"Isn't the standard for TV episodes 45 minutes each?" Yi Anguo asked with some confusion.
"45 minutes is 45 minutes, but don't forget the opening and closing credits. Plus, the next episode often includes a recap of the previous one, which adds a few more minutes to the total runtime." Yu Zheng explained.
"So, the actual storyline might only be about 30 minutes long. By shortening each episode by ten minutes, we can make an extra episode for every three episodes. It's entirely possible to cut 45 episodes into 59 episodes!"
Yi Anguo thought it over and then said, "Let's edit it into 59 episodes. If we don't, once someone buys the rights, they'll cut it anyway."
"By making an extra dozen episodes, we can charge a dozen more episodes' worth of licensing fees."
"Then how should we calculate the actors' payment? Should it be based on 45 episodes or 59 episodes?" Yu Zheng hesitated before asking.
