“Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Red Moon Pact” Gets Dismal Ratings

Starring Yang Mi (楊冪) and Simon Gong Jun (龔俊), C-drama Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Red Moon Pact <狐妖小紅娘月紅篇> received disappointing viewership and ratings, causing its subsequent instalments Love in Pavilion (Zhu Ye Arc <竹業篇>) led by Cecilia Liu Shishi (劉詩詩) and Cheng Yi’s (成毅) Sword and Beloved <王權篇> to be cast in doubt. Recent talk that emergency refilming is taking place for Love in Pavilion caused fans to break out in more cold sweat as they fear the second instalment might not meet viewers.

Adapted from a popular manhwa, Fox Spirit Matchmaker was slammed by viewers despite being the anticipated first instalment of the Fox Spirit Matchmaker live-action series. It was panned for its old-fashioned scripting and juvenile details, while leading casts Yang Mi and Gong Jun were no spared, getting criticism for poor acting and lacking onscreen sparks.

With a dismal 5.6 Douban rating, and up against Zhang Ruoyun (張若昀) and Li Qin‘s (李沁) highly-awaited Joy of Life 2 <慶餘年>, the drama’s ratings and popularity took a plunge, and paled in comparison to Wu Jinyan (吳謹言) and Wang Xingyue‘s (王星越) The Double <墨雨雲間>, eventually ending its run with little fanfare.

Netizens Trust Liu Shishi Can Deliver

When rumors swirled that Love in Pavilion also required refilming, fans were naturally worried, especially since Red Moon Pact which had also undergone major refilming of scenes due to special effects and imaging issues, still suffered in quality.

Watch Trailer for Liu Shishi’s “Love in Pavilion”

Knowing netizens revealed that Love in Pavilion needed refilming to correct and enhance the original images, plus the filming progress of the main and supporting casts were too varied – Wu Xuanyi (吳宣儀), Zhai Xiaowen (翟瀟聞) and other supporting leads had filming progress disrupted by long festive weekends. Despite lingering concerns about Love in Pavilion‘s quality being affected by refilming, hopes are high for the Zhu Ye Arc as Cecilia Liu’s next female-centric drama following her return to the historical genre in well-received A Journey to Love <一念关山>.

Adding to fan’s hopes, the story’s premise of an united front between two great families, the Dongfangs [Dongfang Huaizhu (played by Cecilia Liu)] and Hongyes [Wangquan Hongye (Zhang Yunlong)] looks promising, while Cecilia has proven to viewers her strong ability to lead give her recent performances.

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