CHINA DAILY

Executive producer and actor Kevin Spacey draws a big crowd of fans in China as Season 2 of House of Cards debuted simultaneously in China and the United States.

The comeback of House of Cards brings joys to many Chinese viewers. But apart from providing a glimpse into politics in the United States, analysts tell Wang Kaihao that the popular drama series depicts a shift in stereotypes of China.

On Feb 14, Valentine's Day had a romantic rendezvous with Chinese Lantern Festival. For many single white collars all over China without dates or activities on that day, perhaps one of the best holiday gifts is the comeback of House of Cards, the US political drama television series produced by online streaming media provider Netflix.

"I have been waiting for season two for a whole year," says a veteran American television series fan Li Junmei, from Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu province. "I like Kevin Spacey and David Fincher, but I have little knowledge about US politics."

Li says this show, which depicts Frank Underwood, a fictional Democrat politician climbing up the power strata using contemptible methods, arouses her interest to learn about the White House and the US congress.

"I have to refer to Baidu (China's major search engine) many times within one episode to understand better what the protagonists are talking about, but I don't feel tired. The plot and pace of the series are so captivating."

Her views are shared by many Chinese fans. Feng Hangeng, an IT engineer based in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, says: "You cannot miss a show recommended by President Obama. Everything appears authentic. It's a good opportunity to have a vivid view of what's going on in Washington DC."

According to Douban.com, China's counterpart of IMDb.com, season two of House of Cards has won 9.6 points out of 10, one of the highest-ranked US television series ever, even higher than the final season of multiple awards-winning Breaking Bad.

Nevertheless, Ma Ke, a senior manager in charge of license rights from Sohu.com, says she hesitated introducing the show into China initially. The website, a major online platform streaming US television series, is China's only official broadcaster of House of Cards.

"We are sure it is a top quality series, but the serious story focuses on high-end social elites. We once thought it might not meet the public's demand for entertainment," Ma recalls the days when she introduced season one to Sohu.com in March 2013.

"We never expect its name to become ubiquitous on China's social media immediately after it was broadcast, and that made us decide to buy its intelligence property rights for the next season."

Ma says Sohu's weekly top 10 list of most clicked television series usually include seven or eight domestic series while the rest are South Korean-made, but season two of House of Cards climbed to the fifth place only three days after it was released, which Ma considers a surprise.