Popular Series’s Finale Ignites Backlash, Viewers Rally Behind The Male Lead

This isn’t what they signed up for.

A new historical romance drama is receiving criticism from irate viewers. Many are reportedly unhappy with how the show treated its lead actor.

Ding Yu Xi | Tencent

Fight For Love is a period C-Drama that began airing on October 30 and concluded on November 16. In total, the show had 40 episodes, plenty of time for the leading man, actor Ding Yu Xi, to shine. He played opposite actress Victoria Song, yet he barely appeared onscreen.

“Fight For Love” poster | Tencent

According to fans, who calculated Ding’s screentime, he only appeared in Fight For Love for 2 hours, 27 minutes, and 56 seconds. The show’s total runtime, not including the credits, is about 27 hours and 24 minutes. This means Ding only appeared in 10% of Fight For Love. 

Victoria Song (left)

Some viewers reportedly felt cheated by Ding’s lack of screentime, since the show’s promotional material made it seem like he would be a co-lead, equal to Victoria Song. The show’s pre-filming script data, which circulated online before Fight For Love aired, also led viewers to think that Ding would have a lot of screentime. He supposedly had 461 scripted scenes, while Song had 469.

Watch the trailer here: