In a continued move to stamp out the influence of evil homosexuals on the masses, China has apparently decided to censor another gay romance drama.
Addiction is a 15-episode teen romcom revolving around a group of male high-schoolers. It became available for streaming on Tencent and Iqiyi a month ago, but according to the production company’s Weibo the final three episodes won’t be airing online in China. What a cliffhanger!
Unsurprisingly, no comment has emerged from either Tencent or Iquyi nor SAPPRFT, who also gave no stated reason for taking the show off-air, reports the Wall Street Journal.
Prior to censors gatecrashing the party, Addiction was reportedly quite the hit, attracting more than 10 million views the day after its premiere.
“It capitalizes on people’s curiosity about gender minorities, which those born in the 1950s and ‘60s might not feel comfortable with or take interest in,” said human sexologist Peng Xiaohui, on the growing popularity of the LGBT drama subgenre. “In a highly competitive society with few smooth channels for upward mobility, it’s a pressure outlet for young people with low income and social status.”
Outspoken LGBT activist Li Maizi agrees. “The recent hit gay-themed Web dramas show that the LGBT market is broad,” argued Li, who has also recently been protesting queer-baiting by Chinese media. “SAPPRFT had better face up to it rather than implementing unspoken rules or using traditional values as a shield.”
Previously on this program, the dangerously open-minded web drama Go Princess Go was pulled offline just last month.
And despite a pseudo-win in a lawsuit against SAPPRFT recently, LGBT documentary Mama Rainbow is still nowhere to be found on the Chinese web.
But for now, the conclusion of Heroin can be enjoyed on YouTube from later this week onwards. Start the journey here: