C-drama Ratings and Celeb Rankings (week starting Dec 31)

CSM52 / CSM55 Cities + Online

Like A Flowing River reached a new high of 1.419% on its final week. Being the highest-rated Douban drama of 2018, the show had solid viewership throughout its run. Wang Kai was consistently among the top celebs and although his co-stars moved in and out of the top 10, the entire cast and crew has received overwhelming praise. Last I heard, they were working on the script for season 2 so it's definitely not goodbye.  

After a lackluster first week that saw The Story of Minglan outside of the top 10, the show surged in online rankings to place in first this week. Ratings on tv inched higher to reach 1.003%. Behind the Scenes starring Zhou Dongyu and Luo Jin premiered last Saturday though it seems that initial numbers are far from impressive. 

Mystery of Antiques which is a web drama that premiered after Christmas breaks into the list in 4th. Tang Yan's The Lady in Cubicle jumps to 3rd.  It's a 2014 drama that is getting a nationwide broadcast on primetime TV. Meanwhile, Feng Shaofeng joins Zhu Yilong and Zhao Liying in the weekly list. Given all the physical, mental and emotional trauma his character has had to endure, I'm not at all surprised the actor made the cut. 

CSM Nationwide

The Story of Minglan ranks in first based on CSM nationwide. It's been a while but once again, a Hunan TV drama is back in the lead. 

TV Ratings 

CSM52 / CSM55 Cities 

CSM Nationwide

*The above are mostly primetime shows that air at 19:30 while those highlighted in blue air at 22:00. **Rankings are overall rankings across the shows airing on the same night, regardless of air time. *** Reruns are not included. **** Dramas that air on CCTV (the state television broadcaster in China) are not included. ***** CSM52Cities and CSMNationwide are common tv metrics. ****** Beginning Jan 2, 2019, 3 cities of Dandong, Bengbu and Luzhou were added to CSM 52. 

Web Rankings 

Top Dramas (7-Day)  

1. The Story of Minglan

2. Like A Flowing River

3. The Lady in Cubicle

4. Mystery of Antiques

5. Ever Night 

6. The Demon Master

7. The King of Blaze 2

8. Past Events of Jinling

9. About Is Love

10. The King of Blaze

Top Celebrities (7-Day) 

1. Zhu Yilong
2. Zanilia Zhao Liying

2. Wang Kai

4. William Feng Shaofeng

5. Tiffany Tang Yan

6. Yang Zi

7. Yang Mi

8. Yang Shuo

9. Deng Lun

10. Arthur Chen Feiyu

*View count is based on the six streaming sites (Youku, iQiyi, Tencent, LeTV, Sohu, Mango) ** Star popularity is based on view count, weibo, douban, tieba, search results, etc *** iQiYi no longer provides view count. 

Previous <- Ratings and Top Ten -> Next

Source: Xunyee

The Path Not Taken in Ashes of Love

Ashes of Love 香蜜沉沉烬如霜 ended amidst teary eyes and relieved sighs as 2018’s favorite Chinese drama for many of us. While executive producer, Liu Ning has already announced a Season 2 for the show; it’s worth glancing back at the paths not taken in Season 1.

For me, the show had quite a few ‘what-if’ moments. My take is, that till the point our merry gang departs for the Mortal Realm to experience hardships, the game of – I like to call it -‘Jin Mi’s  Choice’ (between the two brothers) could have gone either way. Could another path have been less painful for all and help Jin Mi avoid the Great Doom she was destined to befall? To that end, here are my top picks of moments where the story could have taken a different turn:

Spoilers galore...tread carefully!



1. Xu Feng refusing to accept the royal engagement

The main pivotal point was when Xu Feng essentially pulled the old like-father-like-son move. He decided not to accept Jin Mi and Run Yu’s engagement based on his own feelings rather than what would be an easier path for Jin Mi. Back in the day, his father, the Heavenly Emperor also refused to let go of his love, the Floral Immortal, Zifen and chose to imprison her than let her marry the Water Immortal. 

