The 76-episode "Empresses in the Palace" is in the final stage of its English version production and is expected to go global within this year, reported Guangzhou Morning News on Tuesday.

The "Empresses in the Palace" has been still catching much attention since it broadcasted two years ago. Director Zheng Xiaolong and the president and CEO of Seven Starts Media Limited, Wu Zheng, announced during the Beijing Film Festival that the production of the English "Empresses in the Palace" has come to a close and will be expected to go public globally within this year.

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The drama series hopefully will become the first Chinese film and television program broadcasted in mainstream paid TV cable network in the US, the producers said.

The English version of the "Empresses in the Palace" is produced by a top American TV production team. Zheng was the co-production supervisor with Lin Yibin, a successful Chinese American director who directed the hit movie "The Fast and the Furious".

The English story is based on the original Chinese version and will be shown in six parts, with 90 minutes per series. Currently, the production has entered into the final step. It will be completed when the female leading role, Sun Li, has finished shooting the remaining scenes when she gets back after giving birth this summer.

Asian mainstream TV stations, which broadcasted the Chinese "Empresses in the Palace" before, have also shown interest in broadcasting the English version.

"The drama has been so popular because it delivers a main value and story that the global audience accepts. Even with the English version, the audience will still like 'Empresses in the Palace'," said Zheng.

Zheng did not elaborate what the main value of the drama is, but a netizen "xf8280" said the drama promotes sincerity and fidelity in a relationship and shows life's cruel reality and hardships.