‘Princess Agents’ Sequel Falls Flat: Zhao Liying Appears to Subtly ‘Advise’ as Producer Fires Back
Published atApr 15, 2026 03:35 pm
The latest Chinese drama ‘Rebirth on the Ice Lake’, starring Huang Yangdiantian and Li Yunrui, is the official sequel to the 2017 hit ‘Princess Agents’ starring Zhao Liying and Lin Gengxin. However, since its premiere last week, the show has faced backlash for drastic changes in plot and character settings that audiences found hard to accept. Notably, no advertisers dared to invest in the first five episodes, resulting in poor ratings and reputation, ironically reviving the popularity of the original ‘Princess Agents’ while sparking tension between producer Zhang Meng and original cast members such as Zhao Liying.
Looking back to 2017, ‘Princess Agents’, starring Zhao Liying and Lin Gengxin, achieved phenomenal ratings and buzz, with online viewership reaching as high as 45.9 billion streams. The journey of “Chu Qiao” (played by Zhao Liying) from female slave to general, intertwined with her love-hate relationship with “Zhuge Yue” (originally named “Yuwen Yue”, played by Lin Gengxin), became a classic CP for countless fans. 《冰湖重生》口碑收视皆不如预期。However, the show ended on a cliffhanger with the heartbreaking 'Ice Lake Battle', as Zhuge Yue plunged into the lake with his fate unknown, and Chu Qiao followed suit, jumping into the icy water, abruptly cutting to black. This left fans with nine years of unresolved feelings, even joking online that “it’s been nine years and we still haven’t pulled him out.” Thus, when 'Rebirth on the Ice Lake' was announced for production and casting at the end of 2024, it seemed poised to be another blockbuster.
Producer Zhang Meng mentioned in an interview that, because she really liked the 'Princess Agents' IP, she immediately contacted the original cast, including Zhao Liying and Lin Gengxin, to star in the sequel. However, for various reasons, this fell through. As a result, she decided to create an entirely new sequel, hoping the original IP would boost its popularity—but the ensuing developments went far beyond expectations. 赵丽颖在《冰湖重生》播出当天发文，被认为是在回应续集弱化角色问题。After the debut, audiences noticed that not only had the entire cast been replaced, but some character names had also changed—for instance, Yuwen Yue became Zhuge Yue. What viewers found most unacceptable was that the protagonist Chu Qiao’s central characterization as one who ‘ends war and abolishes slavery’ was watered down to merely a lovestruck, revenge-driven tool. Zhao Liying even posted a battle-damaged still of Chu Qiao on the day of the sequel’s premiere with the caption, “Time passes, faith remains,” and quoted from a 9-year-old interview, emphasizing Chu Qiao’s pursuit of “freedom and equality,” which was widely seen as a response to the sequel’s diluted characterization. That same day, Zhang Meng, apparently displeased with Zhao Liying's post, wrote on Weibo, “Respectable in public, difficult to deal with in private,” only to delete it moments later. Still, many interpreted it as a veiled jab at Zhao Liying.
Audiences are also dissatisfied that the 18-year-old Huang Yangdiantian appears too youthful to convey the gravitas of a female general. Her whipping and fight scenes lack force and have been compared to the original, with Zhao Liying’s sandstorm-filmed, gritty realism highlighting the sequel’s weakness. ‘Rebirth on the Ice Lake’ has constantly been compared with its predecessor, which has, in turn, led to ‘Princess Agents’ regaining popularity—not only surpassing the sequel in trending searches on Tencent, but opening with a mere 4.8 rating on Douban and being mocked by viewers.
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