Before Squid fishing game skyrocketed to number 1 in 94 countries, with 142 million viewers and ends 3 billion minutes watched, The Story of Yanxi Palace was in 70 countries with 700 million viewers in just one day, reach more than 15 billion views and become Google’s Most Searched Program in 2018, although Google is not available in China.
However, most Americans have never heard of it.
Driven by Netflix’s push for global domination, Americans are discovering a taste for international content. Big 97 percent of US Netflix subscribers watched non-English content last year. Interest in Korean dramas has doubled in the last two years, while the anime rose 50% from 2019 to 2020. With Asia taking over more than half of Netflix new subscriber base, expect more hits from Korea and Japan.
But what about second largest entertainment creator from a market where Netflix doesn’t operate?
Can Chinese entertainment take off?
Kuek Yu-Chuang, Vice President of International Business at iQiyi, China’s largest streaming platform, so believe. “Signals of global demand became apparent in 2018 with Yanxiand sampling continues to evolve. In the last two years, more than half of US respondents have tried Chinese shows according to a recent iQiyi survey. The number of monthly active users, watch time and video views of Chinese content has doubled in North America this year, according to statistics iQiyi shared with WIRED.
“Chinese shows don’t get recognition or recommendations from Netflix’s 214 million members globally, which is why,” said Julia Alexander, senior strategy analyst at Parrot Analytics. we don’t see the breakout like with Korean or Japanese content,” said Julia Alexander, senior strategy analyst at Parrot Analytics.
Larry Namer, founder of E! Entertainment TV Networks and president of Metan Global Entertainment, hopes China will have more globally popular series. “In some ways, there is more risk-taking in China than in the US, despite the government. You are restricted to some programs, but it is open to others. “
How we created this list
For this list, WIRED gathered from US and Chinese reviews and input from Chinese TV creators and marketers: Ting Chen, screenwriter; Zijin Chen, author and screenwriter; Frank Jiang, CEO of Shanghai Yingyuan Culture & Technology; Jun Ni, screenwriter and associate professor of Film and Television, Central Academy of Drama; Rui Ma, CMO of New Studios Media Co; and Dai Ying, SVP and GM of the Original Drama Division at iQiyi.
Recommendations are split: 60% modern, 15% period (1900-1990) and 25% historical, based on a 2020 breakdown of 415 web scripts and C-dramas [LT3]. Our recommendations cover every genre and include personal, family and social stories, and we focus on shows for audiences in the US and Europe.
Needless to say, here is a C-Drama Watch List of the most recommended shows of the past nine years.
Looking for Epic, High Stake Views?
This is a must see. Wuxia overthrows (ancient martial arts story) with a weak protagonist who has lost the ability to martial arts. The film is set in sixth century China, and Mei Chang Su, a brilliant strategist, secretly helps Prince Jing, the most unlikely son, fight for the throne to erase his name. his family. This is a novel by Hai Yan – one of China’s most famous authors – that is not widely available in English, like many of the source novels on this list. iQiyi’s Dai Ying said, “The quintessential C-rated drama about honor, courage, and sacrifice,” remains the second-highest-rated C-rated film. “Beautiful in appearance. The epic yet personal story of how we live, how we die and what matters,” said Liv Fowler, a writer and fan of the series.
