A major Chinese drama starring Tang Yan and Mark Chao has been abruptly pulled from its planned broadcast on China Central Television (CCTV-8) just days before its premiere, sparking widespread speculation and disappointment among fans.
The modern romance drama Love Has No Myth — adapted from famed Hong Kong author Yi Shu’s novel Single Woman — was originally slated to air on November 7, with simultaneous streaming on Tencent Video. However, starting November 3, the show suddenly disappeared from CCTV’s programming schedule.
Its time slot was reportedly filled by the family drama Four Joys starring Tong Yao and Jiang Xin, while the official Weibo account for Love Has No Myth has remained silent since October 30.
The sudden cancellation shocked fans, as the series was heavily promoted as Tang Yan’s first lead project after her award-winning performance in Blossoms Shanghai ( 繁花 ).
Industry insiders suspect the decision is tied to the growing controversy surrounding screenwriter Qin Wen, who has been embroiled in multiple scandals in recent weeks.
Qin Wen, known for acclaimed works like Hot Mom!, The First Half of My Life, and Blossoms, was accused by her former assistant “Gu Er” of exploiting staff and using ghostwriters. The assistant leaked a series of audio recordings in which Qin allegedly made disparaging remarks about several celebrities and even mentioned an “assaulting a police officer” incident, bragging about using personal connections to resolve it.
While the recordings have since been deleted, the allegations caused an uproar across Chinese social media, with many condemning the writer for her “abuse of power and arrogance.”
As a result, rumors claim that Love Has No Myth — written by Qin — was deemed too risky to air on state television, leading to its sudden removal.
The drama reportedly had a massive production budget of 200 million RMB (≈ 8.6 million USD) and a marketing campaign worth 20 million RMB (≈ 2.8 million USD). The series was expected to be one of CCTV’s flagship romantic dramas for the year.
Entertainment bloggers revealed that Tang Yan poured tremendous effort into the project, which marked her return to modern television dramas after focusing on family life in recent years. Fans expressed frustration on Weibo:
“Tang Yan finally came back with such a strong cast and production — and now this?”
“She doesn’t deserve to suffer because of the writer’s scandal.”
The scandal has also impacted two Taiwanese actors, Mark Chao (Zhao Youting) and Edward Chen Hao-sen, both signed under One Heart Entertainment in mainland China.
Mark Chao, famous for Eternal Love ( Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms ), was set to make his first small-screen appearance in two years. Meanwhile, Chen Hao-sen — who gained popularity earlier this year with The Difficult One (难哄) — lost a key opportunity for exposure with this cancellation.
“This was a breakout chance for Edward Chen in the mainland market,” one blogger commented. “Now everything’s on hold.”
Neither CCTV nor the production company New Classics Media has issued an official explanation, but insiders hint that the series might undergo “internal review” or “re-editing” before being rescheduled — if it airs at all.
Given Qin Wen’s growing list of scandals and the sensitive nature of her alleged misconduct, many fear Love Has No Myth could join the long list of “banned-before-airing” Chinese dramas, where controversies outside the production doom entire projects.
For now, fans can only hope the long-awaited reunion of Tang Yan and Mark Chao will eventually make it to screens — once the storm around its writer settles.
Sources: ETtoday星光雲
You must be logged in to post a comment.