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.
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.
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.
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