Feb. 1, 2024
Stephen Chow, also known as Chow Sing-chi, has agreed to a deal with Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, to produce a sequence of mini-drama series for mainland China viewers. By: Dylan Low
Mini dramas
are noted as professionally-generated content that has become prominent in
China, and in other Asian countries. Series usually consist of 20-100 episodes
of 1-15 minutes each, which makes them easily enjoyable and suitable for casual
viewership on mobile devices. The most popular genres are comedy and romantic
dramas, with many adaptations from web novels.
In a
statement by Douyin on their WeChat social media feed, they mentioned that
Chow’s first series project is titled Jinzhu Yuye and is currently in
the works, which could be unveiled by May. He is understood to be collaborating
with other creators.
Based in
Hong Kong, the writer-director-producer Chow was majorly known back in the
1990s and early 2000s with film credits such as King of Comedy, Shaolin
Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle. He has been recognised as an iconic
figure and is notable for popularizing the “mo lei tau” (translated as
“nonsense”) format of frenetic slapstick comedy.
Chow has
also worked to become a successful businessman, having previously owned a stock
market-listed company and a broad property portfolio. In the announcement by
Douyin, Chow noted the mini-drama format as a “fast-growing sector of
technology and media innovation.”
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