diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/crunchyroll.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/crunchyroll.py
index 4243f3e2e..9aa5d58b4 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/crunchyroll.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/crunchyroll.py
@@ -291,9 +291,8 @@ def _real_extract(self, url):
             r'(?s)<h1[^>]*>((?:(?!<h1).)*?<span[^>]+itemprop=["\']title["\'][^>]*>(?:(?!<h1).)+?)</h1>',
             webpage, 'video_title')
         video_title = re.sub(r' {2,}', ' ', video_title)
-        video_description = self._html_search_regex(r'"description":"([^"]+)', webpage, 'video_description', default='')
-        if not video_description:
-            video_description = None
+        video_description = self._html_search_regex(
+            r'"description":"([^"]+)', webpage, 'video_description', default=None)
         video_upload_date = self._html_search_regex(
             [r'<div>Availability for free users:(.+?)</div>', r'<div>[^<>]+<span>\s*(.+?\d{4})\s*</span></div>'],
             webpage, 'video_upload_date', fatal=False, flags=re.DOTALL)