Now that summer 2023 C-dramas are all over, including the tail end premieres at the beginning of September, the fall start feels like a balloon being let out in tension. October 2023 so far hasn’t see any C-drama premiere to strong reviews or online buzz but that’s okay. I think the holidays will bring some higher profile premieres. For now, the top 3 in viewership in order are homespun cute daily life period drama Romance on the Farm with Zeng Shun Xi and Tian Xi Wei, medical drama The Heart with Mark Chao, and second chance period drama Scent of Time with Zhou Ye and Wang Xing Yue. Those looking for recs can start with these three.
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Scent of Time was literally sabotaged by the studio owner/Youku. Absolutely no promotion before airing, the international distribution rights given to some plateform people hardly know named HBO (cannot watch it on Youku channel unlike the other two dramas), they only started doing some promos now cause the drama is becoming a sleeper hit. It is as if theu really underestimated the potential of the show so they couldn't bother.
HBO??? For real?
Yes they did that ! Stupid people ! Do you think they would have done that with a drama full of traffic actors and hype ? Scent of Time having none of that they lowkey fumbled the bag !
I'm assuming the "platform people hardly know named HBO" is a clumsy heavy-handed attempt at sarcasm. If so, it failed.
Youku sold the distribution rights to HBO Go, which is not available in most countries. This is not the same as HBO Max which is more widely available. So yes, Youku underestimated how widely popular Scent of Time would become despite the drama’s limited availability worldwide. The drama is not even on Youku international. So many are unable to legally watch the show on either platform are watching on illegal streaming sites, which of course does not contribute to the show ratings.
"widely popular"
Lol forever. Nobody gaf about this show in the greater scheme of things.
I have to agree with @Sirey on this one, they did the drama dirty by selling its rights to HBO when other platforms like Netflix or Viki carry more English speaking watchers of C-dramas. If it weren't for the blogs talking about this drama, I wouldn't even know it was airing! HBO Go isn't known for C-drama content so the number of international viewers it will garner is quite limited.
Compared to Netflix, Viki or even Youku-International with a guaranteed audience. It was a bad decision all around.
The Heart's translation is AI generated on WeTV and it is horrible. Not contributing to the overall appreciation of the drama.
Do you mean the subs are AI generated? At first I thought you meant the name of the drama and I was thinking, Chapgpt can put in more effort that that now. Lol.
I think I'm alright with casual dramas at this moment. It is the lead up to exam period after all hahaha.
I've watched The Heart and Scene of Time... both are absolutely worth watching. I've tried Romance of the farm but ended up quit it at 1st episode. Not my cup of tea.
Love love love The heart and scene of time...
I'm currently up to date with Romance on the Farm and I would say while the drama is not outstanding, it is not bad either. It really depends on individual taste. I personally find it refreshing to see a drama somewhat showing the life of ancient ordinary folks (still beautified to large extent as it's a game), rather than the usual focus on rich families, nobles and royalty.
That's to be expected, October has always been one of the many off-peak periods for drama viewerships in China. The peak periods are generally during the summer+winter school holidays and CNY period.
That's to be expected, October has always been one of the many off-peak periods for drama viewerships in China. The peak periods are generally during the summer+winter school holidays and CNY period.
I've been catching both historical dramas daily... they're both good. Dunno how they both got lukewarm ratings...
I like The Heart the most out of all three with all three lead actors being super solid and the medical cases are compelling enough (standard procedural tings). I am considering starting Romance on the Farm, the background of the premise of the Female Lead being a NPC in a game is interesting and I've seen some scenes which looks pretty cute so far. I am pretty indifferent about both lead actors but I think with the right project they will win me over.
I have to agree with @Sirey on this one, they did the drama dirty by selling its rights to HBO when other platforms like Netflix or Viki carry more English speaking watchers of C-dramas. If it weren't for the blogs talking about this drama, I wouldn't even know it was airing! HBO Go isn't known for C-drama content so the number of international viewers it will garner is quite limited.
Compared to Netflix, Viki or even Youku-International with a guaranteed audience. It was a bad decision all around.
Can someone tell me if Romance on The Farm was written by the same author who wrote 'General, Madam Called You to Farm'? There are way too many similarities.