Huayu 2011: Starting with Hilarious Men

"Hilarious Men" is a very special existence for major film and television platforms.

This suddenly appearing web series is low-budget, unconventional, and fragmented.

These negative labels combined left the heads of various platforms baffled as to why the first season of "Hilarious Men" was so popular.

This is why major platforms generally don't offer high copyright prices for "Hilarious Men".

Despite widespread skepticism, Sohu acquired "Hilarious Men" at a "high price," becoming the first to take the plunge.

Now that the second season of "Hilarious Men" has aired, other platforms are eager to see what the outcome will be for Sohu, the first to try this approach.

"The new user acquisition effect of 'Hilarious Men' is very good. According to the data, it is even higher than that of 'The Secret History of Wu Zetian'." The secretary reported the collected data to President Gu.

"The Secret History of Wu Zetian" was one of the exclusive key dramas announced by Youku at its 2011 Golden Resources Promotion Conference.

"The Secret History of Wu Zetian" has a total of 50 episodes, with each episode costing one million yuan. Youku spent a total of 50 million yuan to acquire the exclusive rights to this series.

In comparison, Sohu's cost for acquiring two seasons of "Hilarious Men" was less than 10 million yuan, less than one-fifth of the cost of "The Secret History of Wu Zetian"!

"The situation is about to change." President Gu took a deep breath.

"Hilarious Men" proves that "low-budget self-produced" works can completely compete with or even surpass "high-priced copyrighted dramas".

That day, CEO Gu posted a notice on Youku's internal network: "We must pay attention to the online drama and self-produced drama market."

Once a topic becomes popular and is validated by the market, capital and platforms immediately enter the market to grab a share of the pie.

…………

Wang Beichen (who appeared in Chapter 17) encountered two things today, one of which was a happy event, and the other was also a happy event!

The first thing was bad: Wang Beichen's girlfriend from university wanted to break up with him.

When he was first dumped, Wang Beichen was heartbroken and tried his best to win his girlfriend back.

His girlfriend replied bluntly, "You're a civil engineering student, and I text you every day while you're either dusting people or on your way to dusting! What kind of future can someone like you have? I'd rather cry in a BMW than laugh on a bicycle!"

"You own a BMW now?"

"I didn't! I just married some rich guy and that's it!"

"Would a rich person even want you?"

"Get out! Let's break up!" His girlfriend walked away resolutely.

Wang Beichen was left alone to wash his feet, accompanied by his coworkers.

While washing his feet, his coworker kept comforting him, saying, "It's just a girlfriend, right? Once you're rich, you can have any woman you want!"

"Look at these foot massage girls, aren't they pretty? I can change them whenever I want."

"As a college graduate, you'll earn about 4,000 yuan a month after you become a full-time employee, right? The construction site also provides food and accommodation, social security, holiday bonuses, and year-end bonuses."

"Think about it carefully. You used to spend 3,500 yuan a month on your girlfriend, but now that 3,500 yuan is all yours. Spend it however you want!"

What his coworker said made perfect sense, and the more Wang Beichen thought about it, the happier he became, and so this bad thing turned into a happy one.

The second piece of good news is that the fourth episode of the second season of the web series "Hilarious Men," which Wang Beichen really likes, was released today.

Double happiness today!

Wang Beichen angrily spent 500 yuan on a seafood feast with beer, and then waited for updates in his dormitory.

"What new skit will the Emperor of Bathing perform today?" Wang Beichen asked with great anticipation.

After watching the first three episodes, Wang Beichen discovered a pattern: each episode of the second season included a segment featuring Qiao Shan performing at a bathhouse.

Wang Beichen really liked Qiao Shan, so after breaking up with him today, he went to try foot massage for the first time at the urging of his coworkers.

I have to say, washing your feet is really comfortable.

The foot massage girl uses her delicate hands to massage the feet and also provides emotional support.

Just as Wang Beichen was savoring the moment, it was 8 PM, and the fourth episode of "Hilarious Men" was released.

After watching the familiar opening sequence, the first thing to appear was a skit featuring Zheng Nan linking up with "iPartment".

When Wang Beichen was in college, he watched the first two seasons of "iPartment" and was very familiar with Chen He and others.

This novel feeling of breaking down the dimensional barrier surprised and excited Wang Beichen, who then took a big gulp of ice-cold beer.

After a few more short skits, the familiar orange-yellow background appeared, and Wang Beichen instantly realized: Qiao Shan is here!

"Be gentle!" Zheng Nan complained.

"Brother, I didn't use any force," the foot massage girl explained.

"What do you mean you didn't try? You're just drilling right there!"

"Brother, this area is the reflex zone for your kidneys. Your kidneys might not be working properly, which is why it hurts so much when I press it." The foot massage girl looked completely innocent, as if it wasn't my problem.

"Girl, it's no wonder you're in pain. How come you feel pain so easily? Let me tell you, your kidneys are definitely not up to par. You always brag about how strong you are, don't you?" Qiao Shan mocked Zheng Nan from the side.

"What do you mean my kidneys aren't good? Little sister, you're too strong, how can you blame me?" Zheng Nan shouted, sticking out his neck. How could a man admit that he couldn't do it?

"We could see you weren't even putting in much effort, you're just a useless piece of trash, that's it, you're finished!" Qiao Shan continued to mock.

"Let me tell you... if you're not satisfied, come and sit here!" Zheng Nan immediately stood up and offered her seat.

"Let me tell you, little sister, just go for it and attack my kidney reflex zone!" Qiao Shan didn't believe it either.

Ten seconds later, Qiao Shan lay on the massage bed, foaming at the mouth...

"Hahaha..." Wang Beichen couldn't stop laughing at this part.

"Damn! I laughed so hard I almost choked! It hurts!"

When Wang Beichen's coworkers heard the noise and entered the room, they saw Wang Beichen rolling on the ground. They were terrified and immediately dialed 120.

"Hello! Is this 120? My coworker is dying, please come quickly!"

"What symptoms? Does rolling around on the floor while watching 'Hilarious Men' count?"

"Who's kidding you! He really watches 'Men's Laughter'!"

Wang Beichen was quickly taken away by an ambulance, and the story was leaked by someone and soon made it into the tabloids.

Sohu Entertainment was looking for new publicity angles, and after seeing this news, they immediately pushed it to the top of their feed.

[Shocking! The magic of "Hilarious Men" is so great! It even made a young man in his early twenties laugh so hard he ended up in the hospital!]

The comments section of this news article is also interesting.

[This guy is my coworker. It's true, we laughed so hard. He's a huge fan of Qiao Shan (a famous Chinese medicine), and he goes there to get his feet washed all the time after he was discharged from the hospital.]

[We're kindred spirits! I also like Qiao Shan; that chubby guy is quite interesting.]

[You're all younger brothers. I run a foot massage parlor, and I had a stone statue of Qiao Shan carved for me. I've enshrined it for my brother! And believe it or not, it's been working really well; business has been booming lately!]

[Is the place I went to for a foot massage your house? There's a stone statue of Qiao Shan at the place I went to, right next to Guan Yu.]

No, I don't worship Guan Yu. I'm not a loyal person.

[You're not loyal, just tell the truth. Just by looking at you, I know your foot massage parlor is pretty good. Send me the address, I'll drive my Cadillac over to support you sometime!]

The news that a viewer was hospitalized from laughing so hard while watching "Hilarious Men" further boosted the show's popularity, but also attracted some ill-intentioned people.

Gao Xiaosong, who was recently released from prison, was the first to criticize "Hilarious Men"!