神剧之王"". China Daily (in Chinese). December 31, 2015.
- ^ "网络穿越剧《太子妃升职记》象山开机". CNNB (in Chinese). August 2, 2015.
- ^ "Small-budget series Go Princess Go becomes online success". Asia One. 14 January 2016. Archived from the original on October 23, 2017.
- ^ a b c d "Go Princess Go an unexpected hit". MCLC Resource Center. 18 January 2016. Retrieved 2016-02-25.
- ^ a b c "Hit online drama 'Go Princess Go' is back". China Daily Asia. Retrieved 2016-02-25.
- ^ The Princess and the Werewolf, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28183173/
- ^ "The Princess and the Werewolf 第1集 the Princess and the Werewolf 01".
- ^ "金骨朵网络影视盛典颁奖 "太子妃"张天爱获两奖项". China News (in Chinese). 18 August 2016.
- ^ "首届亚洲新媒体电影节成功举行 亚洲新媒体电影人相聚釜山电影殿堂". Ent Group (in Chinese). 30 July 2016.
- ^ ""2016中国泛娱乐指数盛典"在京颁奖 《火星情报局》等榜上有名[组图]". China.com (in Chinese). 30 November 2016.
- ^ "Fox Networks Asia Partners With Endeavor China; MY Entertainment Hires Discovery Exec – Global Briefs". Deadline. June 14, 2018.