Depressive Screenwriter

During the autumn season, the three major television stations simultaneously premiered a total of five A-grade dramas.

Their viewership ratings were slightly better than those of the summer season.

After all, the humiliation that April brought to the three major television stations during the summer season was too great. The production departments of the three stations issued a strict order to their production teams, demanding that they achieve some success in the autumn season.

The online broadcasting platforms under the three major television stations also began to cooperate, maximizing their promotional efforts.

Under these circumstances, the fantasy drama "White Deer in the Forest," in which Shanghai Television invested 47 million this quarter, surpassed April's viewership rating of 4.78% in its seventh week of broadcast, exceeding it by just a hair, reaching 4.79%.

However, in the immediately following eighth episode, the drama's viewership rating immediately plummeted to 4.5%, and its reputation also declined.

This was because the plot of the eighth episode had a major problem, causing the collapse of the persona of a popular character.

The drama's rating also dropped from 9.0 to 8.5.

This kind of thing is very normal. Many dramas often see their viewership ratings decline immediately after reaching their peak. In most cases, this is because the screenwriter can't control the plot.

The early plot digs many exciting holes, whetting the audience's appetite, but when it comes to filling those holes later, the screenwriter's ability is insufficient, and they can only use deus ex machina or reduce the IQ of the villains to resolve the final conflict, which will definitely not be recognized by the audience.

But regardless, the viewership rating of "White Deer in the Forest" in its seventh episode was a solid 4.79%.

Therefore, it was confirmed that the highest-rated work this year was not "April," which also allowed the three major television stations to collectively breathe a sigh of relief, and they no longer bothered their subordinates.

That was enough.

Although "White Deer in the Forest" was far inferior to "April" in terms of reputation, influence, and evaluation, the industry's voice was controlled by the three major television stations. They launched various reports on "White Deer in the Forest" topping the year's viewership ratings and hired a bunch of film and television media to promote it, trying to minimize the impact that "April" had on the three major television stations.

But the audience has a scale in their hearts.

If you really want to rank the dramas that premiered this year.

"To the Moon" and "April is Your Lie" would definitely be in the top three.

As December arrived.

The summer television market in Xia State also came to an end.

In general, the dramas that premiered this quarter had very high viewership ratings because the three major television stations spent a lot of money on publicity, but the data for these dramas in the online broadcasting market was very poor, with an average of five to six million paid views per episode and low ratings.

In short, the audience would not pay a second time on the online broadcasting platform for a fast-food drama.

On the contrary, starting in early December, Xia State's television viewers were already looking forward to the winter season.

Among the television dramas premiering in the winter season, the most anticipated television series was the second season of Sakura Television's classic romance drama from three years ago, "Rain in Shanghai," titled "Rain in Shanghai: Continued."

This drama had a viewership rating of 4.23% when it premiered three years ago and a viewership rating of 4.91% when it ended, with a rating of 9.2%. It was truly a rare masterpiece in the romance genre in Xia State's film and television industry in recent years.

This drama itself has a huge fan base from its predecessor, and the male and female leads are both popular A-list stars in Xia State's television industry, so it is normal for it to be temporarily ranked first on the audience's anticipation list among the winter season premieres.

And the second place on this list is "Life is Strange."

Although Xia State's audience is not yet clear what type of drama this is or what story it tells.

But the screenwriter Su Yan, the female lead Gu Qingyuan, the second female lead Shen Liqian, the director Shi Peihua, and the producer Xiaozaki Yume—

The appearance of these names, combined with the previous works they collaborated on, "April," "To the Moon," "Rurouni Kenshin," and "Ancient Love Song."

Fans are naturally full of confidence.

And the third place on the list is the A-grade youth drama "Mystery of Time," invested in by Zhongxia Television for 45 million.

From the trailers it released, Su Yan felt that it was a bit similar to "Hyouka" from his previous life, plus a bit of a suspense and mystery-solving theme. The cast is very luxurious, and it is a television series starring Xia State's top female singer Fu Jingyun as the female lead, so her fans naturally support it.

