Netflix's BoJack Horseman pulled from China just two days after release
The show was removed in order for "adjustments" to be made to the content
Existentialist animation BoJack Horseman has been pulled from Chinese streaming service iQiyi just two days after its launch, with a spokesperson for the service saying that “adjustments needed to be made” to the show.
Netflix had long been attempting to break into the Chinese market to gain a share of iQiyi’s nearly 500 million monthly viewers, but had been thwarted time and time again by regulatory measures.
But in April 2017 they agreed a content licensing deal, which would introduce a selection of Netflix Originals, including BoJack Horseman, Making a Murderer and Chef’s Table, to the nation, all of which were released on 21st June, only for the cartoon to be removed on 23rd June, reports Bloomberg.
Considering that China’s media regulator has previously banned light and inoffensive American show The Big Bang Theory in the past, it is a wonder that they let BoJack slip through the net in the first place. Did they even watch the show?
BoJack Horseman is a darkly comic animation about a washed-up sitcom actor who happens to be an anthropomorphic horse. Over three series, it deals with abortion, sex abuse and quite a bit of beastiality.
If the regulators do "adjust" the show, will there be anything left at all?
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