An immensely successful TV drama, filmed in China depicting the story of the first female empress in history of China, has been banned after just one week of airing; and it is assumed that the reason of banning could be related to the scandalous clothes worn by the main actresses.
The first episode of “The Saga of Wu Zetian” was aired on 21 December; however, the satellite commercial channel, Hunan TV, reported that the next episode which was going to air the following Sunday was cancelled due to “technical reasons.”
However, many thought that it was because of punishment for the costumes worn by actresses that were mentioned by the viewers. They even gave it a nickname: “The Saga of Squeezed Breasts.”
Chinese censors had issued some instructions forbidding any depiction of one-night stands, infidelity, sexual violence, rape, polygamy, necrophilia, prostitution, nudity, masturbation, murder, suicide, drugs, gambling, and even naughty subtitles.
The Saga of Wu Zetian has been starring Chinese actress Fan Bingbing, who gained international fame thanks to movies such as Iron Man 3 and X-Men: Days of Future Past, as Empress Wu Zetian of Tang Dynasty, a woman accused of killing a lot of people.
There were allegations that she smothered her child, killed her brother and sister, and also directed their dismemberment. She enjoyed the company of her young lover despite being older.
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Furthermore, there may be another reason behind its cancellation, which could be the high cost and success of the production, estimated at more than $50 million.
“By cancelling the TV drama halfway through, they have either not admitted that they did not do well before, or they need to clear space for another show produced by CCTV,” one viewer commented.