Transmedia Storytelling in Mainland China: Interaction Between TV Drama and Fan Narratives in The Disguiser

Under the umbrella of Henry Jenkins’ notion of transmedia storytelling (2006), this chapter examines the interaction between the top-down force of corporate convergence manifested by adaptation and the bottom-up force of grassroots convergence manifested by fan engagement in the phenomenally popular Chinese TV drama The Disguiser (2015). From the gendered perspective, we propose that the transmedia storytelling of The Disguiser suggests a two-way interaction, which on the one hand manifests a sense of politicalizing the male and female characters in the process of adaptation to cater to the mainland censors, and on the other hand stimulates fan narratives that deconstruct the grand narrative of war, nation-state building, and political struggle in the TV drama by actively transforming the bromance in the TV drama to explicit slash narratives.