The Untamed (TV series)

''The Untamed'' () is a 2019 Chinese television series starring Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo. Based on the '' danmei'' novel '' Mo Dao Zu Shi'' by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu, the series follows the adventures of two soulmate cultivators who travel to solve a series of mysteries that link to a tragic event in the past. It aired in China on Tencent Video from June to August 2019. A 20-episode special edition aired on WeTV on December 25, 2019. NewStyle Media Group (NSMG) owns the intellectual property of the series.

''The Untamed'' was a critical and commercial success, both locally and internationally, with critics praising its strong plot, well-rounded characters, and elaborate clothing and makeup. While the original web novel depicted an explicit romance between the two main male characters, the adaptation was censored with homoerotic subtexts instead due to China's ban of LGBT portrayals in films.

The show quickly gained popularity, and edits and fanfictions flooded online channels. This sparked controversy among nationalist mainlanders, which led to the Xiao Zhan incident in 2020—where the one of the main actors of the show, Xiao Zhan, became the center of a nationwide scandal, after fans reported a boys' love fanfiction of The Untamed that was published on Archive of Our Own (AO3). This, in turn, resulted in the platform being banned in China due to strict LGBTQ+ regulations, amongst other censorship policies. The incident sparked major backlash, and created a platform for debate on media censorship and queer representation. In spite of all odds, the show was one of the highest-earning dramas of 2019.

According to Research Report on China's Internet Audiovisual Development for 2019 and the beginning of 2020, ''The Untamed'' ranked first in terms of popularity index. Due to the series' success, two spin-off movies focusing on supporting characters were released in 2019: ''Fatal Journey'' and ''The Living Dead''. The series passed 9.5 billion views on Tencent Video in June 2021, a few days before the second anniversary of its airing date, making it one of the highest-viewed Chinese dramas on the platform. A mobile game based on the series is also set to be released by NetEase Games.

Premise

Wei Wuxian, a loathed cultivator of "dark and demonic arts", is resurrected sixteen years after his tragic death. His return to the world brings him to reunite with the people in his first life, including his soulmate, the honoured Lan Wangji. Wei Wuxian begins to remember his time before his demise, from his beginning as a young cultivator using traditional tools like the sword and musical instruments, to his very personal methods of using resentful energy of departed beings, with the help of innovative tools of his own creation.

The scheming behind his tragic death is slowly unraveled, along with the mysterious death of other people he knew from his past life.

Synopsis

Sixteen years ago, the spirited and unconventional Wei Wuxian arrived at the Gusu Lan Sect to undergo training, where he encountered Lan Wangji, a reserved and principled man from a noble lineage. Despite their starkly contrasting personalities, the two formed a deep bond through shared adventures and trials. After completing his training, Wei Wuxian returned to his home, but a series of tragic events compelled him to sacrifice his spiritual powers to save his martial brother, Jiang Cheng. Stripped of his strength, Wei Wuxian was cast into the Burial Mounds by Wen Chao of the Qishan Wen Sect. He reemerged three months later, practicing demonic cultivation—a forbidden and feared dark art.

Lan Wangji implored Wei Wuxian to abandon the path of demonic cultivation, but his pleas went unanswered. Wei Wuxian's unorthodox practices caused him to be ostracized and vilified, though Lan Wangji remained steadfast in his efforts to guide him away from darkness. Ultimately, during the fateful battle at Nightless City, Wei Wuxian's actions led to the deaths of many disciples from other sects, including his beloved martial sister, Jiang Yanli. Overcome with grief and despair, Wei Wuxian ended his life by leaping off a cliff, despite Lan Wangji's attempts to save him.

In the present day, Wei Wuxian is resurrected through a ritual performed by Mo Xuanyu, whose body he now inhabits. Despite this new identity, Lan Wangji recognizes him instantly. Together, they embark on a journey to unravel long-buried mysteries, uncovering the truths of their past and the events that shaped their fates.

