Chinese Actress Xiaoqing Liu To Produce & Star In ‘Empress’ For U.S. TV

Xiaoqing Liu, who is a big star in China, will be producing and starring in a TV show meant for broadcast in America. “Empress” is about Wu Zetian, who ruled the Zhou dynasty for two decades. Its target air date is 2018, but so far no network has been named just yet.

“Empress” will be patterned after other productions that featured Wu Zetian’s story, including a 1995 drama series that aired in China, which also starred Xiaoqing Liu. The actress is also involved in a play featuring the empress and it was there that she was approached for the U.S. TV development.

“The Empress went through a lot of men, but she was loyal only to one, her husband,” the actress told Variety. “There are two elements we didn’t show in the Chinese versions; her desire for killing and for sex. She killed all her ministers who didn’t agree with her.”

Joining Xiaoqing Liu as producers are Christopher Newman; Starlight Media; and Kia Jam, CEO of K.Jam Media. Casting announcements have not been revealed.

The news comes as Netflix has also released a drama series about Asian dynasties in “Marco Polo,” which already has two seasons.