I agree, the ones they’re producing are like shit mixed with industrial sweeteners, and the brainless fans can stomach it. I took one whiff and felt like puking!
Most netizens in the comment section were comparing it to "When Prince Meets Frog." They specifically highlighted Jiang Ling’s portrayal of Ye Tianyu, praising her acting and suggesting that all aspiring actresses in idol dramas should learn from her.
Not only "Don’t Forget Me," but other recently released dramas also received universally negative reviews from audiences. Many viewers generally felt that the plots were weak, the lead actors’ performances were terrible, and the female lead, in particular, was so bad it was beyond words.
The reason the audience’s criticism was directed at the female lead was not solely because of the greater tolerance for male leads in idol dramas compared to female leads. More importantly, when these copycat productions saw the immense popularity of "When Prince Meets Frog," they observed that while audiences were discussing how handsome male lead Dan Junhao was and how cute Tong Hao was, Ye Tianyu was rarely mentioned, making the female lead seem dispensable.
Therefore, when filming these imitative works, the focus was placed on the male lead, with requirements for the male actors’ performances to imitate Jian Zhou as much as possible, leaning towards the character of Dan Junhao. By imitating like this, the resulting dramas, while not as stunning as Dan Junhao, showed considerable improvement and were no longer as flimsy as paper figures.
In contrast, the female leads received no attention whatsoever, being filmed the same way they always were. With the male lead’s performance improving, the female leads remained stagnant. Previously contrived and melodramatic, they became even more so now, their flaws exposed in stark contrast to Ye Tianyu. Naturally, the audience found it painful to watch and focused their criticism on the female leads.
Because Jiang Ling employed a subtle, nuanced acting approach, major companies and film crews failed to see the strengths of Ye Tianyu beforehand. This led to a series of subsequent imitation works where the female leads universally faltered. By now, even if problems were identified, they were beyond rectification.
Undoubtedly, with Ye Tianyu as a shining example, all the imitative female leads that followed were thoroughly lambasted by the audience. Male and female leads are the core of an idol drama. If the female lead character collapses, the drama’s reputation is ruined. A ruined reputation means fewer viewers, and fewer viewers mean the drama tanks.
Under Ye Tianyu’s influence, all the imitation works failed spectacularly, and all the investors suffered massive losses. Jiang Ling, single-handedly, triggered a major earthquake in the idol drama industry. She also made companies, artists in the industry, and audiences outside the circle realize that although the female lead in an idol drama might not be as eye-catching as the male lead, she is still the core of the production. Neglecting the female lead’s performance and development would inevitably lead to significant losses.
The colossal losses incurred by hundreds of films made major companies and investors deeply resent Jiang Ling. In their view, if Jiang Ling hadn’t acted so well, they wouldn’t have lost so much money. They saw her abandoning serious dramas to bully them with her acting in idol dramas as a direct provocation. As the saying goes, cutting off someone’s livelihood is tantamount to killing their parents.
Jiang Ling’s venture into idol dramas, like an invasive catfish, disrupted the original market. Previously, traffic stars could make a drama popular simply by having good looks, regardless of their acting skills. Now, Jiang Ling had set a benchmark with her acting in idol dramas. Audiences treated her portrayal of Ye Tianyu as a textbook example for female leads in idol dramas, comparing her to others and making the female leads played by other popular young actresses look like trash, consequently dragging down the entire drama.