And the fourth place on the list.

Is Shanghai Television's war history drama, adapted from a classic battle in Xia State's history, "Blazing Sun."

"Rain in Shanghai: Continued."

"Life is Strange."

"Mystery of Time."

"Blazing Sun."

Four A-grade dramas premiere in the winter season, and the investment, cast, themes, and the three major television stations' emphasis on the winter season all exceed previous levels.

Xia State's film and television audiences can all feel some subtle atmosphere.

"The three major television stations absolutely cannot afford to lose to Qingkong Television and Su Yan again!"

"That's right, Su Yan's current situation is special. If his drama doesn't premiere on the three major television stations, it will definitely be targeted by them together. If his drama premieres on one of the three major television stations, it will be targeted by the other two."

"There's no way around it. Xia State's television industry doesn't allow such a powerful figure to exist. Su Yan's drama helped Qingkong Television win the season's viewership championship, breaking the three major television stations' monopoly on the season's championship for so many years. The hatred is a bit too great. As long as the old thief is still active in the market for one day, he will definitely be targeted by the three major television stations!"

"This is a good thing. I feel like the old thief is like the catfish in the catfish effect. Before he appeared, the three major television stations fooled us viewers at will, filming some terrible dramas to cheat us out of our money. Now, do you think the three major television stations still dare to do that? Knowing that Su Yan the old thief has an S-grade drama premiering in April, Sakura Television and Shanghai Television have both begun to prepare for S-grade dramas."

"Three S-grade dramas fighting each other in April. This scene hasn't appeared in four or five years."

"But April is still early, January is also very interesting! These four A-grade dramas are all top-notch in terms of production lineup. Especially the sequel to 'Rain in Shanghai'... I don't know if this work can surpass its predecessor."

"It's difficult. The plot structure of 'Rain in Shanghai' itself is very complete. Sakura Television is probably just rushing this project because they were forced by Su Yan. I can hardly imagine what the plot of the sequel to 'Rain in Shanghai' will be like... I just hope the plot doesn't ruin this work."

"Speaking of which, it still depends on the screenwriter. The soul of a drama lies in the script... If 'April is Your Lie' had a second season, I don't think anyone in the entire market would doubt its quality. Because Su Yan has a reputation for four consecutive dramas with ratings above 9.0, but the achievements of 'Rain in Shanghai' screenwriter Sun Xiang's dramas in the past two years are hard to describe. Even I, a super fan of 'Rain in Shanghai,' doubt the quality of the sequel, alas."

"Anyway, I'll support Su Yan the old thief in advance. I hope 'Life is Strange' can win another season championship!"

"Again? Don't think too beautifully. How could the miracle of 'April' be a common occurrence. Su Yan's ability is obvious to all, but to say that every one of his dramas can be comparable to 'April' is an exaggeration. 'Life is Strange' is still premiering on Qingkong Television. I don't ask it to win the season's viewership championship, I just hope it can win the first place in the quarter's reputation like Su Yan the old thief's previous dramas."

The autumn season's film and television dramas have not yet finished broadcasting.

The focus of market fans' opinions and discussions has already shifted to the dramas of the winter season.

In the "Life is Strange" production team, Su Yan and Xiaozaki Yume, as company directors, are naturally very sensitive to the market's trends.

Xiaozaki Yume was even frowning as she studied the information about the three major television stations in the next two quarters.

"In just over half a month, our new drama will be premiering again," Xiaozaki Yume's voice was filled with excitement and a hint of nervousness.

"This is already the fifth drama we've co-produced, and you're still so anxious?" Su Yan said with a smile, putting down the script in his hand.

"It's easy to go from frugality to luxury, but difficult to go from luxury to frugality! Our last work was the season champion. If 'Life is Strange' doesn't achieve this kind of result, it always feels like we're regressing, but the season championship is not that easy to get, especially since it's on Qingkong Television," Xiaozaki Yume brushed the hair beside her ear.

