| Native Name: |
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| Genre: | Historical drama | ||
| Director: | Zhang Yongxin | ||
| Presenter: | Zhuang Baobin Xiao Wenge Jin Hongxing Xu Jiaxuan Zhang Jian Wu Bing Cao Huayi Mu Xiaoguang | ||
| Starring: | Wu Xiubo Liu Tao Li Chen Yu Hewei Janine Chang Tang Yixin Zhai Tianlin Liu Huan Wang Jinsong Wang Dong | ||
| Composer: | Cao Dongdong Jin Qilin | ||
| Country: | China | ||
| Language: | Mandarin | ||
| Num Episodes: | 42 (Part 1) 44 (Part 2) | ||
| Executive Producer: | Wu Xiubo Xiao Yan Wang Yang Gu Wenjuan | ||
| Producer: | Zhang Alin Zhang Jian Xu Jiaxuan | ||
| Cinematography: | Zhang Wenjie | ||
| Editor: | Liao Wei | ||
| Runtime: | 45 minutes per episode | ||
| Company: | Dongyang Meng Jiang Wei Film and TV Culture Jiangsu Huali Culture Media DOMYS Entertainment | ||
| Budget: | ¥400 million |
The Advisors Alliance is a 2017 Chinese two-part television series based on the life of Sima Yi, a government official and military general who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty and Three Kingdoms period of China. The series starred Wu Xiubo as the main character, with Liu Tao, Li Chen, Janine Chang, Tang Yixin, Yu Hewei and Wang Luoyong playing supporting roles. The first part of the series started airing on Jiangsu TV and Anhui TV on 22 June 2017.[1] The second part started airing on Youku on 8 December 2017.[2]
The series follows the life of Sima Yi through the late Eastern Han dynasty and Three Kingdoms period of China.
The first part covers Sima Yi's early career under Cao Cao, the warlord who controls the central government and the figurehead Emperor Xian towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty. Sima Yi becomes an adviser to Cao Cao's son Cao Pi and assists him in defeating his younger brother Cao Zhi in a power struggle over the succession to their father's place. Following Cao Cao's death, Cao Pi usurps the throne from Emperor Xian, ends the Eastern Han dynasty, and declares himself emperor of the newly established Cao Wei state. This part ends around the middle or towards the end of Cao Pi's reign.
The second part covers Sima Yi's career in the Cao Wei state during the Three Kingdoms period and his service under the emperors Cao Pi, Cao Rui and Cao Fang. He leads Cao Wei forces into battles against its rival states, Shu Han and Eastern Wu, and rises through the ranks to become one of the most powerful figures in Cao Wei and ultimately a regent for the third Cao Wei emperor, Cao Fang. In his final years, Sima Yi successfully stages a coup d'état against his co-regent Cao Shuang and effectively becomes the de facto ruler of the Cao Wei state. About 15 years after Sima Yi's death, his grandson Sima Yan would eventually usurp the Cao Wei throne and replace it with the Jin dynasty (266–420).
The series took five years and cost a total of 400 million yuan in production, with most of the money going into the sets. More than 6,000 costumes were made for the series. Wu Xiubo, the lead actor, serves as the executive producer of the series.Filming lasted for 333 days, beginning on 13 February 2016 and ending on 10 January 2017.[3] [4] [5]
The series received high praise for its plot, cinematography and cast performance. The first part of the series generated six billion hits on Youku and 8.2 points out of 10 on Douban.[6] A mobile game adapted from the series was also released.[7] However, some viewers have criticised the series on the grounds of historical inaccuracies, and said that the additional details and modern lines in the series serve as distractions and ruin the mood.
