Mango TV unveils five "AI artists" and a six-episode AI drama

Mango TV (芒果TV), the streaming platform of provincial broadcaster Hunan Broadcasting (湖南广电), announced on October 12 five "AI artists": Cheng Du (程渡), Fang Yu (方屿), Lin Enna (林恩娜), Qi Xu (戚许) and Zhan Yan (展颜). They star in the platform's first AI live-action drama, Liao Bu Qi A Peng You (了不起啊朋友, "Remarkable, My Friend"). According to Chinese tech and entertainment outlets, the drama has six episodes and premieres on October 14 in Mango TV's Ling Chuang Theater (芒果灵创剧场) slot.

Reports describe the five as original virtual performers rather than digital doubles of real celebrities. Each has a distinct persona, a dedicated design sheet and a styling direction. Each also has a Weibo account (Weibo is China's main microblogging platform) carrying an "AI artist" label, where they post daily and interact with fans, in the manner of a human newcomer's debut. Human agents and human screenwriters work behind them. One report calls this the first time a batch of virtual performers has been launched in mainland China under a full talent-agency model.

The script, storyboards and image generation were reportedly done largely on Mango's in-house AIGC (AI-generated content) platform, Mango Lingchuang (芒果灵创), by the platform's newly formed AIGC innovation content center together with the production company Lize Pictures (丽泽影业). The story follows a former teenage judo champion who returns to the ring to raise money for his sick younger brother's surgery.

Chinese media coverage of the announcement is divided. Supporters point to the realism of the performers and the absence of scandal risk; critics say virtual actors lack real emotion and worry that they could reduce opportunities for human actors.

Similar debate has surfaced before. In March, the Yangtse Evening Post (扬子晚报) reported that online commenters criticised two AI performers announced by the production company Yaoke (耀客), saying their faces appeared to resemble real actors and that their performances felt unnatural.