So I read this really helpful explanation of what constitutes an explosive hit C-drama (爆剧 Bao Ju) and what dramas made it that big in the past decade or so. The five dramas that are genuine mega mega mega hits that earned the moniker of Bao Ju were (in no particular order): Joy of Life, The Legend of Zhen Huan, The Untamed, The Knockout, and Nirvana in Fire. The common denominator to a Bao Ju is the leads across the board are elevated at least one level if not more in popularity and commanding higher salaries because of it, the drama not just gets high viewership during its run but has a very long tail of people still watching even years later, little to no marketing spent on it vis-a-vis its return on buzz and name recognition, and finally all the veteran actors all benefitted as well from the largesse of the hit. So for Joy of Life, Zhang Ruo Yun vaulted to becoming the very top of male actors in the male lead period novel adaptation genre, the drama still gets strong viewing on platforms, and all the veterans in the drama were rewarded greatly by how successful the drama was for their own careers. Below are specifics on the other dramas.
Legend of Zheng Huan made Sun Li become THE HIGHEST PAID ACTRESS in the entire country, and even made even more famous the supporting stars like Jiang Xin, Ada Choi, and Chen Jian Bin, the drama was big across all of Asia and created countless memes and copycats.
Hu Ge’s salary vaulted multiple fold after Nirvana in Fire and remains that high to date, the drama also created the current career of Wang Kai.
The Knockout had no money spent on promos but topped all the search and buzz charts. It had high discussion value with articles and much written about it. Zhang Song Wen’s salary quadrupled, and all the supporting stars and veterans got way more successful.
The Untamed created the double top male actors 顶流 Ding Liu of Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo from this drama alone. Meng Zi Yi and Xuan Lu also got a big and permanent boost up to the next level, the drama had zero buzz before premiering and blew away all expectations.
Amaing read – Thanks Koala for this, it was really informative
It funny because people seem to like fast paced drama from the get go , but all these show at least 7 to 8 or even more episodes to get into them.
Or the start complaining when a show start slow
It’s more like word of mouth always works. If a drama is good, even if it’s slow to pickup, people will try to watch it. Although for untamed I was invested from the very beginning. I actually watched some of the donghua first and it was so interesting to see how they adapt it
I do enjoy all above immensely..
I personally believe China can produce good dramas if good directors have full control over their craft. But the sponsors have too much control over many decision making, plus China censorship board can be very unpredictable. In the end, the mid to high budget dramas will just pick the same pool of idols, stick to safe themes and keep within a control box.
Yeah the gov is too micro controlling the content of drama. So many good novels don’t get adapted. Especially those horror ones, I’m always fascinated. I think they could become new popular genre if allowed
China has a long history of rich culture, literature, art, and settings to tap into. It’s the political system and who’s in throne of CCP suffocating creativity of film making.
Yes..I agree.
There’s also the sheep mentality, once a drama became popular, other production companies will all swoop in to produce dramas of the same genre. In fact, some C-netz were saying that one of the reasons SARFT banned time travel, palace harem and BL is to stop this craziness and force the production teams to produce other genres instead. It seems to me that they may have lightened up a little on the time travel recently, hope one day the other banned drama genres will also be the same.
If high numbers of people watching after several years in a criterion, I doubt that The knockout should be in this list (as of yet, it can very well be in it after a few years).
The Knockout is only popular in the Chinese market. International fans do not necessarily appreciate it cos there are many other similar and already popular Kdramas with similar plots. NiF, TU, and JoL have extensive audience outside china though because of their unique storylines. Not sure about Zhen Huan cos it was produced long ago before Cdrama got more popular outside China.
I think that the article only refers to the Chinese audience, anyway. I am not trying to shade The Knockout, it’s just that it is way too recent to estimate its impact like Nirvana in Fire, for instance.
Yeah! I still rewatch The Untamed from time to time. I plan to rewatch Nirvana in Fire sometime too.
There’s no mystery to it. Good writing, directing, and acting, and a strong artistic vision behind the project. All of that is hard to find in any country’s entertainment these days.
Agree with list—all five dramas were iconic.
Zhen Huan is still very, very popular today, even outside China. My sisters love rewatching it.
I’m curious why My Fair Princess/Huan Zhu Ge Ge isn’t included. Not only it was huge, it’s still being broadcasted occasionally up until today, the popularity is cross-generations and even cross-countries. The cast also became superstars.
I presume they were just giving examples of shows ,they can hardly mention every show.
Probably because My Fair Princess was way too long ago plus the original version was no longer allowed to broadcast due to Zhao Wei getting banned from the screens.
Oh..good point!!
That’s a good list of criteria that move beyond the immediate ratings and buzz. Nowadays, we’re just inundated with content and attention spans have gotten shorter and there is very little cultural zeitgeist. For a drama to still be talked about, recommended, referenced, and watched by many years after it’s aired, it’s truly impressive.
Just my opinion but I expected to see some dramas being named there like My fair princess, story of minglan, ten miles of peach blossom and ashes of love too. These dramas are iconic, extremely popular and are still talked about till today.
