The demand for U.S. TV shows has been growing in China, but with the recent crackdown on file-sharing sites, Chinese consumers could soon find their favorite American shows like The Walking Dead banned in the country.

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According to a report by CNN, Chinese officials shut down two of the country's largest file-sharing sites in terms of popularity last month. While the sites claimed to be "free platforms for people who want to learn about American language and culture," State media accused them of violating copyright laws.

Very rarely does a U.S. TV series make it on China's main broadcast and cable networks. Chinese consumers instead rely on file-sharing sites or online streaming companies if they want to watch shows like the House of Cards or The Walking Dead.

There are legal streaming sites in the country such as Sohu, which launched House of Cards on its platform during the same time it was being aired on Netflix. The TV series managed to rack up more than 100 million views through the Chinese site since February. To put that into perspective, Netflix only has 50 million subscribers worldwide.

However, it's rumored that China's broadcast watchdog could soon target these legal streaming sites for censorship.

"China's broadcast regulator has strongly hinted from April 2015 it would only approve 'healthy' content to be streamed online - a troubling prospect for followers of such shows as zombie horror drama The Walking Dead and steamy period drama Masters of Sex," CNN reports.

Furthermore, TV shows that do gain approval by Chinese officials would likely have to wait until the entire season is aired in the U.S. before consumers are able to stream the edited format in China. 

TagsThe Walking Dead, China censorship, tv shows, File-sharing, China's broadcast regulator