Two decades ago, costume and kung fu dramas dominated China's TV screens and the United States was still an "alien country" despite 16 years of opening up.
"Friends" [File photo] |
So when Monica, Rachel, Phoebe, Joey, Chandler and Ross became a global phenomenon in Friends in 1994, Chinese people were largely unaware of the sitcom that followed the lives and loves of six young New Yorkers.
Two decades later, the "alien country" has attracted more than 2 million Chinese immigrants, and its most-watched sitcom - which notched up 236 episodes with its tenth and final season in 2004 - has a massive Chinese following.
It has drawn 420 million hits online and an army of fans who can recite the scripts by heart - even more since 2012 when major video websites gave it Chinese subtitles.
And the 20th anniversary of the series is creating a whole new generation of fans. A special web page on tv.sohu.com - "20 years: Friends" - invited viewers to post their favorite lines. Articles titled "20 classic clips of Friends" and "Where are the six friends now?" are popular on the WeChat messaging service.
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