Chinese actress Yang Zi’s highly anticipated period drama “The A Family” (家業) has not yet aired but is already caught in a whirlwind of copycat allegations. Production company Huace Film & TV issued a stern statement denouncing short-form content creators for copying core elements from the unreleased show. The studio accused the short dramas of “freeriding creativity” and “eroding the foundation of the drama industry.”
But this isn’t an isolated case. The newly premiered drama “Sniping Butterfly” (狙擊蝴蝶), starring Michelle Chen (Chen Yanxi) and rising star Zhou Keyu, is now facing similar accusations. Viewers were quick to notice uncanny resemblances between “Sniping Butterfly” and an earlier short drama. “Is this even a coincidence anymore?” one netizen wrote, questioning whether the script had been lifted wholesale.
Fans of Sniping Butterfly were quick to defend it. They revealed that filming wrapped in June 2024, and the series had obtained official adaptation rights for the novel of the same name. Several promotional clips, including the viral “wardrobe kiss” scene, were released over a year ago—well before the short drama surfaced.
Despite these clarifications, the damage might already be done. Some short dramas were reportedly using frame-by-frame mimics of Sniping Butterfly’s visuals, character blocking, and even leveraging hashtags like “same plot as Michelle Chen and Zhou Keyu” to generate views.
The plagiarism issue goes beyond individual scenes. It has infected everything from character designs to poster layouts. In one example, the long-format series “Allow Me to Shine” (許我耀眼) was followed by a suspiciously named short drama “Promise to Shine” (許你耀眼). The lead character’s name was barely altered—from Xu Yan to Xu Yan (許妍 → 許煙), and posters bore a near-identical aesthetic.
A viral post compiled dozens of such “copycat collages”, showing visual rip-offs from long-format hits like “The Longest Promise”, “Ashes of Love”, “Till the End of the Moon”, and “Legend of Yun Xi”, among others.
Critics argue this short-form trend of “pick-and-paste drama making” may save time and costs, but it comes at the expense of original creativity and industry credibility. “These short dramas treat long dramas like a material bank,” said one Weibo user. “This isn’t homage, it’s theft.”
As discussions intensify online, the controversy casts a dark shadow over what should have been a triumphant return for Yang Zi and a breakout moment for Sniping Butterfly. Whether the public sympathy will shift or solidify remains to be seen—but for now, the fight for originality in China’s drama industry is louder than ever.
Sources: Yahoo News
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