New My Fair Princess is a 2011 Chinese television drama written by Taiwanese novelist Chiung Yao (with help by her assistant Huang Su-yuan) and produced by Hunan Broadcasting System. It is a remake of the 1998–1999 smash hit My Fair Princess, and directed by the same 2 directors from My Fair Princess III (2003). Akin to the original, main cast members were almost all unestablished, although lead actresses Li Sheng and Hai Lu were already 27 and 26 years old in 2010 when it was shot. Ruby Lin from the original as well as Qin Lan and Zang Jinsheng from My Fair Princess III made guest appearances.
Despite a huge budget compared to the original, including over ¥4.5 million (roughly US$0.7 million) on costumes alone,[1] the series received largely negative reviews after it was broadcast.
Parts
The drama is composed of three parts.
Part 1: Flying Swallow (燕兒翩翩飛): episodes 1 to 36
Part 2: Blowing Wind (風兒陣陣吹): episodes 37 to 74
Part 3: Wandering People (人兒何處歸): episodes 75 to 98
In Taiwan, where the first 2 seasons of the original series both recorded double-digit ratings, the remake only managed 0.8 in the first week, ranking last among Taiwan's major channels.[2] Ratings eventually improved to 2.0 by the last week, tying for third place.[3] In Mainland China, ratings mostly ranked first nationally, even though the average ratings of 1.5 and audience shares of 8.3% also hardly compared to the original's numbers (more than 50% audience shares) more than a decade ago. Reports suggest that many were only watching it to see how "terrible" it was, after initial negative reviews.[4][5] With the exception of Ruby Lin who received strong support by nostalgic fans of the original,[6][7] the actors were harshly criticized and ridiculed on social media.[8] A message on Sina Weibo that was re-posted over 60,000 times read "When I watched the Old My Fair Princess then, I always hoped Xiaoyanzi and Ziwei could finish off the empress and Wet Nurse Rong; when I watch the New My Fair Princess now, I just hope the empress and Wet Nurse Rong finish off Xiaoyanzi and Ziwei as quickly as possible."[9] A Taiwanese kuso version mocking a scene's dialogue also went viral, generating more viewers than the series, infuriating Chiung Yao.[10] After the last episode aired in China, Chiung Yao wrote on her Sina Weibo account to the large number of disappointed critics: "My heart hurts. The distance between us is too large."[11]