iQIYI's 'The King of Stand-up Comedy' Wraps, Spotlighting Chinese Grassroots Comedy

BEIJING, Oct. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- iQIYI, China's leading online entertainment platform, released the season finale of its hit original comedy variety show The King of Stand-up Comedy this week, with Fu Hang winning first place. This season, along with titles like Super Sketch Show, as part of the platform's growing comedy ecosystem, demonstrates iQIYI's ongoing efforts to provide a greater stage for grassroots comedy talent and cultivate the diversified development of the domestic comedy industry and culture.

With the theme of "life needs comedy, and comedy belongs to everyone," this season sought to give grassroots comedians a bigger stage and share their observations on life. Throughout this season, the contestants deconstructed a slew of real-world topics touching on growth, generational differences, marriage, workplace and employment among others through comedic routines, deeply resonating with contemporary audiences.

In the finale, Fu Hang shared his outlook on life, using his own experiences to relay the message: be one's own person—individuals are the protagonists of their own lives. Runner-up Xiaolu recounted anecdotes of her life with her "wedding partner," unveiling their relationship as a cross-border, long distance couple. Third-place winner Hei Deng shared details about life as a blind person, aiming to help sighted people understand the unseen.

Each contestants' spectacular performance helped to drive the finale's popularity index score to break 9400, propelling The King of Stand-up Comedy to the top of iQIYI's 2024 variety popularity index. Consistently dominating variety show popularity rankings on several prominent third-party data platforms like Enlightent and Maoyan Entertainment throughout its airing, the show also ranked among the top three most popular variety shows in all of iQIYI's major overseas markets, and generated more than 4,890 trending searches across Chinese social media platforms like Weibo and Douyin.

Following the broadcast of the entire season, the 44 contestants have collectively gained over 5.98 million new followers online — and the following is still growing. Besides the top three, Liu Rencheng, who popularized his hometown Anyi county of Jiangxi province; Yu Xiangyu, who merges comedy routines with philosophy; Tang Xiangyu, the first woman in her village with a master's degree; and the like have all gained greater followings through the show's spotlight. 

Building on the success of previous comedy hits like Super Sketch Show, The King of Stand-up Comedy, which was initiated by legendary Hong Kong film star and director Stephen Chow, further enriched iQIYI's comedy ecosystem. The two seasons of Super Sketch Show not only garnered immense success but also discovered numerous actors for iQIYI's comedy-focused "Laugh on Theater."

Through its comedy variety lineup, iQIYI remains dedicated to the genre, creating popular variety show IPs that entertain viewers and provide a platform for grassroots comedy talent, supporting the diverse growth of the Chinese comedy industry.

CONTACT: iQIYI Press, press@qiyi.com