Xu Feng too had fallen in love with Jin Mi by the time her true parentage was revealed but Jin Mi at this point was under the influence of the Unfeeling Pill (Yun Elixir) and was content to go ahead with her pre-destined engagement.

He repeatedly misread her actions and assumed that she was expressing feelings for him. The results were some hilarious scenes like when he was showing off his closet full of mementos from past conquests to impress while Jin Mi simply thought he means to occupy an empty shelf with her head. 

Had he accepted that she were to be his sister-in-law, Jin Mi would have been the same girl that she was, naive, innocent and she would have been in a comfortable albeit passionless marriage with Run Yu (since this was before he turned evil and she did like him as a friend). 



2. The confrontation with Rat Fairy 

This was a tough call for the Night Immortal and a serious speed bump in his wedding plans with Jin Mi. The discovery of Rat Fairy being a rebel gave the Heavenly Empress a chance to accuse the Water Immortal. He retaliated by declaring Run Yu and Jin Mi’s engagement void but Run Yu pacifies him by requesting to postpone the wedding by a year instead. 

Even Xu Feng commended Run Yu on this close save but in time this gap of one year would prove to be fatal to his chances of getting a happily ever after with Jin Mi. 

3. Xu Feng following Jin Mi to the Mortal Realm

I get it that when one gets to know their mother is getting the woman they love killed in an alternate universe, you jump first, think later. However the Fire Immortal could have protected Jin Mi better if he had remained ...ehem... immortal (like the Night Immortal did). His breaking the rules by jumping in to the Cause and Effect Plate nearly resulted in Jin Mi being sent back to go through the process again! 

He basically chose jumping off to another realm over having an uncomfortable conversation with his mother…well I guess there I can’t blame him. Once in the mortal realm the bond between Xu Feng and Jin Mi was so strong that it even weakened the Yun Elixir and the choice was made. Therefore while imprudent, Xu Feng's decision paid off and truly felt like the moment when the scales tipped in his favor to win Jin Mi's heart. 

4. The meddling of the Moon Immortal

The most industrious wingman if there ever was would pale in front of the Moon Immortal. He is a great comic relief but creates some serious mischief. Using his magical red strings to connect Xu Feng and Jin Mi together in the mortal realm while knowing she is engaged to Run Yu may be edging towards tilting the scales unfairly. Also as the Moon Immortal isn’t he supposed to like the Night Immortal better…just naturally? 

His biased intentions ultimately gave the added nudge to push the lovebirds towards each other.  However this action might not have contributed to turning the tide towards Jin Mi choosing Xu Feng as much as the earlier ones. Once in the mortal realm, I believe their destinies would have gotten them together no matter who intervened.

Do you agree with these? Did I miss your top pick? Do tell.

Actresses/Actors That Are Too Old for Their Characters

As I was reflecting on the dramas I've watched over the past year (and there have been a quite a lot of them), I realized that most of them are quite long (50-70+ episodes).  For the most part, I do enjoy them since I think they really allow opportunity for the characters to develop, but often times they do drag a bit in the middle.  (Side note: A quick test for me to determine whether a drama is keeping me engaged is whether I start to lose interest in the middle).  

In any event, the downside to long dramas is that often times they start out with the main characters at a relatively young age (think early-mid teens, 14-16 years) and the drama takes us through the process of their growth.  The problem with this is that, depending on the actor/actress, they are simply no long convincing as a teenagers!  These are men and women in their mid to late 30s or early 40s and it is extremely difficult, even with good hair, makeup and acting, to convince the audience.  See below for some examples!

