This week the CCTV8 broadcast and iQiyi streaming modern period C-drama This Thriving Land concluding it’s highly critically acclaimed and strong viewership run. The opening Douban ratings are a very good 7.2 though from all the raves I thought it would be in the higher 7s range. Female lead Yang Mi can breath a huge sigh of relief after a … Continue reading →
At this point its becoming a meme of sorts, just how bad the promos can be for upcoming big budget and high profile fantasy K-drama Genie, Make a Wish. Written by Kim Eun Soek, starring Kim Woo Bin and Suzy, and bankrolled by Netflix, all that hype has been muted in recent weeks with a series of very very bad … Continue reading →
So it’s clear the recent scandal with Xu Kai and his ex-girlfriend has no immediate impact on his career. It didn’t hurt Moonlit Reunion, which didn’t do very well but continued to track okay through the entire run even after the scandal arose. Now he’s heading into production for a new C-drama titled Ting Feng Ling (听风令 Listening Wind Orders) … Continue reading →
This sounds like both a prestige project and a potential big budget blockbuster type K-drama. K-ent is reporting that top stars Jeon Ji Hyun and Lee Byung Hun are in talks to headline the K-drama The Koreans, adapted from the hit US show The Americans. It will follow a married couple of North Korean spies living in South Korea, like … Continue reading →
August 2025 wasn’t as strong a month in C-dramas as July was the prior month, but the August dramas have all ended or are ending so time to check in on one that I haven’t started yet but still plan to. Tencent fantasy romance C-drama Moonlit Reunion with Xu Kai and Tian Xi Wei will end its run this week … Continue reading →
I’ve seen back-to-back drama releases for C-stars but this is the rare back-to-back-to-back three peat coming for actor Cheng Lei. This week iQiyi will release the ensemble through-the-eras C-drama Zu Ji (Chinese title means footprints) with female lead Tong Yao in the 1950’s era and Cheng Lei with Jelly Lin in the earlier 1930’s period, and then Wang He Run … Continue reading →
It’s been an August of online chatter and gossip in C-ent and towards the tail end of the month C-actress Yu Shu Xin joined the group of stars currently dealing with each’s own issues. The initial starter came with Yu Shu Xin’s long ago bully allegations from the 2016 variety show Grade One Graduation came back up with the actress … Continue reading →
This weekend tvN drama Bon Appétit, Your Majesty confirmed whether the promising premiere weekend ratings and trend was a fluke or portended a true hit on our hands. It’s the latter as episode 4 went up an incredible nearly 4% increase to 11.063% ratings, which makes it the highest rated tvN drama of 2025 thus far. This harkens back to … Continue reading →
This weekend Tencent started filming of the period romance and politics C-drama Tigers Sniff the Rose starring Meng Zi Yi and Li Yun Rui in a highly anticipated and quick reunion since their hit drama Blossom less than a year ago. Can’t blame them for striking while the iron is still hot on these two stars but capturing lightning in … Continue reading →
Like all news cycles, even the juiciest of events becomes old news when newer topics arise so hoping to leverage publicity to make any changes is hardly a smart choice. C-actress Zhao Lu Si took over early August with her daily livestream campaign revealing mistreatment by her agency and demanding to be let out of her contract, plus whatever else … Continue reading →
So this metric isn’t about buzz, search rankings, viewership, or ratings, but the age old “did it make money in the end” assessment. Usually it’s tied together, a popular drama will make money because the high viewership will lead to more CF sold and tail with streaming, but lately it’s not always the case due to the increasing cost of … Continue reading →
The month of August has seen two dramas air back-to-back for actor Cheng Lei and in both instances the ratings and reviews are not kind to said drama. Legend of the Female General got Douban ratings of 5.5 which is on the low side already, but his currently airing Shadow Love said hold my beer and got opening Douban ratings … Continue reading →
This was a great summer for C-actor Yang Yang, redeeming his last lackluster drama outing of Fireworks of the Heart with a resounding hit in The Immortal Ascension. So it’s no surprise that lots of drama male lead roles are headed his way and there will likely be melons aplenty until he picks the next one. This week there is … Continue reading →
