Star power sees Youku pack a punch

According to Tsai, the new series will feature the original production team behind Kangsi Coming and has been tentatively titled Tan Bai Ba, Hua Hua Shi Jie (Confess for a Colorful World). The show will explore stars' shopping habits by asking them to share their shopping lists and bills.

"You are what you buy," Tsai says. "And this also reveals a celebrity's desires and attitudes toward life. Through this, viewers will be able to gain a better understanding of them."

Tsai adds that unlike Kangsi Coming, the new show will use big data analysis of consumer patterns as its foundation, which he hopes will give it added resonance with ordinary shoppers.

After all, Alibaba, which runs China's biggest online shopping platform Taobao, is Youku's mother company.

The reunion between Tsai and Hsu is just one of a raft of new-format variety shows due to be aired by Youku this year.

Dunk Boys, a new basketball-themed show starring Taiwan singing star Jay Chou, will see the idol for a generation of pop fans team up with Jeremy Lin, the Chinese-American NBA star with the Brooklyn Nets, and Stephon Marbury, a former NBA star who has also enjoyed huge career success in China by helping the Beijing Ducks win three national championships.