Placing my hands onto the cool leather in front of me, I felt nervous and a little anxious. That was my memory of the first of January this year as I took on the wheel for my last driving lesson. It feels like that was only a few weeks ago, but it also feels like forever since received my driving license. Well it has been six months after all. And with the six fairly uneventful months of my life, I saw so many different dramas trend and top rating charts in China.
There were a large number of dramas released this year, with big names not only on public broadcast, but online as well. The Legend of Mi Yue, despite not being able to hold up to the hype and expectations, continued as a rating powerhouse. Beautiful Secret, starring Peter Huo and Victoria Song, took on the ratings at the end of its run. Next we saw Hawick Lau and Zheng Shuang in Chronicle of Life top ratings and trends. Medical drama, The Imperial Doctress, with Liu Shi Shi and Wallace Huo, followed. Descendants of the Sun took over Weibo in March as we saw Chinese dramas take a slight shift, with William Chan’s and Tang Yi Xin’s The Love of Happiness top ratings.
We had many big names in dramas in April, with Yoona and Lin Gen Xin’s drama, God of War Zhao Yun starting off with a blast. However, the ratings became rocky throughout its run as it switched places with competition Keep the Marriage as Jade, The Ladder of Love and Still Lala, before topping again at the end of its run. It was Ode to Joy that took over Weibo trends although not taking on the ratings crown until after God of War Zhao Yun’s run. Precious Youth with Zheng Kai and Liu Shi Shi benefitted from Ode to Joy’s last episode for the first episode, however it failed to engage viewers and so we saw Little Husband come in to beat it. Yang Mi and Huang Xuan’s Les Interprètes made a splash upon its first episode, raking in great ratings and trending throughout its run. And then we saw Su Hong Lei’s and Maggie Jiang’s To Be a Better Man take on the baton, before passing it onto Cheney Chen’s and Ying Er’s currently airing Decoded.
This post can’t forget the multiple successful web dramas that took Weibo by storm. We had Nicky Wu’s produced Legend of Zu, starring himself, Zhao Li Ying and Willam Chan. Then the large budget, star studded cast of Li Yi Feng and Tang Yan in The Lost Tomb. We should not forget the unexpected comedic hit Go Princess Go, the dark and now banned boy love, Addiction, and the light hearted and warm, With You. And that is the first half of 2016 wrapped up for you.
What did you guys do as those two seasons passed? Normally when I go back on these lists I realise where all my time went, but this time I’ve realised, out of the mentioned dramas, I’ve only watched three. Choosing from these dramas, I suggest Go Princess Go. It’s funny, short, and a good laugh; the costumes are hilarious, even if I despised the ending. I will try to get past the first episode of Les Interprètes and Ode to Joy someday too..
What did you guys watch this year? Was it a drama I mentioned above or not? Did I miss anything?
This is a really interesting article! When I’m free I’ll definitely check out some of these dramas.
Congrats Alisonn on your first article! This was definitely a great read and when I have the time, I will go and watch the dramas you’ve mentioned in the article! (:
Interesting article! I have yet to watch any of these dramas, so I think I’ll check some of the ones mentioned in your article out! I’m not into Chinese dramas (or any dramas really) but I got caught up on Five Children during my break, really great show, if you ask me. Anyway congrats on your first article, Alison!
Looking forward to reading more of your articles on Chinese entertainment Alisonn! Recommend me some non-historical dramas 😉
I’ve only finished like 4 modern series in the last like year. And that was Tiger Mom, You Are My Sunshine, Precious Youth and Good Times. I can’t really recommend a modern day mainland series, because I guess they’re not really among my favourites.