Youku Premieres Wuxia Period C-drama Dark River with Gong Jun and Peng Xiao Ran This Week October 20th
For some reason I thought this drama would be an early 2026 release, but heck come on down and join the October 2025 C-drama party Dark River! This weekend Youku announced the release of the drama this Monday October 20th and I don’t see a lot of promos but recently a few air drops have ended up being surprisingly successful so this drama has a shot. The wuxia period Dark River is headlined by Gong Jun, with female lead Peng Xiao Ran, and supporting leads Qiao Zhen Yu, Chang Hua Sen, and Yang Yu Tong, with the genre being an assassin organization and the ensuing betrayal, conspiracy, and chaos in the martial arts world similar to My Journey to You but more sprawling than a drama set within one large residential complex like MJtY. None of the leads are riding recent hits and especially Gong Jun really really needs this to be good after back-to-back lackluster showings with Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Red Moon Pact and The Legend of Anle. The trailers aren’t all that engrossing and everyone seems so stiff in the drama but I still plan to check it out.
Trailer for Dark River:
Actually, they have been releasing pre-heating materials since October 10. The It’s not all of a sudden.
I see Gong Jun is already getting dragged for bad acting.
I was going to try it but now I am undecided. Is anyone watching?
This was sudden for me too.
I’m still waiting for GJ to convince me he’s lead material. LOL.
This is a terrible drama. I fast forward all the first 5 episodes. I dont understand the story. They fight and talk all the time. And I dont know what they are talking about. Crazy drama. Or maybe I am not clever enough to watch the drama.
Oh thanks. I was about to check it out after binging finishing Fated Hearts, my fav Cdrama this year besides my fav’s. Ok just forget it. I always have old Kdrama to fill the void.
On the one hand, they brought back the Blood of Youth director. But on the other hand, the clips and trailers I’ve seen just seems like they’re just fighting in the dark all the time. During this time of the year, I’m looking for something with more sunlight. Not on my immediate to-watch list, but I hope it’s good since I loved Blood of Youth and Dashing Youth was a disappointment.
Out of nowhere for me! I’ve been waiting! I’m getting through the first few episodes while editing photos, and… this sucks… lol. The drama’s story is tracking closely to the the animation, but that’s the reason why it’s NOT GOOD, since the animation actually does the story justice. Lol. Dang, they messed up casting Gong Jun! Why is he NOT channeling his “Word of Honor” Wen Ke Xing energy!?!!! That’s the ONLY ROLE he’s ever delivered. SAD. I’d argue, though, that the “Word of Honor” story was written really smartly to help all the actors’ perform well. SIGH. I looooove the “Dark River” story, and it’s unfortunate that their lead in this live action is the weak link. Chang Hua Sen is actually doing well. I think they’re both voice dubbed, but at least he seems committed to his role with his facial expressions and body control. I also, personally, think he does a good job at playing morally confused characters. Haha. Maybe Gong Jun does too because his Wen Ke Xing actually made me feel something. Lol. He needs to play a baddie again! Though Chang Hua Sen has plenty of room for improvement, he’s definitely out acting Gong Jun in every scene they’re in together! Siiiigh. I’ll follow it to its bitter end just because the heart of the original story/animation is soooo good. 😭
Yea CHS is outshining GJ. He has screen presence whenever he appears. Sad for PXR her role is meh, miscast. She can’t seem to get a break after Goodbye my Princess.
Basically Gong Jun is not a good actor. He only got lucky thanks to a BL drama. That’s all. The mainstream industry is filled with mediocre traffic actors/actresses
I saw a really funny comment somewhere that really sums up this show/Gong Jun’s performance lol.
“Once upon a time there was a really boring assassin….” 😂
I just found out GJ is voicing himself. 🫢😅 No wonder his performance is more stunted than it normally is. I was thinking to myself (before I found out), “Dang, this dubber is struggling to match GJ’s acting.” Come to find out, IT’S HIM struggling to match his own acting. 😂💀 GASH. Whyyyyyy!?!!
Agree with the miscasting. Agree with GJ lucking out with WOH. Agree with this boring assassin doing nothing for us.
The least they could’ve done was design more of a coherent story. They didn’t do a smart job interweaving the boys’ back story to get us to feel for them. It’s all random and convenient! I’m so bummed. Haha
Gong Jun has always been bad at acting, although my impression of him did improve slightly after his appearance on the recent season of Divas Hit The Road Season 7.
I think he suits modern dramas more. His acting I find is more bearable in modern dramas. I know everyone loved in him in one specific historical drama but maybe it was luck lol 😂 I feel bad for him cause his last drama flopped and hoped the hype of this drama might help him out and it might but man it seems in historical you need dramatic acting chops and then some and he just has not gotten to that perfectly. Still handsome though lol
I don’t understand the popularity of this drama. There’s many good reviews but I can’t even watch the first few episodes without fast forwarding it. The story is just messy, too many characters introduce within the first 5 episodes and the plot just jump to another scene. I like GJ (in variety show) but I have to admit his acting needs improvement. Just him reciting the lines feels like there’s no emotion to it.