ABSTRACT
As the unmatched popular media entertainment genre of the 1990s, Chinese TV drama confronts “encroachment” from both inside and outside the TV industry in the recent decades. The steady growth of commercial blockbusters and films made by established Chinese moviemakers and celebrities turned film directors (a new force within the film industry),1 alongside the maturing and growing group of “culture” shows, which include variety shows, reality shows, talk shows and dating shows, has evolved today’s China’s entertainment industry into a more competitive and multifarious entity.2
