China's First Long-Form AIGC Drama 'Post-Journey to the West' Launches New Arc
China's first long-form AIGC drama series, 'Post-Journey to the West', launched its latest arc, 'Battle in Heaven', on Hunan TV and Mango TV on October 4. The 30-episode series features 40-minute episodes generated primarily using AI content generation technology. This release marks a notable milestone in applying generative AI to full-length, broadcast-quality television production, demonstrating that AIGC can scale to long-form media. It is also the first broadcast drama in China to adopt a flexible 'simultaneous production, review, and broadcast' model under new regulatory guidelines. Adapted from the Ming-Qing classic novel, the storyline takes place 1,080 years after Sun Wukong achieves Buddhahood and follows a new generation of characters on a second journey to retrieve sacred scriptures. Its earlier 5-episode arc, 'Huaguo Mountain', premiered on August 31 and secured the top satellite television viewership spot in its time slot.
## BACKGROUND
AI-Generated Content (AIGC) refers to digital media—including images, audio, and video—produced primarily through generative machine learning algorithms. In traditional television and animation production, long-form graphic assets require extensive visual effects teams and prolonged rendering schedules, which AIGC tools aim to streamline.