Chinese drama goddess Tian Xiwei skyrocketed in popularity this year after starring with Zhang Linghe in "Chasing Jade" (逐玉). However, her recent drama "Genius Girlfriend" (天才女友), with Hu Yitian as her co-star, only received a 5.3 rating on Douban. Although the entire series is sponsored by advertisements, the plot has many flaws and the reviews have been poor. It is now rumored that Tian Xiwei’s original per-episode fee of 750,000 RMB (about 450,000 MYR) has been slashed to 400,000 RMB per episode (about 240,000 MYR). This is mainly due to criticism of her hollow acting as well as her unchanging, ever-present bangs hairstyle, which lacks innovation and risks causing audience aesthetic fatigue, leading to concerns about her future career.
This year, Tian Xiwei has aired three works: "Chasing Jade", "Low IQ Crime", and "Genius Girlfriend," all with full-series advertising sponsorships, clearly displaying her high commercial value. Among the post-1995 female stars, both Zhao Lusi and Yu Shuxin, who have also enjoyed high popularity, have faced controversies this year, so Tian Xiwei was seen as having a good chance to take the top spot among her peers. Unfortunately, after "Chasing Jade," her momentum stalled, especially as "Genius Girlfriend" only scored 5.3 on Douban and failed to perform well despite targeting the summer holiday season.
It's worth noting that "Genius Girlfriend," starring Tian Xiwei and Hu Yitian, was highly anticipated in the early stages because Hu Yitian had not appeared in a drama for a long time, and both played "scholar" types, which tend to be popular. However, the script made Tian Xiwei’s character “Lin Zhixia” unrealistically brilliant—on par with Einstein—yet she loses a simple math competition to “Jiang Yubai” (played by Hu Yitian). This left audiences baffled and led to widespread criticism of the writers for lacking even a basic university education and producing what many consider an unintelligent, badly written drama.
Even so, the success of "Chasing Jade" continues to make Tian Xiwei a favorite leading actress for major drama production teams, so she still receives many offers. However, the poor reputation of "Genius Girlfriend" means her per-episode fee, which once topped her peers at 750,000 RMB, has now dropped to 400,000 RMB per episode. For a 40-episode series, that means she stands to lose about 8 million MYR—a dramatic decrease.
In fact, there are two main reasons why Tian Xiwei’s fee was cut: first, her performance in "Genius Girlfriend" was criticized for being too hollow. Many thought that her scenes with Hu Yitian on campus lacked chemistry, with both actors’ gazes seeming empty and having little CP (couple pairing) appeal. Second, her signature bangs hairstyle has remained unchanged across modern and period dramas, showing a lack of new styling and leading to growing audience fatigue. Overall, Tian Xiwei needs to improve her acting skills if she wants to surpass Zhao Lusi, Yu Shuxin, and others to truly become the top post-95 female star.
Source: Up Media Trends