I didn’t expect to see the knockout there cause although it is a big hit, it only came out last year
The Knockout was probably included because its CVB ratings hit 3. But yeah, I don’t think it’s gonna be a drama that’s going to be rewatched multiples times in the long run. Story of Minglan should replace it on this list mentioned by Koala. I don’t agree with Ten Miles of Peach Blossom and Ashes of Love though, they may have propelled their actors to a higher level, but they don’t have that long run impact.
Story of Ming Lan did not have the cultural impact The Knockout did. The Knockout made sociopolitical waves, marked a turn in propaganda fare, got all the Boomers to tune in, and propelled 张颂文 to stardom.
I disagree with you on TMOPB and AOL not having the long run impact. AOL entered yunhe 15 billion club this year with JOLS1, it is still being talked about so no way like TMOPB so no now they don’t have long run impact. As for the knockout I thought it’s can was 2.5?
*cvb sorry typo error
@Ophelia Prior to The Knockout, there was another crime drama which also performed extremely well in the previous year, though The Knockout exceeded it. So I wouldn’t call it marking a turn in propaganda fare and getting boomers to tune in. I’m just evaluating largely based on long run impact though and so far Story of Minglan does have that long run impact.
@Eddy For the Knockout average was 2.5, but it did hit 3 at its highest. As for AoL, well…Yunhe isn’t exactly trustable, I maintain that AoL’s long run impact isn’t on the same level as the others.
I wonder if there will ever be a drama as big as KDrama Squid Game? That will be a blast.
Funnily enough, I actually don’t think much of Squid Game. IMO its virality was based off of heavy marketing, plot-wise it’s nothing new or original, having watched Kaiji and Liar Game previously, Squid Game’s games are too simple to generate any excitement for me. But then again perhaps that’s the reason that made it a worldwide hit. Very simple and easy for people of various cultures around the world to understand what the drama is trying to convey.
Honestly, I was more invested in Alice in Borderland.
Yeah Alice in Borderland is loads better.
I have to admit, personally…Squid Game is not my thing at all… I did not finish it.
But in terms of its popularity…it definitely exploded worldwide. I was shock at how popular it was, reminds me of Kpop Psy’s Gangnam Song.
I LOVE Alice in Borderland…I was so happy with the cast too… Kento Yamazaki is one of my personal fav actor of this Gen.. and Yamashita Tomohisa guest star in Season 2…🤩.
I think the production design and Squid Game being a Netflix production is a huge reason for that shows success. I don’t know if a show with the same plot would have been as successful without those two factors. I’m just hoping its success leads to these streaming giants financing the best creators of various countries who have budget limitations in their local industries. They can adapt critically acclaimed works and hire the best directors and actors for the productions. Just imagine if a show like Liar Game had the Netflix treatment.
Wow finally found someone who watched Liar Game! I enjoyed the manga and the japanese live adaptation so much… korean did adaptation too but it became so strange…
@HL
Wahh a fan pf yamapi, I was so excited when I saw him there lol, with his butt ahahahha
His performance in kurosagi still made me love him to this day
@Yuhyi Yup I enjoyed the Japanese live action the best, the Korean adaption became weird by adding the variety show element. It’s funny how J-ent never did a remake of this while Itazura na Kiss got so many.
Squid game is a blatant plagia of japanese works namely Kaiji and As Gods Will (Takahashi Mike movie daruma scene). That director should be ashamed
You know what is common between them,they are all in PAST,ppl are just so obsessed with the past
I’ve watched most of these, except for The Knockout and couldn’t finish The Untamed. Now I have to add The Knockout to my watch list. But for the most part, I agree with this list. I am surprised AOL/TMOPB/LBFAD didn’t make the cut, only because AOL/TMOPB had incredible influence on popular culture (to the point of having weddings dedicated to its themes) and LBFAD, IMO, was top tier fantasy drama of its kind.
Just to check if LBFAD is Love Between Fairy and Devil? I have watched it and enjoyed it too.
Yes, it’s Love Between Fairy and Devil. The drama propelled Dylan to superstardom and Esther, too, but only by an increment. Zhang Linghe also became popular. One thing in common between all of these dramas is the cohesive and consistent storytelling. There are very few plot holes.
Imagine comparing LBFAD to the dramas listed above. Stans sure are something
If people can compare AOL/TMOPB to the above, why wouldn’t LBFAD apply? If you got nothing logical to say, don’t say it at all
@Coraline
Awww, did ickle stan got their feelings hurt? Sorry truth hurts ickle stan but your amazing hit was never an amazing hit. Keep crying. It won’t help your idols actually be real stars but it will help your skin!
K troll
Only the untamed that i only watched the trailer, simply bcuz… preference.
I didnt finished the knockout, lol.
NIF is still my top list.
Btw LLTG was also very popular in my country, but im not sure how it was in China back then.
What is LLTG?
should be love like the galaxy
Oh..yes.That must be it.😅
Yap…the other day I was thinking…imagine a modern zombie apocalypse drama in China…and it broke out in Beijing…omg….that would be epic…what would be the people..esp the…government respond in controlling and eradicating the infected people??…
Like no one wantss to be in China in case of a Zombie outbreak😅😂😂