Netflix to make its first Chinese language original series

Netflix, the US streaming and entertainment platform, has finally stepped into the Chinese market.

In a press release Friday, the streaming platform announced a partnership with iQiyi, one of China's most popular online TV and movie portals, for its first Chinese-language original series from Taiwan called Bardo.

The previous collaboration between iQiyi and Netflix. [Photo: jiemian.com]

Netflix announced its collaboration plan with award-winning production company IFA Media and Taiwan-based director Sam Quah.

The eight-episode series Bardo is a supernatural jailbreak thriller that follows the story of one prisoner's attempt to escape death row. Bardo will be available to all Netflix members worldwide.

The testing of waters in the Chinese market is nothing new as Netflix previously agreed to a deal with iQiyi to put some of Netflix's content on it. With nearly 500 million monthly viewers on iQiyi, the collaboration is going to be a good deal to open the Chinese market for Netflix.

China's regulatory barrier for TV industry is the one big worry for Netflix company as it might prevent it from conducting its service in China. “We’d love to have a direct relationship with China and it’s just a matter of when and how, and that’s something that we’re trying to figure out over time,” said Robert Roy, vice president of Netflix’s content acquisition.