poster of the movie "Love is Not Blind"
"If you are in a romantic relationship, be as crazy as you can, but if you are not, be strong to yourself."
With this slogan, TV drama Love is Not Blind sets itself up to tell young people about the ordeal of falling in love and breaking up.
Planned to shoot early September, the 33-episode TV drama is an adaptation of 25-year-old Bao Jingjing's 2009 Web novel of the same name. This is not the first time the book was adapted. Last year saw the film Love is Not Blind, and this year, the stage drama was created, both based on Bao's book.
Lessons on relationships
Though Bao's novel was well received among netizens, it was the movie, starring Wen Zhang and Bai Baihe, that popularized the title.
Since its premiere in the Chinese mainland last December, Love is Not Blind earned over 300 million yuan ($47.25 million) in less than a month, according to m.entgroup.cn.
In the movie, wedding company employee Huang Xiaoxian discovers that her boyfriend, who she has been dating for seven years, is having an affair with her best friend. For a while, Huang finds it difficult to move on from the relationship and get past her boyfriend's betray.
Huang gradually recovers and begins a healthy relationship with her colleague, Wang Yiyang.
As Bao told Changsha Evening Newspaper late last year, the story of Huang is loosely based on her personal experiences.
"It has been a long time. Those I must let go have gone and some I'm still trying to," She said. "But there's something I must remember, and I remembered deeply... I wanted to give the novel a bright ending."
Bao's experiences of losing love and depression is common among young people, and though ordinary, such events and feelings relate to audiences everywhere.
Now, almost a year later, young audience are still moved by the story.
"I re-watched Love is Not Blind and find myself still loving it," Zuo Jianli, a TV program editor in Henan Province, wrote on her Sina Weibo on Saturday.
Setting high standards
Drama actor Zhang Mo and actress Yao Di will star in the TV adaptation. The previous director of the movie, Teng Huatao, will be the supervisor of the TV drama version. Like the movie, Love is Not Blind will also contain a number of funny and classic observations on love and relationships.
Wang speculates that a person experiences three phrases after breaking up: First, deep sadness whenever you hear the person's name; second, pretending to forget, but still experiencing heartache; finally, the ex becomes merely a passer-by.
"The TV drama will still be based on the original novel, but the story will be more diverse and interesting," Teng said in an interview with Chongqing Economic Times (CQET). "In the movie version, we only shot two-thirds [of the original story], and many scenes did not have the space to surface. The TV drama will reveal more about Huang."
Teng added that there will be additional stories for supporting actors and actresses, like Huang's ex boyfriend Lu Ran and her best friend Feng Jiaqi.
But some are skeptical about the re-adaptation. In recent years, there have been too many cases with adaptations capitalizing on the success of the original work. Many netizens think a simple love story, already told in a movie, does not have to be drawn out into a television show.
"The show only wants to use the famous name of the movie ... A simple love story will suddenly become a terrible idol drama," netizen Luotamu told CQET.
Also, with a new cast, it is inevitable audiences will make a comparison. Actress Bai and actor Wen have become a staple among audience, and some are not ready to accept new faces.
"The novel tells a story about a common couple in the city. Changing the actors will not change the story," Teng said. "When we first shot the movie, we did not feel Bai or Wen were good. But they received positive feedback when the movie screened."