娱乐英语新闻:Nirvana in Fire team to screen drama on career women

HANGZHOU, April 8 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese team behind last year's hit TV drama "Nirvana in Fire" will stage their new show about love and struggles of modern Chinese women.

"Ode to Joy" is the latest Chinese show to be adapted from hit online novels after several saw overwhelming success.

Daylight Entertainment, one of the drama's producers, whose previous dramas like Nirvana in Fire and The Disguiser mostly focus on men, said it was their first foray into the world of Chinese career women.

The story revolves around five young women living in Shanghai's "Ode to Joy" community. They become friends while pursuing love and career advances. It is adapted from the same-name novel by female writer A Nai.

It is helmed by Kong Sheng, director of Nirvana in Fire, and Jian Chuanhe, and stars many actors from the 2015 show.

The drama's producer Hou Hongliang with Daylight Entertainment said while cooperating with professional scriptwriters, the company is also actively working with writers of online novels in order to "explore the market by catering to the needs of young people."

The company shot into fame after its Nirvana in Fire, adapted from Hai Yan's novel about political struggle in an ancient Chinese kingdom, was lauded as a landmark in Chinese period dramas with billions of watches on China's video streaming sites alone.

Chinese TV dramas have an edge in the period and costume genres, with works like Empresses in the Palace and Prince of Lan Ling enjoying immense popularity at home and abroad. But dramas set in contemporary China are believed to be lagging in number and quality.

The new drama will be aired on two local satellite channels and online platforms starting on April 18.