Rule the World - Raymond Lam

At the risk of offending Raymond Lam fans everywhere, his character in Rule the World is probably one of the most egregious examples of this problem.  The book starts off with his character being only around 8-10 years old, which made sense since the main female character witnessed his birth and is his aunt.  I think Raymond Lam was around 37 when this series was filmed, making it virtually impossible to pull off this feat.  Honestly, he looked even older than the actors playing his two older brothers!  It also made his interactions with the various characters very weird, such as the main female character caring for him like a child in the beginning.  The show ends with his character being around 40 years of age, which is much closer to real age, so this does get better as the drama progresses.  I understand sometimes these choices are made for budget and marketing reasons, but I think this is one where it made sense to have a different/younger actor play the character at the beginning.  

Princess Agents - Lin Gengxin

Next is Lin Gengxin in Princess Agents.  Again the novel starts off with a lot of the characters as children.  The main female character is only supposed to be eight years old and I am guessing Lin Gengxin's character is probably in his early teens (13-14 years of age).  This is evident from the patriarch choosing a female attendant for him - someone who is supposed to keep him satisfied in the sleep department, if we are trying to be delicate.  If his character is someone in his late teens/early 20s, I just feel bad for him.  To be fair, I actually think he can still pass as someone in his early 20s, but 13-14 is really pushing it.  Due to the way the novel is written, I think this applies to virtually all the actors/actresses on the show - Zhao Liying, Shawn Dou and Li Qin.  

Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace - Zhou Xun

Finally, we have Zhou Xun from Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace.  I am sure I am not the first person to mention this, but the first few episodes starts with Ruyi being probably around 16 years old.  There's a lot that can be done with makeup, hair, lighting and costumes, but none of these can shave almost 30 years off a woman's age.  The drama jumps quickly to eight years ahead and I still find it believable for Zhou Xun to play a woman in her mid-20s.  Unlike Rule the World, I do not think it would make sense to have another actress play this character in the first few episodes.  It may also deter audiences from watching if the main leads do not appear in the first episode.  Sometimes this is just a choice that has to be made.  On the one hand, it may help to market the drama more easily if the leads are in more episodes and may be more cost effective to have less actors/actresses.  On the other hand, this sometimes causes the audience to raise their eyebrows and make the characters' actions and interactions a bit weird.

Do you agree or disagree?  Do others come to mind?  I can definitely think of a few others but did not want to make this super long.  Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts!

C-drama Ratings and Celeb Rankings (week starting Dec 24)

CSM52 Cities + Online

We've made it to the last day of the year, and it seems that tv rankings have found a status quo with Like A Flowing River keeping the lead as the top drama for December. The Story of Minglan starring newly weds Zhao Liying and Feng Shaofeng has officially premiered on primetime. 

However, first week ratings fell flat even as the story transitioned from the young cast to its adult counterparts. CSM52 ratings ranged between 0.550% and 0.751%, which is even below The King of Blaze on the later evening slot. The show also hasn't made the top 10 dramas online. As someone who's watching this religiously, I really feel that the show matches the level of quality expected from Daylight Entertainment, so I'm crossing my fingers that numbers improve. 

Ever Night which officially ended its run for Tencent members takes the crown as the leading web drama followed by About Is Love. 

CSM Nationwide

Data not available. 

TV Ratings 

CSM52 Cities

*The above are mostly primetime shows that air at 19:30 while those highlighted in blue air at 22:00. **Rankings are overall rankings across the shows airing on the same night, regardless of air time. *** Reruns are not included. **** Dramas that air on CCTV (the state television broadcaster in China) are not included. ***** CSM52Cities and CSMNationwide are common tv metrics. 

Web Rankings 

Top Dramas (7-Day)  

1. Like A Flowing River

2. Ever Night 

3. About Is Love

4. The King of Blaze

5. The Demon Master

6. When We Were Young 

7. The King of Blaze 2

8. Our Glamorous Time

9. Past Events of Jinling

10. Waitan Zhong Sheng

Top Celebrities (7-Day) 

1. Zanilia Zhao Liying

2. Wang Kai

3. Yang Mi

4. Neo Hou

5. Arthur Chen Feiyu

6. Zhu Yilong

7. Jing Tian

8. Yang Zi

9. Tong Yao

10. Yang Shuo

*View count is based on the six streaming sites (Youku, iQiyi, Tencent, LeTV, Sohu, Mango) ** Star popularity is based on view count, weibo, douban, tieba, search results, etc *** iQiYi no longer provides view count. 

