On February 26, after airing two episodes, the mainland Chinese talent show “Actors Please Take Your Place 3”, featuring A-list celebrities like Zhang Ziyi and Chen Kaige as mentors, announced a temporary suspension with no specified return date. The official statement from Tencent Video said, “We regret to inform everyone that the third season of ‘Actors Please Take Your Place’ will have its broadcast schedule adjusted and delayed.”
The third season of “Actors Please Take Your Place” premiered on February 14. Since its debut, the show has repeatedly trended on social media, but has also faced criticism for “hardly relying on acting skills.”
Netizens have highlighted several moments that gained more attention than acting skills showdowns on the show: mentors questioning whether actors have had plastic surgery, Yang Zi’s portrayal of Ximen Qing startling French actress Isabelle Huppert, Zhang Ziyi getting upset by an actor’s exaggerated performance, and internet celebrity Liu Zichen crossing over to play the male lead in a period drama.
Despite ongoing controversies surrounding the show, according to Lighthouse’s professional version, as of February 18, the real-time viewership market share of “Actors Please Take Your Place 3” within five days of its launch ranked first in the variety show category at 12.18%. The program also topped the charts of public opinion sentiment and online variety show viewership rankings by Yunhe Data. This underscores how in the Chinese entertainment industry, negative publicity equals popularity, and provocative performances serve as a key to attracting viewers.
Just as audiences were curious about what new highlights the third episode would bring, the official announcement came that the broadcast schedule would be adjusted and delayed.
Some netizens pointed out that despite only two episodes being aired, the carefully designed topics overshadowed the supposed focus on acting skills. The content seemed more like a show filled with gimmicks rather than authentic talent. Professionals in the industry commented that the original intention of acting talent shows was to discover skilled actors and explore the art of performance, but now they have devolved into “comedy in judgment” dramas.