Episodes

The series aired on Thursday and Friday (GMT +08:00) with two episodes each, and VIP members could have early access to two advanced episodes. On the first day of its release, six episodes were available to VIP members. On June 30, 2019, their official Weibo website published a new schedule and shifted the release from Monday to Wednesday. The series concluded on August 20, 2019, with a total of 50 episodes. During an official fanmeeting event on July 29, 2019, it was announced that VIP members would be able to watch all the episodes starting August 7.

Cast

Main

Supporting

Gusu Lan Sect

Lanling Jin Sect

Qinghe Nie Sect

Qishan Wen Sect

Yunmeng Jiang Sect

Yi City Arc

Mo Family

Others

Production

Pre-production and filming

Pre-production of the drama took two and a half years, including writing and modifying of the script, establishing the world view structure and art concept, as well as building of sets. The project was first announced in March 2018.

The series was directed by Zheng Weiwen and Chen Jialin, written by Yang Xia, Deng Yaoyu, Ma Jing and Guo Guangyun, and produced by Fang Feng, Yang Xia, Wang Chu and Liu Mingyi. Yang Xia and Ji Peng served as art directors. Filming for the series was held from April to August 2018, at the Hengdian World Studios and Guizhou. Two weeks before the filming, the cast gathered for script reading sessions and underwent martial arts and etiquette training.

Due to the censorship in China, explicit BL content is removed from the drama and changes are made to the overall plot. As the original novel was written in a "flashback" style, additional scenes had to be inserted to improve the flow of the story. Two versions of the script were prepared; one is told in the chronological order of story development, and the other is a narrative trajectory that follows the original novel. Finally, on the basis of not breaking the core of the original story, and to fully develop and layer the storyline, the team decided to adopt a mixture of both styles. To better fuse the different storylines together, the team decided to forgo traditional styles of filming, and more suspense was used in the lens composition settings.

Despite being termed as a ''xianxia'' drama, ''The Untamed'' includes elements of traditional ''wuxia'' dramas fused with a new style. Using traditional ''wuxia'' values such as "chivalry and courage", it allows the younger audience to better relate to the drama.

Casting

The casting director gave a special "character card" to each of the cast members, which includes detailed descriptions of the character such as the looks, height, clothing style and even specific details such as "Wei Wuxian has a natural smiling face".

Xiao Zhan was announced as the lead actor in April 2018.

Lu Zhixing, who dubbed Wei Wuxian in the audio drama, and Bian Jiang, who dubbed Lan Wangji in the '' donghua'' adaptation of ''Mo Dao Zu Shi'', were hired to voice Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji in the series.

Design and concept

According to producer Yang Xia, while designing the sets and costumes of the different sects, the team started out by searching for a culture placement where the design could be based on. The costume designer for the drama is Chen Tongxun.

For the Gusu Lan sect, influence from the Song dynasty were taken into consideration while designing the costumes and sets. While designing the "Jingshi", blue and green shades were used to showcase the elegance and dignified strength/character of the sect; while darker shades of wood were used to show off the magnificence. Cascading collars and sleeves were used to design the clothes, to highlight the strictness of the sect.

For the Yunmeng Jiang sect, influences from the Hubei and Jianghan district were taken. Warm and light colors were used to showcase the cheerful and free-spirited nature of the sect. The architecture and sets were designed to be widely spaced, and yarn was used to create the feeling of "transparency". Narrow sleeves and neat designs were used to highlight the "wandering pugilistic" feel of the sect. A water recycling device was used in the lotus lake of the set, allowing ripples to be seen on the lake surface. A special ceiling was built for the ancestral hall.

For the Qinghe Nie sect, the set was designed to be surrounded by high walls and the entrance isn't easily seen because it was often invaded by Qishan Wen sect. For Qishan Wen sect, designs from the Shang dynasty were used. For Lanling Jin sect, the designs were inspired by the luxurious and elegance of the Tang dynasty.

Controversies

A fire broke out on July 11, 2018, while the cast and crew were filming in Nanma, Dongyang, at a facility that belongs to Hengdian World Studios. The fire reportedly spread as wide as 300 square meters, and resulted in the death of two crew members.

