Acting skills have a say

As the first of its kind in China, Zhejiang Satellite TV's Birth of Performers became a smash show in the fourth quarter of 2017.

The acting competition show stars celebrities Zhang Ziyi, Liu Ye and Song Dandan as judges and coaches, examining the acting skills of participating performers.

After short plays lasting about 15 minutes, performers are scored and voted by the coaches and audience members to decide whether they will be eliminated or advance to the next round.

As of the end of December, the show's Chinese hashtag #BirthofPerformers has been viewed more than 4 billion times on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo, triggering over 13 million online discussions.

The reputation of the show has plummeted, however, after actress Yuan Li disclosed a behind-the-scenes story. Yuan was eliminated in the first round, but she later revealed on her Weibo account she was promised a "free ride" through the round before filming - she was approached by working staff from the organizer, an acquaintance of her's.