"Maybe, the miracle of 'April' will only happen once in this lifetime. Maybe your fans are not interested in this drama without your participation... Even if your fans don't care about these things, but 'Life is Strange' has so few romance elements and such a big difference in style from your previous works, maybe..."

Su Yan stopped Xiaozaki Yume's nervous muttering.

He got up and opened the curtains of his office, and dazzling light shone into the room.

"Are you afraid?"

Xiaozaki Yume was stunned when she heard this, thought for a while, and then said in a low voice.

"A little."

"Guess... Akasaka Yoshishi, are the production teams of the other three A-grade dramas competing in the same season as 'Life is Strange' afraid?" Su Yan laughed.

"I don't need to inquire to know that the bottom line standard for the performance of the dramas 'Rain in Shanghai: Continued,' 'Blazing Sun,' and 'Mystery of Time' set by the three major television stations is definitely..." Su Yan looked at Xiaozaki Yume.

"Not allowed to lose to our 'Life is Strange.'"

Xiaozaki Yume was stunned when she heard this.

"The ones who are really under pressure should be them, not us."

"Su Yan, you really are always so confident," Xiaozaki Yume blinked her eyes, sat down in the chair, and the expression on her face gradually softened.

"The reason why you are anxious about temporary gains and losses is because you are afraid that you will never have a chance to win back after losing," Su Yan said.

"But I'm different."

"Even if I really lose..."

Xiaozaki Yume looked at Su Yan.

"I'll just come up with a better work next time and get revenge."

Su Yan didn't blindly believe in the works he drew, he just blindly believed that there was no creator, company, or television station in this world that could compete with the works of a whole world from his previous life in the system.

The goal before the premiere is definitely first place, but he can also accept situations where the work doesn't suit the local conditions or where Xia State's powerful production teams and teams exert their strength.

But so far, that kind of situation hasn't happened.

Half a month passed in a flash, and soon it was late December.

In the "Life is Strange" production team, the filming progress of this drama has also reached the fourth episode.

As Su Yan wrote the scripts episode by episode, Gu Qingyuan and Shen Liqian also gradually understood the highlights of Su Yan's drama.

The setting of "Life is Strange" is quite similar to Su Yan's classic work from his previous life, "Steins;Gate."

The protagonist of this drama, Wheat, suddenly discovers one day that she has the ability to rewind time.

For example, as long as she concentrates and activates her ability, she can rewind time to a few minutes ago.

And the first time she used this ability was to save her friend Xiao Yi, whom she hadn't seen for many years.

Because of this rescue incident, she and Xiao Yi were also involved in a murder case in the town.

The main storyline of this drama is that the female lead uses her ability to change the fate of many people and find the real culprit of the murder case.

But in fact, as the plot progresses to the end, the more she changes the direction of the world, the more the world will actively correct itself, either causing her town to encounter a huge disaster due to the world's correction, or—

She must personally repair everything she once changed one by one.

Including her friend Xiao Yi, whom she personally saved, she must also return to her original fate.

"Steins;Gate" also has a world line option to deceive the world.

But "Life is Strange" does not have this kind of clever ending.

No matter how you choose the final ending, it will be a tragedy.

In Su Yan's previous life, there were many similar classic choice problems.

Sacrifice one person to save a thousand people, what would you choose?

And often in these kinds of problems, the person you choose to sacrifice must be your relatives and friends. And the thousand people you save are often unimportant passersby.

In the drama "Life is Strange," the choice that the female lead ultimately faces lies in this.

Although Shen Liqian and Gu Qingyuan don't know the plot behind this drama, they can also feel something is wrong during the filming process.

For example, there is even a scene where Wheat gently kisses Xiao Yi.

Although the two are professional actors and don't feel any embarrassment.

But Su Yan's drama, isn't he planning to let himself go on the theme?