Hit online dramas withdrawn, shocking fans and industry

Scenes from Go Princess Go feature actor Sheng Yilun and actress Zhang Tian'ai in leading roles. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The withdrawal did not come without warnings. As early as Jan 15, at the finale of Go Princess Go, rumors of media watchdog's decisions to withdraw the phenomenally successful show on moral grounds surfaced on social media. Prior to this, Go Princess Go reportedly underwent massive re-editing after warnings by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television. LeTV, which streams the series and is one of China's biggest online video companies, much like Netflix in the US, denied the rumor, stating that they "reserve the right to investigate rumormongers and Internet media who spread this false news."

As of noon yesterday, Internet users reported they could no longer view Go Princess Go online due to "copyright issues."

LeTV responded through an official statement on its Weibo account.

"LeTV's original production Go Princess Go has been loved by the media and fans ever since its debut. While creating a record high 2.7 billion views online and 2.68 billion discussions of the series on Weibo, the series also attracted unprecedented attention for its overthrow of the traditional methods of online drama production, marketing and broadcasting.

"As required by the authorities, Go Princess Go was withdrawn at noon on Jan 12 (users abroad can still view the program). We apologize for any the troubles this has caused."

According to chinanews.com, Lv Haojiji, director of Go Princess Go, confirmed the authority's decision to withdraw the series Thursday night. As for "morality grounds", the director responded that "even the horse-riding scene in the first episode seemed to have its problems."

Lv said he is unaware whether the series will resume online after re-editing.