Previous <- Ratings and Top Ten -> Next

Source: Xunyee

View count for some dramas this week

Ever Night will air its final episodes for Tencent members in one hour! Coincidentally, there were reports today that Meteor Garden star Dylan Wang has been spotted on the shooting location for season 2. Can we take it as confirmation that he's the new Ning Que? The show is currently at 4.46 billion views 59 days after premiere.

Like A Flowing River is the most popular show on air with the positive word of mouth to back it up. It has reached 1.49 billion views according to Vlinkage 19 days after premiere. It also streams on iQiYi where views are not accounted for. 

About Is Love dropped a poster yesterday to celebrate crossing 1 billion views. It is currently at 1.05 billion views on Tencent and has completed airing for Tencent VIP members.    

The King of Blaze has reached 1.25 billion views according to Vlinkage and still ranks within the top 10 even though it completed airing more than a week ago. It also streams on iQiYi where views are not accounted for. 

The Demon Master is currently at 1.24 combined billion views on Tencent and Mango TV 35 days after premiere.

When We Were Young is currently at 1.16 billion views. The show already finished airing for Tencent VIP and airs its finale for non-VIP today. 

The King of Blaze 2 has reached 199 million views according to Vlinkage, 11 days after premiere. It also streams on iQiYi where views are not accounted for. 

Waitan Zhong Sheng completed airing last night. It has reached 496 million views according to Vlinkage. It also streams on iQiYi where views are not accounted for. 

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*View count are either sourced directly from 1) streaming site 2) official weibo 3) xunyee in order of availability. 

Upcoming Chinese Dramas January 2019

Only one confirmed drama on our radar currently. As always, please check back for more updates. There are also a few rumored dramas floating around, some we believe more than others listed below:) 

Behind the Scenes (Jan 5 Dragon TV, Beijing TV, Youku)

A story revolving around a famous producer and a college student as they walk on the same path towards reaching their dreams. Starring Zhou Dongyu and Luo Jin.  

I Will Never Let You Go (Jan 8 Zhejiang TV, Tencent, iQiYi, Youku)

A beggar with extraordinary talents in business meets the chivalrous hero who saves her, thus beginning a sweet yet painstaking romance that progresses from their first meeting to becoming friends and falling in love. Starring Ariel Lin, Vin Zhang and Austin Lin. 

Spy Hunter (Jan 10 Jiangsu TV, Zhejiang TV, Tencent, iQiYi, Youku, Mango TV)

A story revolving around spies who navigate around dangerous powers in a battle of wits and will to defend their country. Starring Qin Junjie and Xu Lu. 

Young Blood (Jan 22 Hunan TV) --> date not confirmed

A story that takes place during turbulent times when the Northern Song and Western Xia were at war. Six young individuals undergo training to becomes spies in order to defend their country. Starring Steven Zhang Xincheng and Zhou Yutong. 

Yan Shi Fan (Jan 31 Dragon TV, Beijing TV) --> date not confirmed

A story set at a period of great unrest during the end of the Qing Dynasty that follows two impassioned youths as they devote their lives to their country. Starring Huang Zitao, Jackson Yee and Hu Bingqing.

Previous <- Broadcast Schedule ->

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• This list is updated as more dramas are announced.
• We do our best to cover newly-airing mainstream Chinese dramas and a few web dramas / Korean dramas that catch our eye.
• We rely on weibo for announcements, so dramas that are not yet officially announced might not be here. 
• The dates above are subject to change.
• For a more comprehensive list of dramas airing this month, please check out ChineseDrama.info.

