2026-10-30

Hongguo acts on 20,426 formulaic short dramas as China's regulator posts Q3 licence numbers: what writers and AI drama teams should check this week (Oct 27–29)

Short-drama platform Hongguo said in an October 27 notice on its official account that it had dealt with 20,426 low-quality or formulaic micro-dramas, naming three patterns: manufactured conflict, template "reskins" of the same plot, and reusing one face model across many characters; on October 29 China's broadcasting regulator (NRTA) reported that 158 micro-dramas totalling 5,369 episodes received distribution licences in July–September. Writers, producers and AI teams supplying Hongguo should check their plots and character faces against those three patterns before submission, and build the licence or platform-review route into project schedules. Hongguo did not say whether "dealt with" means removal or reduced reach, how similarity is judged or how to appeal, and the NRTA figure covers licensed titles only, so the two numbers cannot be compared.