In the winter of 2023, the cdrama market is entering the year-end sprint. While the hot broadcast period of dramas such as "A Journey to Love," "Love Me, Love My Voice," and "South Sea Tomb" that premiered at the end of November is not yet over, dramas such as "Got a Crush on You," "Battle Through the Heaven," "The Hope," and "The Last Immortal" that are scheduled to air in December have successively joined the melee.
From the currently aired and scheduled dramas, the online platforms mainly involved are Tencent Video, Youku, and Mango TV, with both "The Last Immortal" and "Unshakable Faith" being dual-platform broadcasts. In terms of themes, there are obvious differentiated features that can meet the viewing needs of different audiences.
The Clash of Four Major IP Dramas
Among the six dramas that have been launched or are about to be aired in the past few days, four of them are IP adaptations, with three of them adapted from online novels on Jinjiang Literature. Specifically, "Got a Crush on You," which premiered on Tencent Video on December 7, is adapted from the novel "Hong Cheng Gun Gun Gun". The author, Beiqing, is a writer of online novels under Jinjiang Literature. Hong Cheng is her first modern romance novel published on Jinjiang Literature.
"The Last Immortal," which is broadcast on both Tencent Video and Mango TV, is a romance fantasy drama that has been highly anticipated. It has been launched on December 11. The drama is adapted from the novel of the same name by the popular author Xing Ling on Jinjiang Literature. Her other ancient romance novel "Shang Gu" was adapted into the TV series "Ancient Love Poetry" in 2021.
Derailment
Equally anticipated modern romance drama "Derailment" premiered on Youku on December 14. The drama is adapted from the novel of the same name by Priest, a resident author on Jinjiang Literature. Her works include romance, Danmei genres. Famous cdrama such as "Guardian," "Legend of Fei," and "Word of Honor" are all adapted from Priest's novels.
"Battle Through the Heaven" is adapted from the long fantasy novel "Fights Break Spheres" and has been airing on Tencent Video since December 8. The author, Tiancan Tudou, is a well-known Chinese online novelist. "Fights Break Spheres" is his classic work, and with the huge popularity of this book, Tiancan Tudou became a platinum writer on Qidian Chinese website in 2009. His works have been adapted into online games and mobile games, and all of his works have been adapted into comics.
In addition, "The Hope" premiered on Youku on December 10, and "Unshakable Faith" premiered on Youku and Tencent Video together on December 12. It is worth mentioning that "The Hope" is directed by the famous director Ding Hei, who is also behind popular dramas such as "The Qin Empire Season 2" and "Nothing Gold Can Stay," which have received enthusiastic response during their airing.
Subject Matter Main Differentiation
In terms of genre, this new wave of dramas covers three major historical periods: ancient, period, and modern. It encompasses various subgenres such as romance, youth, fantasy, anti-terrorism, and suspense, with a focus on differentiation and competition. "Got a Crush on You," "The Hope," and "Derailment" are all modern dramas, but each has a different emphasis.
"Got a Crush on You," starring Gulnazar, Xu Kaicheng, and Fu Xinbo, is a urban romance drama that revolves around the love story between Song Xingchen, who enters a rebellious phase at the age of 30, and Su Qingche, the captain of a rescue team. This drama features the popular pairing of a female doctor and a rescue team captain, a mix of idol drama and workplace drama that is not uncommon in this year's drama market, such as "Fireworks of My Heart" and "Bright Eyes in the Dark." However, based on the currently aired episodes, the drama still focuses primarily on romance, with a weaker emphasis on the professional aspect.
The youth campus drama "The Hope" focuses on high school seniors and tells the story of a group of teachers led by Lei Ming and Sang Xia, who guide their misguided students back to their original aspirations. As the follow-up work of Ding Hei and Zhang Ruoyun after "Ordinary Greatness," this drama was highly anticipated before its premiere, with over 5 million pre-bookings, setting a new record for modern dramas on Youku. Recently, Youku has aired two highly acclaimed dramas, "The Queen of News" and "Burning Years," which may have a certain long-tail effect and bring a wave of users to "The Hope."
"Derailment" blends elements of suspense and urban romance, placing a role reversal plot with a mysterious nature within its story. It tells the story of Jiang Xiaoyuan, a wealthy young woman who switches identities with a working-class girl of the same name, and her encounter with the mysterious childhood friend, Qilian, as they search for the truth together. This drama stars the young actors Liu Haocun and Lin Yidan, with the former entering the film and television industry through Zhang Yimou's film "One Second" and the latter having appeared in several youth idol dramas. Their pairing is considered fresh.
Both "Battle Through the Heaven" and "The Last Immortal" belong to the historical costume genre, and although they are both adaptations of popular IPs, "The Last Immortal" is clearly more successful based on its current popularity.
The ancient fantasy drama "The Last Immortal," starring Zhao Lusi and Wang Anyu, tells the story of Gu Jin, the son of a true god, and A Yin, the water spirit, as they work together to save the lives of the people in the three realms. The main difference between this drama and previous fantasy dramas lies in the setting of the useless dual weak couple, which brings a different viewing experience through its cultivation-based fantasy story. The drama's overall online popularity rose to second place on the day of its premiere, with Tencent Video's internal popularity exceeding 24,000, and it has generated widespread discussion.
The Last Immortal
The inspirational drama "Battle Through the Heaven" premiered three days earlier than "The Last Immortal" but has been slightly weaker in comparison. Similar to the previous "Fights Break Sphere," this drama still focuses on the growth of the passionate youth, Xiao Yan. However, both the cast and the level of attention for this drama are not as high as the previous one. The cast of this drama consists mostly of newcomers, with He Luo Luo and Ding Xiaoying in the lead roles, who are far less known and experienced than Wu Lei, Lin Yun, and Li Qin from the first installment, making it relatively weaker in terms of attracting fans.
As the only period drama in this new wave, "Unshakable Faith," starring Peng Xiaoran, Liu Xueyi, and Kan Ranzi, focuses on the anti-terrorism theme, set in the 1950s, and tells the story of public security personnel led by Pang Hongmei, who engage in life-and-death struggles with enemy agents to ensure the smooth implementation of the water droplet project. Based on the current preview content, the drama sets the story as a cat-and-mouse game between darkness and light, combining the excitement of an anti-terrorism drama with the tension of a suspense drama. This fresh spy-themed drama may attract attention from a specific audience.
December is already halfway through, and in the remaining month and a half, will the 2023 drama market be able to create another wave of binge-watching frenzy? The answer will soon be revealed.
