蜜语纪 The Epoch of Miyu
Zhong Han Liang, Zhu Zhu 钟汉良 / 朱珠
Airing date: April 13, 2026
38 episodes
One of the surprise hits of April actually came in the form of the modern day drama, The Epoch of MiYu. The main cast is older, more mature which means the drama is more for older, more mature audiences.
Here’s the plot. Xu Mi Yu ft Zhu Zhu had her perfect marriage completely shattered on its 6th year anniversary. She finally saw clearly how she was treated in her marriage and how she lost her sense of self. She promptly decided to divorce. Hotel manager Ji Feng ft Zhong Han Liang decided to return back to the starting point of his business, 君聿酒店 Jun Yu Hotel and it is there he meets Xu Mi Yu who started from scratch and became a housekeeper at the hotel. Ji Feng became the new CEO of the hotel. Together, the two worked to clear corruption in the hotel, bring about management changes and helped turn the hotel around. Xu Mi Yu at this point requests for a demotion to move into the sales department and was able to secure the hosting rights to one of the most acclaimed galas in the industry. At the end, through her and Ji Feng’s Jun Yu Hotel became a new destination location in the city.
This is really interesting to see what the official plot summary is from Baidu because this is not at ALL what I’ve been seeing passively on social media. Because what this plot synopsis DOESN”T tell you is that MiYu was a devoted rich housewife whose husband cheated on her and got his mistress pregnant. MiYu opted to divorce and because she had no funds or money of her own, ended up as a housekeeper at a hotel. Social media clips leaned in hard on the mistress’s actions, Mi Yu’s actions and then how awful her ex husband was. I feel like i barely saw any clips of the main male lead, Ji Feng. It was all about the mistress or xiao san and the ex husband.
Anyways, this drama beat out the likes of Love Beyond the Grave and Veil of Shadows in terms of Market Share. Not only did it have top online streams, currently averaging more than 25mm views per episode, but it was the top of regional TV viewership ratings as well. Which, I say is a good day for the cast that is largely 30+ and for viewers that have this type of content to consume.
佳偶天成 (2026) A Perfect Match
Ren Jia Lun, Wang He Run 任嘉伦 / 王鹤润
Airing Date: April 25, 2026
40 episodes
Lu Qianqiao (played by Ren Jialun), a warrior of the Battle Demon Clan, must break a deadly curse and reincarnate as a human in order to preserve his people’s bloodline. Borrowing the identity of the corrupt official Lu Huai, he enters into a marriage with Xin Mei (played by Wang Herun), an immortal with a fated-to-kill-husbands destiny yet one who possesses a spiritual root. He originally believed that once he was executed, he could fake his death, escape in secret, and never cross paths with Xin Mei again. Unexpectedly, this seemingly harmless “fake wife” of his takes up a blade, travels alone to the capital, and seeks justice on his behalf—avenging him and clearing his name.
Xin Mei’s actions draw the wrath of the immortal clans who begin hunting her down. Forced to intervene, Lu Qianqiao reveals himself to save her, exposing his true identity. When Xin Mei realizes she has been deceived, she turns her blade on him. In desperation, Lu Qianqiao wipes her memory, only for the two to meet again, where their fates become irrevocably intertwined.
This drama is currently in second place in the charts, behind the Epoch of Miyu with market share reaching about 15.9%. The problem is that because this drama is airing on both iQiYi and Tencent, the popularity on both platforms isn’t super high. This drama breached 24,000 on Tencent only and 7000 on iQiYi. Wang He Run has been in a number of dramas over the years but hasn’t made a splash as a lead. Ren Jia Lun, we’ve talked about at length, has struggled to stay on top with his output over the years and this is probably more of him keeping steady on the lower rungs of popularity rather than making a huge comeback.
爱情没有神话 (2026) Lady Liberty
Tang Yan, Zhao You Ting 唐嫣 / 赵又廷
Airing date: April 28, 2026
37 episodes
A modern day romance drama starring Tiffany Tang Yan. Here’s the premise.
Lin Zhanqiao featuring Tang Yan is a financially independent, emotionally mature urban woman. Suitors are constantly pursuing her, yet she continues to live alone. It’s not that she rejects marriage—she simply refuses to settle, quietly longing for true love and a pure, genuine partnership.
