The Lead
主角 48 2025 5月10日 央视一套 张嘉益、刘浩存、秦海璐、窦骁、翟子路、王晓晨 年代
This drama is one executive produced by famed director Zhang Yi Mou and the clear winner of last month. That is 主角 or The Lead. This 48 episode drama stars Zhang Jia Yi, Liu Hao Cun, Qin Hai Lu, and Dou Xiao.
Here’s the plot summary:
In the 1970s, a local county Qin Qiang opera troupe was recruiting trainees. Hu San Yuan 胡三元 (ft Zhang Jia Yi), the troupe’s drummer, hoping to improve his niece’s living circumstances, brings her to audition. He changes her name to Yi Qin E 忆秦娥 (ft Liu Hao Cun) and asks his good friend Hua Cai Xiang 花彩香 (ft Qin Hai Lu) to teach the young girl the basics. Yi Qin E’s path to learning Qin Opera is filled with obstacles and hardships. Despite these setbacks, through her determination, hard work, and natural talent, she also caught the eye of four veteran artists who saw her potential and generously guided her, learning the traditional methods to become a Wu Dan 武旦 (Warrior Maiden). With the changing of the times, she has the opportunity to perform on stage and astonishes audiences throughout the mountain villages with her skill. Her life changes as she is thrust into the limelight and must learn the true meaning of being The Lead.
Go ahead and read Cathy’s review online. It’s a beautifully told story about a Chinese tradition, Qin Qiang 秦腔 or Qin Opera, one of China’s oldest opera types. Even though Yi Qin E is the protagonist, the drama really is about a traditional art form that has survived centuries through the preservation of culture by performers and audiences alike.
I really enjoyed the Qin Opera aspect of the show, especially as performed and told by the older actors. The central character didn’t really work for me, but that’s ok as I was more invested in the supporting cast.
The drama smartly casts the main female leads with those who have Chinese opera or dance backgrounds. Qin Hai Lu trained as a Peking Dao Ma Dan before transitioning to acting. Liu Hao Cun trained in Chinese traditional dance. It does add a lot of authenticity to the production, even if there is a meta plotline about dubbing or stunt doubles.
Since airing, the drama has won over Chinese audiences, topping 4% on CCTV 1 and breaching 30,000 on Tencent’s popularity index.
Zhan Zhao Adventures
雨霖铃 37 eps 2024 5月13日 央视八套(21:30) 杨洋、方逸伦、章若楠 古装
After that we have costume drama with Zhan Zhao Adventures or Yu Lin Ling featuring Yang Yang and Fang Yi Lun and Zhang Ruo Nan
Set in the Song Dynasty, Zhan Zhao (Yang Yang), a highly skilled and righteous fourth-rank imperial guard who also has the moniker Nan Xia or Southern Hero. He sets out alone to investigate after receiving evidence of an unsolved case left behind by an old friend. He meets Huo Ling Long ft Zhang Ruo Nan and Bai Yu Tang ft Fang Yi Lun who join him on his adventures and his quest to find the truth.
Despite headlining Yang Yang, this drama, unfortunately, has not done too well. It has only managed to breach 8000 on Youku’s popularity index, which is low considering Youku’s 10,000 threshold is the easiest of the three main platforms.
I’m not surprised at all with its low viewership numbers. This is a drama that couldn’t figure out if it wants to be a WuXia drama or a crime detective drama. It does pretty well at the WuXia part and the male leads Yang Yang and Fang Yi Lun are both quite handsome on screen and quite decent at martial arts. Buuuut then when the story transitions over to the crime detective focus? It falls flat and is a snooze fest. I gave it a 6.5 out of 10. The female lead Zhang Ruo Nan…you can read my entire review online about her. She was entirely miscast for this role and the character she played, Huo Ling Long, was also very poorly written.
The Heir
家业 42 ep 2024 5月17日 央视八套 杨紫、韩东君 古装
Another Costume drama – The Heir – this time featuring Yang Zi and Han Dong Jun.
Set in the Ming Dynasty, a scandal involving the imperial ink shatters the long established order of the Hui Zhou ink industry. The leading Li Ink family falls from grace and the 8th branch of the family is expelled from the clan. The youngest daughter of the 8th branch, Li Zhen featuring Yang Zi, who is exceptionally talented at identifying ink, decides to return to her family roots and starts making ink. She uses her natural talent and pairs it with strong determination to help bring the Hui Zhou ink and the Li family back to the height of its glory.
The drama is in second place in terms of views behind the Legacy. It’s decent, but not exceptional. For example, on iQiYi, it did not breach 10,000 on its popularity ratings, hovering only in the 9000 range.
This drama does exceedingly well in helping you get a glimpse of the depth and work that goes into Chinese ink making which is a staple of Chinese culture and history. The drama takes you through how hard it is to make ink and the work that goes into creating a successful workshop. The main female lead, Li Zhen, actually has to spend years training to work on her craft. I really appreciated that because so many times in today’s dramas, the main leads are just expected to know everything without seemingly having done the work.