| China Jiangsu TV / Anhui TV premiere ratings (CSM52)[8] | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Episodes | Broadcast date | Jiangsu TV | Anhui TV | |||||||
| Ratings (%) | Audience share (%) | Rankings | Ratings (%) | Audience share (%) | Rankings | |||||
| 1-2 | June 22, 2017 | 0.678 | 2.334 | 3 | 0.277 | 0.955 | 14 | |||
| 3-4 | June 23, 2017 | 0.72 | 2.43 | 4 | 0.323 | 1.09 | 9 | |||
| 5-6 | June 24, 2017 | 0.670 | 2.27 | 4 | 0.342 | 1.16 | 11 | |||
| 7 | June 25, 2017 | 0.734 | 2.64 | 2 | 0.404 | 1.45 | 7 | |||
| 8-9 | June 26, 2017 | 0.732 | 2.591 | 3 | 0.462 | 1.636 | 7 | |||
| 10-11 | June 27, 2017 | 0.778 | 2.82 | 2 | 0.441 | 1.6 | 6 | |||
| 12-13 | June 28, 2017 | 0.853 | 3.078 | 2 | 0.456 | 1.644 | 7 | |||
| 14-15 | June 29, 2017 | 0.876 | 3.096 | 4 | 0.541 | 1.913 | 7 | |||
| 16-17 | June 30, 2017 | 0.912 | 3.08 | 1 | 0.533 | 1.8 | 7 | |||
| 18-19 | July 1, 2017 | 0.927 | 3.170 | 1 | 0.613 | 2.092 | ||||
| 20 | July 2, 2017 | 0.864 | 3.127 | 3 | 0.556 | 2.012 | 5 | |||
| 21-22 | July 3, 2017 | 0.972 | 3.444 | 1 | 0.542 | 1.919 | 5 | |||
| 23-24 | July 4, 2017 | 0.931 | 3.286 | 2 | 0.511 | 1.805 | 8 | |||
| 25-26 | July 5, 2017 | 0.964 | 3.321 | 3 | 0.548 | 1.889 | 5 | |||
| 27-28 | July 6, 2017 | 0.959 | 3.243 | 3 | 0.578 | 1.956 | 6 | |||
| 29-30 | July 7, 2017 | 0.907 | 3.172 | 3 | 0.598 | 2.1 | 8 | |||
| 31-32 | July 8, 2017 | 1.049 | 3.552 | 2 | 0.53 | 1.801 | 7 | |||
| 33 | July 9, 2017 | 0.985 | 3.577 | 2 | 0.842 | 3.062 | 5 | |||
| 34-35 | July 10, 2017 | 1.076 | 3.71 | 2 | 0.901 | 3.11 | 4 | |||
| 36-37 | July 11, 2017 | 1.143 | 3.97 | 2 | 0.896 | 3.12 | 5 | |||
| 38-39 | July 12, 2017 | 1.100 | 3.887 | 3 | 0.931 | 3.294 | 4 | |||
| 40-41 | July 13, 2017 | 1.029 | 3.566 | 4 | 0.91 | 3.154 | 5 | |||
| 42 | July 14, 2017 | 0.946 | 3.5 | 3 | 0.473 | 1.757 | 9 | |||
| Average | ||||||||||
| Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd Golden Guduo Media Awards | Best Network & Web Production | The Advisors Alliance | [9] | |
| Best Scriptwriter | Chang Jiang | |||
| Best Actor (Web series) | Wu Xiubo | |||
| Best Actor | Wu Xiubo | |||
| Best Supporting Actor | Yu Hewei | |||
| Outstanding Television Series (Historical) | The Advisors Alliance | [10] | ||
| Outstanding Director | Zhang Yongxin | |||
| Outstanding Screenwriter | Chang Jiang | |||
| Outstanding Actor | Yu Hewei | |||
| The Advisors Alliance | [11] [12] | |||
| Best Director | Zhang Yongxin | |||
| Best Writer | Chang Jiang | |||
| Best Supporting Actor | Yu Hewei | |||
| Best Cinematography | Zhang Wenjie | |||
| Best Art Design | Han Zhong | |||
| 29th China TV Golden Eagle Award | Best Actor | Yu Hewei | [13] | |
| Best Actress | Liu Tao | |||
| 24th Huading Awards | Best Director | Zhang Yongxin | [14] | |
| Best Screenwriter | Chang Jiang | |||
| Best Actress | Liu Tao | |||
| Best Supporting Actress | Janine Chang | |||
| 5th Hengdian Film and TV Festival of China | Best Director | Zhang Yongxin | [15] | |
| Best Actress | Liu Tao | |||
| Best Supporting Actor | Zhai Tianlin |