China’s mainland AI short drama “The Girl Who Was Cut” has surpassed 200 million views on a single platform, with the two AI protagonists collectively attracting over 440,000 fans. As virtual characters are being operated as real entertainment figures, AI production is squeezing the space for real actors, on-location shooting, and traditional backstage positions, causing concerns and prompting netizens to exclaim: “It’s too creepy.”
According to recent reports from media outlets such as the “Hong Kong Economic Daily,” the female lead, “Fang Taotzi,” and the male lead, “Zhou Yiheng,” in “The Girl Who Was Cut” are both AI-generated. Several media sources have stated that the total online discussion volume for this drama has exceeded 800 million.
As of July 22, Fang Taotzi’s personal account had approximately 333,000 followers, and Zhou Yiheng had around 113,000 followers. “Two AI actors are hotter than entertainment idols” even trended as the top search on Weibo.
The drama depicts the story of a small-town girl, Fang Taotzi, who enters the modeling industry, gets cut out of group photos, and experiences workplace difficulties such as being marginalized and replaced, before she starts searching for new opportunities. The main characters, settings, and scenes in the drama are all generated by AI.
The production team has also created social media accounts for the two main characters. Fang Taotzi shares “daily life” videos such as making sandwiches, buying flowers, and working out, while Zhou Yiheng openly pursues Fang Taotzi. The two virtual characters interact in the comments section, attracting netizens to follow and create derivative works.
Multiple media reports have mentioned that the visuals of the two AI protagonists can display skin texture, pores, small blemishes, eye movements, frowning, and subtle facial expressions.
Compared to real actors, AI characters are not bound by fees or scheduling constraints, and their appearance, clothing, actions, and scenes can be repeatedly modified.
The mainland media outlet “Xinlan Net” reported on April 8 that a short drama production company in Hangzhou has no studio or real actors. Editors use AI generation tools to customize character appearances and create video clips based on scripts.
With the increasing adoption of this production method, the demand for real actors, casting, on-location shooting, lighting, costumes, and certain post-production positions may further decrease.
After AI characters have independent accounts and fan bases, production companies can extend their reach into short videos, live streaming, advertising, and product endorsements. The production team can not only control the characters’ performance in the drama but also have long-term control over their appearance, persona, and public statements.
However, packaging AI characters as real entertainment figures has made some netizens uncomfortable.
Some netizens expressed, “It’s a strange trend, the AI drama’s female lead has her own account and even shares daily life like a real person.” Others feel that this approach “feels like testing the public’s sensitivity.” Another netizen remarked, “It’s so eerie, AI’s daily life is actually becoming popular.”