During filming, a rumor surfaced that the producers of the drama had replaced Lan WangJi as Wei Wuxian's love interest with a female character, Wen Qing, and also made Mianmian, who shares a fun, flirty relationship with Wei Wuxian and a respectful, protective relationship with Lan Wangji, into a member of Jin clan. This rumor caused significant backlash amongst fans of the original novel. The production team strongly denied such claims.

In July 2019, Tencent announced that VIP users would have the option of paying to watch episodes that had not yet aired. From August 7, the final episode was released early for some viewers who chose to avail of the option. This caused outrage among viewers of the show, who were concerned that it would risk the ending being spoiled and also the possibility that the episodes would be pirated, which would have a negative effect on views. In response, Tencent explained that in this way they could cater to demands of certain viewers who were asking for episodes to be released faster, while others could still watch the series at their preferred pace.

Soundtrack

Lin Hai composed of the soundtrack of the series. The theme song was titled "忘羡" () before being renamed to "无羁 ()" from episode 11 onwards. On July 8, 2019, the digital album was released on QQ Music along with full version of the song and other character songs. The instrumental album was released on QQ Music on August 5, 2019. The physical album was released on November 2, 2019.

On August 19, QQ Music announced that the sales for the soundtrack album had broken 15.000.000 yuan, officially attaining the platinum certification. As of September 2019, the album was the highest-selling soundtrack album on the platform, and ranked #15 on the list of highest-selling digital album.

Reception

The series has accumulated a total of ten-billion views on Tencent Video, as of December 2021. One of the major reasons for the series' popularity is its faithfulness to the original novel. It was praised by ''People's Daily'' for its "wonderful presentation of Chinese characteristics"; showcasing traditional cultural elements through exquisite costumes, traditional Chinese music instruments; as well as transmitting positive values such as courage, chivalry and love for one's country. '' China News Service'' similarly highlighted the exquisite costumes and showcase of traditional etiquette, while also praising the suspenseful plot and well-connected storyline. Wang Yibo was initially criticized by viewers for his blank acting style in the first few episodes, which he later improved upon with the help of director's instructions. Moreover, the great number of female audiences of the series formed their collective identity as The Untamed Girls to participate promoting this web drama on various Chinese social media platforms.

The show has also garnered significant exposure and popularity globally for its strong plot, well-rounded characters, and elaborate clothing, makeup and stage production.

Economic effect

''The Untamed'' was one of the highest-earning dramas of 2019, bringing in earnings from fan meetings, concerts, album sales and merchandises.

As Tencent VIP members are allowed watch the final episodes of the show in advance, more than 2.6 million new subscribers paid to unlock the function, generating more than 78 million yuan in profit. More than 1.6 million copies of the soundtrack album were sold on Tencent Music. In addition, a merchandise store was opened in Taobao and official merchandise was sold, with earnings amounting to 1.17 million yuan. Other source of earnings include paying to unlock the full music video of "Unrestrained" in advance, as well as the Bazaar Magazine featuring both lead actors Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo which sold more than 330,000 copies within three days, before exceeding 1.1 million copies.

For the fan meetings, a special system was introduced by Tencent, where VIP members have to accumulate "star points" to get a better chance to get tickets to the fan meetings and concerts. More than 3.27 million viewers paid between 30 and 50 yuan to view the live broadcast of ''The Untamed National Style Concert'' on Tencent Video. It is estimated that the platform has earned more than 100 million yuan in revenue from that concert alone. Tickets of the concert were sold-out in less than 5 seconds, and leftover tickets were also marked up to 150,000 yuan by ticket scalpers from the original price of 627 yuan.

In overseas markets, Tencent announced in October 2019 that ''The Untamed'' had boosted WeTV's growth by 250 percent with an average of 1 million application downloads per month since the drama was first launched in June.

Responding to the demand of sold-out fan meetings in Thailand and China, in January 2020, the cast members planned to embark on a multi-city worldwide fan meetings tour. Cities included Bangkok, Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City, Tokyo, Seoul, Macau, Kuala Lumpur, Toronto, Los Angeles, New York, but was cancelled after the Bangkok concert due to the recent pandemic.

Awards and nominations

Promotion

Thailand Fanmeeting

The fanmeeting was held in Bangkok at Impact Arena on September 21, 2019, and was attended by 9,000 fans.
The proceeds of the Thailand fanmeeting were donated to the people of Ubon Ratchathani Province, which had been hit by floods.