That being said, there are cons to this drama. For one…it is exceptionally slow moving. Hahaha I think the most apt tagline is that…it is like watching ink dry for many of the scenes. Viewership for this show online and on television dropped out quite significantly into the last quarter of the show BECAUSE of how long it dragged on.
Additionally – this is a drama where you have to decide if you want to watch Yang Zi on screen. Online commentary can be quite negative about her facial features because of the work she’s done on her face. Which…yea… you can definitely see the drawbacks of in many scenes. So you have to decide if you’re ok with that or not.
I enjoyed this show pretty much as a documentary on Chinese ink which gave me a new topic to learn about but your mileage may vary.
翘楚 24 2025 6月2日 优酷 陈都灵、周翊然、王瑞昌、吴施乐、蒋恺、曾雪瑶 古装
Ashes to Crown
This is another one of your big production rebirth costume dramas. The main female lead Chu Zhao ft Chen Du Ling sees her father and herself brutally murdered by her husband Xiao Xun. She is reborn to the day of her wedding and immediately plans to change fate this time around. She and Xie Yan Lai, ft Zhou Yi Ran partner up to prevent XIao Xun from enacting his plans to take over the throne. The pair successfully save the young heir’s life and helps him ascend the throne as Emperor but Xiao Xun invites foreign invasion causing full scale war. Chu Zhao and Xie Yan Lai fight for the future of the Chu Kingdom.
I started watching this drama yesterday. It is really funny to see that many scenes were filmed at the Palace of Emperor Qin in Heng Dian because I’m now like – OH I know where that is! I know where that is, I know where that is! Hahaha.
Anyways – While the production value is high, the script moves at a lightning pace and the cast is exceptionally handsome? My big question is, are the cast members just human dolls, especially the 4 main handsome men because they literally have no facial expressions. I’m watching them and it’s like ya you’re tall and handsome but there’s nothing going on to convey that from your face! Almost all of the heavy lifting is done by the voice actors. If you start watching this, in the dialogue heavy moments, I recommend muting the scene to see if you can tell WHAT is happening. My guess is no because there are no facial expressions or depth to the acting at all. Chen Du Ling is better but still also carried by her voice actor.
I’ll keep watching to see how the rest of the plot fairs but ya. Those are my first impressions.
The First Jasmine
莫离 40 2025 6月9日 腾讯 白鹿、丞磊、王瑞昌、吴施乐、蒋恺、曾雪瑶 古装
Lastly, I will talk about an upcoming drama Mo Li or the First Jasmine starring Bai Lu and Cheng Lei in this costume drama set to air on June 9 on Tencent.
Eldest daughter of the Ye family, Ye Li ft Bai Lu marries the fallen household of the Prince of Ding, specifically, the Prince of Ding himself, Mo Xiu Yao ft Cheng Lei who has lost the use of his legs.
Ye Li, as the Li Clan’s descendant, was once sealed away in the mountains for 8 years. After her wedding, on the surface she is unremarkable but underneath, she is planning her revenge against the court officials that were responsible for harming members of the Li Shan clan. Her actions draw the suspicions of her husband Mo Xiu Yao who also seeks revenge but work separately for their own goals.
Meanwhile, Ye Li’s childhood sweetheart, the Prince of Li, secretly plots in the shadows to usurp the crown. Ye Li and Mo Xiu Yao finally work together to help the young Emperor take power and bring peace to the land.
This seems like a heavy hitter. I mean you have two very popular actors headlining this drama – Bai Lu and Cheng Lei and they are given a prime summer slot. I have high expectations for how this drama performs just given that we are now in the summer where platforms are competing for that big hit. Both Bai Lu and Cheng Lei had dramas air this year that did just…fine? So we’ll see if this is a bigger hit.
Extra:
喀什恋歌 8 2025 5月5日 央视一套 李兰迪、郭俊辰 都市
The 8 episode miniseries, 喀什恋歌 or Kashgar Love Song. This began airing on CCTV 1 and iQIYI on May 5 and stars Li Lan Di and Guo Jun Chen.
Here’s the plot summary: 夏孜（李兰迪饰) Xia Zi starring Li Lan Di experienced a string of disappointments trying to build a career in Shanghai. She decides to return home to the remote city of Kashgar and after a while, finds her rhythm in the city. She connects with 2 childhood friends as they find new meaning in life. She partners with a young man, 周恒之（郭俊辰饰), to open a new inn. She comes to realize that her hometown is just the start of a new beginning.
The drama was filmed on location in Kashgar in summer of 2025. This drama was touted as a successor to the well received miniseies 我的阿勒泰 or To the Wonder. That drama focused on the life of those in Altay, in the remote northwest region of China. This drama focuses on Kashgar, one of the westernmost cities of china, close to the borders of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.
Unfortunately, for all the praise TO the Wonder received for its realistic portrayal of local culture, this drama received the same amount of ridicule in the opening episodes for its disregard for local culture. Shortly after the first episodes aired, many videos were posted on issues locals had with the portrayal of Kashgar and Uyghur culture including topics such as time zones, wedding culture expectations, and overall cleanliness. This drama did not get much positive buzz, and being only 8 episodes quickly finished its run without improving its reviews. The cast did include several Uyghur actors and actresses including 木克热木·开赛尔 and 娃尔.