Nostalgia for China’s boom years drives a TV hit

CHINA CENTRAL TELEVISION, the flagship network of the country’s propaganda machine, has a new hit on its hands. “Blossoms Shanghai”, a big-budget melodrama in 30 parts, has enjoyed huge audiences since its first episode aired on December 27th. The show’s success—boosted by approving coverage in official and commercial media outlets—is at once unexpected and revealing. It is a surprise because its heroes are swashbuckling capitalists in the Shanghai of the early 1990s. A hard-living bunch, they cut deals, swap stock tips and scheme against rivals over an endless succession of boozy late-night banquets, filmed in demonic shades of black, gold and red. It is all a far cry from the prim, flag-waving dramas that have become the norm on state tv during Xi Jinping’s rule. Typically, such series depict crime-fighting police officers, Communist Party officials toiling to serve the masses, brave Chinese soldiers or other model citizens.