Netflix to make its first Chinese language original series

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Netflix announced its first Chinese language original series from the east China island Taiwan called Bardo.

In a press release Friday, the streaming platform announced a collaboration plan with Taiwan-based director Sam Qua for the series.

The global expansion of Netflix /Photo via jiemian.com

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 China's streaming service provider 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.

The previous collaboration between iQiyi and Netflix. /Photo via jiemian.com

China's regulatory barrier for TV industry is a big worry for Netflix company as it might prevent it from conducting its service in China's mainland. “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.