The Story of Minglan premieres to middling ratings with young cast

The Story of Minglan 知否知否应是绿肥红瘦 garnered CSM52 ratings of 0.608% for its much-awaited premiere on Hunan TV last night. I'm surprised that it's lagging behind most of the primetime shows and even ranks below The King of Blaze which garnered 0.770% despite being a late evening show. View count seems more hopeful in comparison as it reached 62.6 million views online to place in 3rd after hit drama Like A Flowing River and About Is Love. Nonetheless, it has yet to hit the 100 million mark that many dramas have crossed within the first hour of release. 

Having caught the first two episodes, Minglan is really a family drama at its core which may not be for everybody. I though I'd be bored, but I personally enjoyed every moment and appreciated how every detail was so intricately shot. Only the young cast have appeared and I'd say they pretty much held their own. 

I love little Minglan, she is too precious! 

I thought he was a young Kim Soo Hyun at first glance, maybe not in this picture. What he does in the first episode is really sweet.

And here I mistook this girl for little Minglan at the opening scene. She's also super cute.  

There would be no drama without someone causing trouble. It's her. 

The heads of the household seem more self-serving and easily manipulated than evil which hardly helps. Meanwhile, here are some stills of Zhao Liying, Feng Shaofeng and Zhu Yilong as we wait for their grand entrance.  

C-drama Ratings and Celeb Rankings (week starting Dec 17)

CSM52 Cities + Online

Like A Flowing River has only been on air for two weeks and it's become the undisputed winner on primetime TV and online. Ratings on review-aggregation website Douban is currently at 8.9, the highest among Chinese dramas this year. The show has been lauded for being a stellar production that I'd be curious to see how numbers change when The Story of Minglan premieres on Christmas day. Both are Daylight Entertainment productions. 

Waitan Zhong Sheng and The Great River trail behind and it seems the latter may be close to breaking past CSM52 ratings of 1%. The modern counterpart of The King of Blaze started airing during the week. Numbers seem consistent as it averages at 0.6%.

Although Ever Night had to settle for second best online, it still remains to be the top web drama based on view count. Original Sin is a new crime thriller that started airing on iQiYi. iQiYi has stopped tracking views and ranks shows based on popularity (not sure how that works). Considering that Original Sin ranks just below Like A Flowing River on iQiYi, it may also be worth a look.

CSM Nationwide

Like A Flowing River has also placed in 1st this week based on CSM Nationwide. 

TV Ratings 

CSM52 Cities

CSM Nationwide

*The above are mostly primetime shows that air at 19:30 while those highlighted in blue air at 22:00. **Rankings are overall rankings across the shows airing on the same night, regardless of air time. *** Reruns are not included. **** Dramas that air on CCTV (the state television broadcaster in China) are not included. ***** CSM52Cities and CSMNationwide are common tv metrics. 

Web Rankings 

Top Dramas (7-Day) as of Dec 18  

1. Like A Flowing River

2. Ever Night 

3. About Is Love

4. The King of Blaze

5. The Demon Master

6. Our Glamorous Time 

7. When We Were Young 

8. The King of Blaze 2

9. Waitan Zhong Sheng

10. The Learning Curve of a Warlord

Top Celebrities (7-Day) as of Dec 18

1. Zanilia Zhao Liying

2. Wang Kai

3. Neo Hou

4. Yang Mi

5. Arthur Chen Feiyu

6. Zhu Yilong

7. Yang Zi

8. Jing Tian 

9. Tong Yao

10. Deng Lun 

*View count is based on the six streaming sites (Youku, iQiyi, Tencent, LeTV, Sohu, Mango) ** Star popularity is based on view count, weibo, douban, tieba, search results, etc *** iQiYi no longer provides view count. 

Previous <- Ratings and Top Ten -> Next

Source: Xunyee