My Fair Princess legacy rebooted with short drama

My Fair Princess, a legendary tale about a tomboyish girl mistakenly identified as the long-separated daughter of Emperor Qianlong in the 18th century, became a phenomenal hit in 1998.

More than two decades later, Returning Pearl, the latest installment in the My Fair Princess franchise — which includes the late writer Chiung Yao's namesake novel and three seasons of the original TV drama — has also made a splash, gaining popularity in Thailand, according to the producers.

The new drama consists of 30 episodes, each about 15 minutes long, and introduces a new protagonist, Lin Suisui, a 25-year-old woman who unexpectedly travels into the fictional world of Chiung's novel. For mysterious reasons, the story veers in a strange and unsettling direction. Lin finds herself becoming a palace maid for the queen, one of the antagonists in the original narrative. In her attempt to return to the real world, Lin discovers that the only way out is to make all the characters follow the original plotline exactly.

Since its debut on the streaming platform Mango TV in early November, the drama has garnered nearly 1 billion views online, with its related topics amassing around 2 billion clicks on major social media platforms such as Sina Weibo.

Lyu Haidang, a producer of Returning Pearl, revealed that the core creative team spent three months polishing the script. Their biggest challenge was finding a point of resonance between Xiao Yanzi — a free-spirited street girl in the novel's era, the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), mistakenly believed to be Emperor Qianlong's daughter — and a modern young audience.

Jessie Ho, chief producer of Returning Pearl and daughter-in-law of Chiung, the original author, said that she believes the decades-long popularity of My Fair Princess stems not from any specific character or iconic plotline, but from the genuine emotions at the heart of its romantic story.

"This 'genuine' quality is reflected in many aspects, from the young characters' yearning for freedom and their loyalty in friendship, to the courage to break through rigid class constraints and love boldly, regardless of how vast those social divides may be," said Ho.