There was a time when historical epic dramas in China would usually attract the middle-aged or the elderly audiences, while the youngsters were invariably hooked on to Western series such as "Rome," "Spartacus" and "Game of Thrones."

But that may now be changing with the emergence of home-grown dramas of high artistry, including "The Advisors Alliance" and "The Qin Empire" that have been pulling in the young Chinese intellectuals. With the renewed craze for dramas, the old productions are attracting fans on the Internet.

Till date, "The Advisors Alliance" received over 6.7 billion clicks on Youku (one of China's top online video and streaming service platforms) with more than 220,000 comments after it started airing in June this year. It has become the most-watched Chinese historical epic series. 

The second season will start airing on Youku from December 7. Set against the backdrop of the Three Kingdoms period (AD 220-280), the new season will focus on the battle of wits between Chinese military strategists Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang.

Among the existing three installments of "The Qin Empire," the first one directed by Huang Jianzhong in 2008 received the highest score of 9.1 out of 10 on the film and TV review website Douban from more than 17,000 viewers. The second (2013) and third (2017) installments were both directed by Ding Hei.

Now, the fiction series' author Sun Haohui is trying to turn the six-volume masterpiece, one of the most popular historical novels in China, into a film and TV franchise, collaborating with Ciwen Media. 

Sun, who will be the scriptwriter, says they will shoot a 100-episode drama about Yingzheng, the emperor who unified China. A film series is also planned on the legendary Qin Dynasty (221-207 BC) emperor who conquered the Warring States period (475-221 BC).

They are looking out for the best candidate for the role of Yingzheng. The casting will be done in the following months, and the TV series is expected to be finished by 2019.

Sun describes the TV series as the Chinese answer to "Game of Thrones," claiming the war scenes will surpass Mel Gibson's film "Braveheart."

"It will be a spectacular production about Chinese civilization," Sun says. "War and political tactics of the Warring States period will be depicted along with giant weapons and tactical deployment they used in wars. Also, we will have a systematic study of ancient Chinese aesthetics and culture, including costumes, accessories and living goods of that period."

The series' producer Yuan Xiangyang, vice president of Ciwen Media, says the franchise will cater to the tastes of young people.

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