Photo: VCG

To avoid disputes, China's National Radio and Television Administration mandated TV series actors and actresses not to compete for the top spots in the credits of productions  in a new regulation on soliciting public opinions.

According to the regulations announced on Wednesday on the production of TV series, the attribution of cast and crew members and the order and positions of their names in the credits shall be stipulated in the employment contract. Producers shall communicate and make appointments on the issue of credits when signing the employment contract with the cast and crew members to avoid disputes. 

Besides, foreign actors or crew members shall include their nationalities and actors and crew from China's Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan should be labeled with corresponding areas. 

A new TV series named Sward Snow Stride recently aroused heated discussions online when viewers found that all the cast were starring the show. In the credits, there are three leading starring actors, three special starring actors, seven invited starring actors and eight co-starring actors. 

Chinese netizens joked about the funny "wholesale starring" phenomena in the show business. 

A screenwriter told online news outlet guancha.cn that the producer had come up with this trick to pacify the fans of different stars. 

Another screenwriter named Yanweiqing (pseudonym) mentioned that more celebrities can be invited to perform in the show if their rankings are at the same level, adding that sometimes the position in the credits are even more important. 

Competing for the top position in the credits has been a very common phenomenon in show business. Some producers say that this is the inevitable result of the abnormal development of the film and television industry, a screenwriter told guancha.cn.