After meeting He Han 何韩 featuring Zhao You Ting, the two start off with misunderstandings. But as they navigate love and career together, they gradually realize that the other is their ideal partner. Once they overcome the obstacles of reality, they prepare to step into marriage.
Meanwhile, Lin Zhanqiao’s close female friends each make their own life choices and ultimately find the destinations that suit them best. In the end, they all rediscover the true meaning of love and marriage, embracing lives that are ordinary yet happy, simple yet far from mediocre.
This drama randomly dropped on CCTV 8 on April 28. Unfortunately, it has not done well on TV viewership ratings numbers. Starting off at 1.5%, ratings numbers basically kept falling every day since it started airing and is now under 1% which is abysmal for CCTV8. If you search of TV viewership ratings numbers for this drama, it has the unfortunate record of being the first drama on CCTV 8 to consecutively drop for 7 straight days. It’s odd since I talked earlier about how there IS a market for 30+ women and this drama is likely targeted for that audience as well but this one is doing quite poorly while the Epoch of MiYu did quite well.
良陈美锦 (2026) A Splendid Match
Ren Men, Ci Sha 任敏 / 此沙
Airing Date: May 3, 2026
36 episodes
In this historical romance costume drama, Ren Min is joined by Ci Sha. They were in the Rise of Ning or 锦绣安宁 from 2024 where Ci Sha was the second male lead to Zhang Wan Yi. I quite liked Ren Min and Ci Sha in that drama actually from a chemistry perspective.
Anyways, in this drama, Gu Jin Zhao ft Ren Min, eldest daughter of the Gu family was neglected by her parents and was sent to live in her maternal grandparent’s home from a young age. Even though she was ignored by her birth parents, her maternal grandmother doted on her and Gu Jin Zhao had a carefree and unrestricted childhood. When she returned to the Gu family, she remained different from other young women of the same age and refused to be bullied. Her vibrant vitality immediately caught the attention of multiple men including Chen San Ye ft Ci Sha. Regarding her marriage prospects, Gu Jin Zhao has her own perspective and, after recognizing her own heart, decides to choose Chen San Ye, the person who allows her to be herself. After getting married, she gradually grew into a capable wife of a high-ranking minister, supporting Chen San Ye step by step as he rose to the position of Grand Chancellor. Together, they implemented a series of policies that benefited the nation and its people, alleviated the suffering of the common folk, and helped bring about an era of peace and prosperity.
I’ll be honest? Seems rather run of the mill. Nothing too exciting. I may tune in or wait a few days until more episodes are out to binge watch it. Ren Min is actually having great exposure right now with at least 3 dramas airing in short succession but none are making big splashes. At least she has output though. It’s currently sitting in 5th in market share on currently airing dramas.
低智商犯罪 (2026) Born With Luck
Starring Wang Xiao, Tian Xi Wei, Wang Chuan Jun
王骁 / 田曦薇 / 王传君
Airing Date: May 4, 2026
24 episodes
A comedy police thriller set in 2012
Zhang Yi Ang ft Wang Xiao is a police officer who has been away from the frontline of criminal investigations for a couple of years. He is sent to investigate a case after receiving an anonymous tip off. Shortly after his arrival, the local police captain is murdered. In order to clear his name, Zhang Yi Ang unexpectedly captures the culprit behind a serial murder case and quickly earngs a strong reputation. From there, he starts focusing on investigating a local tycoon but a string of rather dumb petty criminals get in the way. The butterfly effect of their fighting inadvertently help Zhang Yi Ang and his team solve case after case. Zhang Yi Ang eventually gathers these criminals in one place and helps solve the case of his colleague’s death.
This drama seems to be quite well received as in the 2 days since airing, it has already breached 8500 on iQiyi. It is only 24 episodes but is already at number 3 on the charts. What is notable is that Tian Xi Wei, hot off of her recent drama, Pursuit of Jade, is the female lead in this drama as a relative new comer police officer who joins Zhang Yi Ang on his investigations. I do appreciate that she diversified away from purely romance idol dramas for something more serious.
I started watching the first episode and there’s actually a bunch of big name cameos in it! Like Lei Jia Yin. Not only that, I died laughing in the first 20 minutes. You have to watch for yourself. There’s certainly some pacing issues but I would say overall a fun watch.