The Untamed National Style Concert

The concert was held from November 1 and 2, 2019 at Nanjing Qing'ao Sports Park with a capacity of 20,000 seats. Tan Yizhe served as the music executive of the concert, while Yuan Jing served as the creative director. Ticket prices were sold at 627 yuan and 1980 yuan, to commemorate the first day of broadcast and the last day of filming of ''The Untamed'' respectively. 16 songs were sung in the concert, along with a segment for interactions and games. Prior to purchasing tickets on Maoyan, fans had to answer a questionnaire based on the show. Viewers were able to live-stream the concert via Tencent Video, with a fee of 30 to 50 yuan.

Mobile game

A mobile gamed based on ''The Untamed'' is set to be released via NetEase.

The Untamed Boys

The six-membered group named "The Untamed Boys" (), also known as T.U.B.S., which consists of Yu Bin, Ji Li, Cao Yuchen, Zheng Fanxing, Song Jiyang & Li Bowen, first made their appearance in ''The Untamed National Style Concert'' performing the song "Fearless". They subsequently appeared in T Mall 11/11 Shopping Festival, performing the song " Fairytale"; as well as featured in Elle Men's New Youth magazine. They appeared in the variety show ''Youths Learning In Progress'' (), which aired on Tencent Video starting December 5, 2019. On January 7, 2021, Zheng Fanxing and Song Jiyang announced their departure from the group due to busy schedules and pursuing their solo careers in acting.

International broadcast

Spin-off films

Two spin-off films were released, serving as side stories to the television series.

''The Living Dead'' (2019)

''The Living Dead'' () was released on November 7, 2019. The film focuses on the characters of Wen Ning and Lan Sizhui.

;Synopsis
Near Qishan Mountain, there is a little town called Fu Feng, which is nicknamed the "City That Never Turns Dark". This city is home to the legend of the "Lit Lamp Murderer". Wen Ning arrives at Fu Feng and realizes the abnormality of the town. The whole town is filled with only the weak and sick; and is very run down. When the night arrives, Wen Ning lights up a lamp to attract ghost shadows. Just as he is about to capture them, a ray of blue sword light appears and the black shadow disappears. Wen Ning looks up and sees his nephew, Lan Sizhui. Wen Ning and Lan Sizhui decide to work together and solve the mystery to capture the culprit behind the mysterious incidents.

Cast

* Yu Bin as Wen Ning
* Zheng Fan Xing as Lan Sizhui
* Wang Yifei as Xiao Qing
* Gao Han as Xiao Yi
* He Longlong as Zhou Zishu

''Fatal Journey'' (2019)

''Fatal Journey'' () focuses on the story of the Qinghe Nie brothers and Jin Guangyao.

;Synopsis
The Qinghe Nie sect finds itself dealing with problems of its ancestral tomb of swords. Nie Mingjue takes his brother, Nie Huaisang, to restore the tomb to its original state and ensure peace in the Nie sect. Through this, Huaisang goes from being a playful disciple and after preparing, he becomes the sect leader of the next generation and Mingjue learns, understands his brother more and helps him grow.

Cast

* Ji Li as Nie Huaisang
* Wang Yizhou as Nie Mingjue
* Zhu Zanjin as Jin Guangyao
* He Xiang (何翔) as Nie Zonghui
* Rao Guo Feng (饶国锋) as Qinghe Nie Sect Disciple
* Xuan Yue Wen (宣粤文) as Nie Mingjue (young)
* Xu Wai Luo (徐崴罗) as Nie Huaisang (young)
* Zhou Lu (周路) as Cuo Zei

References

External links

*

''The Untamed''
at Tencent Video's official YouTube channel
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Untamed (TV series), The
2019 Chinese television series debuts
2019 Chinese television series endings
2019 web series debuts
Chinese boys' love television series
Chinese web series
Fantasy web series
Television series by Tencent Penguin Pictures
Television shows based on Chinese novels
Tencent original programming
Xianxia television series
Chinese LGBTQ-related television shows