How were fifty episodes released in six weeks?

In batches rather than one a week. Episodes went out two at a time across three consecutive days, typically Monday to Wednesday, then paused until the following week. The run opened on 27 June 2019 and closed on 7 August, at about 45 minutes an episode.

How do the five clans differ visually?

Each was given a distinct historical register rather than one shared idiom. Costume designer Chen Tongxun and the art department built Gusu Lan on Song dynasty restraint, Yunmeng Jiang on Hubei regional dress, Qishan Wen on Shang dynasty forms and Lanling Jin on Tang dynasty opulence, so the clans are separated by period as well as colour.

Why is the central relationship different from the novel's?

Chinese broadcast regulation does not permit depicting a same-sex romance on screen. In Mo Xiang Tong Xiu's danmei novel the two leads are a couple; the live-action adaptation rewrites that as a sworn bond and carries it that way across all fifty episodes. That is why the series is classed as bromance.

Who takes the roles of Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji?

Xiao Zhan plays Wei Wuxian (魏无羡) and Wang Yibo plays Lan Wangji (蓝忘机). Steve Cheng Wai-Man and Chen Jialin share the directing credit for Tencent Penguin Pictures.

Did the theme song change name?

It did. The song first went out under the title Wangxian and was renamed Unrestrained from episode eleven onwards. Its digital album went on to be certified platinum.

How was the cast prepared?

The casting director issued each actor a character card setting out appearance, height, clothing style and personality traits, and the cast then spent two weeks on script readings and on martial arts training before shooting.

How much work preceded the announcement?

Pre-production ran for roughly two and a half years, covering scriptwriting and set construction, before the project was announced in March 2018. Xiao Zhan's casting followed the next month, which means the world was built before its cast was chosen.

How widely was it watched, and what else exists from the same story?

Tencent Video logged 9.5 billion views by June 2021 and passed 10 billion that December, and the series ranked first on the 2019 popularity index of China's internet audiovisual industry. The same story also exists as the source novel, two donghua and a manhua.

The Untamed (陈情令, 2019) key art. © Tencent Penguin Pictures. Image via TMDB, shown solely to identify the series being reviewed.

The Untamed

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The Untamed (Chinese: 陈情令, pinyin: Chén Qíng Lìng) is a 2019 Chinese xianxia fantasy drama produced by Tencent Penguin Pictures, adapted from Mo Xiang Tong Xiu's danmei novel Mo Dao Zu Shi. The 50-episode series streamed on Tencent Video and WeTV, and Tencent Video logged more than 10 billion views of it by December 2021.

Sixteen years after his death, Wei Wuxian (Xiao Zhan) is summoned back into a body not his own and finds himself standing beside Lan Wangji (Wang Yibo), the one person who never accepted the story the clans told about him. What begins as a string of unexplained killings pulls the two into re-opening the tragedy that ended Wei Wuxian's first life, and the series moves between the present investigation and the years the two spent as students, rivals and finally the only ally each had left. Around them the great clans manoeuvre: Jiang Cheng (Wang Zhuocheng), Jiang Yanli (Xuan Lu), Lan Xichen (Liu Haikuan), Wen Qing (Meng Ziyi) and Wen Ning (Yu Bin) each carry part of what went wrong.

The Untamed is a bromance rather than BL, and the distinction matters. The source novel tells the same story as a romance between the two men, but Chinese broadcast regulation does not permit depicting one on screen. The adaptation therefore rewrites the central relationship as an intense sworn bond: the devotion, the sacrifice and the shared history all remain, while the romance is never stated. Viewers coming from the novel should know what was changed.

CONTENT DETAILS

Native Title: 陈情令
Original Title: The Untamed
Also Known As: 陈情令, Chen Qing Ling, The Untamed, Mo Dao Zu Shi (source novel), Founder of Diabolism
Adaptation: Adapted from the Chinese danmei web novel "Mo Dao Zu Shi" (魔道祖师, also translated as Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation / Founder of Diabolism) by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu, who is credited on the series. In the novel the two leads are a couple; the live-action adaptation rewrites the central relationship as a sworn bond because Chinese broadcast regulation does not permit depicting a same-sex romance on screen.
Genres: Action Drama Fantasy Historical Magic Mystery
Themes: Bromance
Key Themes: Sworn BrotherhoodResurrectionXianxiaClan PoliticsLoyalty and BetrayalNovel AdaptationCensorship-Adapted Danmei
Country: China
Language: Mandarin Chinese
Director: Steve Cheng Wai-Man, Chen Jialin
Networks: WeTV
Seasons: 1
Episodes: 50
Duration: 45 min
Aired Start: 27 Jun 2019
Aired End: 07 Aug 2019
Release Year: 2019
Content Rating: 15+