Fast forward to October has come to an end, and the controversy over the episodes of Q4 2021 has become more and more intense.
According to FUNJI statistics, as of October 24, a total of 16 episodes of Q4 have been broadcast. Among them, "Good Life" and "Kyaukyu Moon" began broadcasting at the same time on October 4, firing the first shot of Q4.
Although many of them were highly anticipated before the start of the broadcast, Q4 did not usher in the opening of the door in terms of current market results. At present, in the Q4 episodes broadcast, only the "Octagonal Pavilion Mystery Fog" Douban has been scored.
On October 15, iQIYI held an iJOY Rewards Party and released more than 260 works, including 31 drama works expected to be broadcast in Q4 this year. On October 20, Youku also held a boutique preview meeting and announced a number of works to be broadcast.
Looking at the episode scheduling of Q4 on various platforms, it can be seen that this year's popular tracks are quietly shifting.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="13" > new hit track: suspense drama</h1>
Q4 is the hottest drama genre, when the number of suspense dramas.
iQIYI Mist Theater officially returned in October, and the first work "Octagonal Pavilion Mystery Fog" has come to an end. As the opening work of this year's Mist Theater, "Octagonal Pavilion Mystery Fog" is iQiyi's stability card, Duan Yihong, Hao Lei, Zu Feng, Wu Yue... The names of these old drama bones are put together, which invisibly adds credibility to the quality of the series.
"Octagonal Pavilion Mystery Fog" focuses on family suspense, telling a complicated story about the family due to a suspenseful case. Compared with "suspense", the focus of "Octagonal Pavilion Mystery Fog" is more on "family".
Last year, the Mist Theater launched two annual hits of "The Silent Truth" and "The Hidden Corner", which made a name for itself in one fell swoop, and the audience has been looking forward to this year's Mist Theater for a long time, which is also a big move released by iQiyi in Q4. However, the response of "Octagonal Pavilion Mystery Fog" was mediocre after the launch, and the current Douban score is only 5.7. Although there is the blessing of Wang Xiaoshuai and various old drama bones, the plot and rhythm are quite controversial. However, from the perspective of popularity, "Octagonal Pavilion Mystery Fog" is still at the forefront, ranking first in the FUNJI hot drama list.
Next, the Mist Theater also has three works: "Fatal Wish", "Gold Rush" and "Who is the Murderer". "Fatal Wish" starring Feng Shaofeng, Wen Qi, Fan Chengcheng and Guo Zifan, with light science fiction elements; "Gold Rush" starring Liao Fan and Chen Feiyu focuses the camera on the gold diggers in the southwest dense forest; "Who is the murderer" starring Zhao Liying, Xiao Yang and Dong Zijian is more inclined to criminal investigation suspense.
In addition to the Mist Theater, iQiyi also holds multiple suspense cards. "Breaking through the Night" starring Ou Hao, Wang Jingchun and others is the subject of the case, Huang Xuan, Wang Yibo, Song Qian, etc. starring in "The Wind Rises Luoyang" is a costume suspense, Zhou Dawei, Wang Youjun and other starring "Nerve Family" focuses on the medical industry, guo Jingfei, Tan Zhuo and other starring "Opponent" is a modern spy drama.
Mango TV's Monsoon Theater also launched suspense element episodes in the form of theater this year. In September, "I'm Good in Other Places" won a high score of 8.2 on Douban with urban female group portraits and suspense elements, winning the opening for Monsoon Theater. The ongoing hit "Twelfth Second" is based on the novel of the same name and tells the story of a criminal police officer's wife who suddenly disappears, leaving only an eleven-second police call.
Compared with "I'm Good in Other Places", the suspense atmosphere of "Twelfth Second" is more intense, and the current reputation is still good. The love suspense drama "Sleeping Garden", which monsoon theater will take over, starring Gong Jun and Qiao Xin, tells the story of the growth of self-media emotional public account bloggers and professional psychological counselors.
Another suspense card in the hands of Mango TV is the criminal investigation drama "Backlighter" starring Peng Guanying and Zhang Yujian, which will be broadcast on November 20, but the official has not officially announced the start date.
Youku this year's suspense theater is currently "The Truth" is currently being broadcast, from the current Q4 film list, Youku next has Chen Xiao, Wang Yibo starring in "Ice Rain and Fire" and Zhang Huiwen, Wu Xize starring "A Piece of Ice Heart in the Jade Kettle" two suspense dramas to be broadcast. The former is a drug-fighting criminal investigation drama, and the latter is a costume detective drama.
Tencent did not focus on the suspense track this year, and there is no suspense drama in the Q4 film list that has been announced so far.
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<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="42" > big production battlefield: costumes & cities</h1>
Q4 has been at the peak of the release of costume blockbusters, especially in December. Judging from the costume drama track in Q4 this year, Tencent is in a leading position.
Among the Tencent Q4 dramas to be broadcast, there are three costume dramas: "Lady Hu Zhu", "Mirror Twin Cities" and "Snow Knife Line". These three works are all literary IP adaptations, and all are legendary. Among them, "Lady Huozhu" starred Yang Mi and Chen Weiting, "Mirror Twin Cities" starred Li Yifeng and Chen Yuqi, and "Sword Line in the Snow" starred Zhang Ruoyun, Hu Jun and Li Gengxi. The combination of big IP and head traffic is more likely to bring heat blessing, which is also the trump card of Tencent Q4.
In addition to "The Wind Rises in Luoyang", iQiyi also has many costume dramas to be rehearsed in Q4, such as "Moon Song Line", "The Second First Sight", "Willow Leaves Picking Stars", "Qingqing My Heart", etc.; Youku In addition to "A Piece of Ice In the Jade Kettle", there is also a historical legendary drama "HuanXiSha" with Xi Shi as the protagonist; Mango TV currently has only one costume drama to be broadcast, and the old terriers of men and women exchanging bodies may collide with new sparks in the overhead background.
Urban emotion is another hot topic in Q4. Judging from the inventory of various platforms, Tencent's urban drama inventory is more, "Fly with You in the Wind", "Good Words", "Even if the Wind Rises" and "Win or Lose" are expected to be broadcast in Q4, of which "Flying with You in the Wind" focuses on short-track speed skating, which is this year's Winter Olympics tribute drama.
From the perspective of Youku's urban theme dramas to be broadcast, "Falling Flowers" and "Female Psychologist" are its Q4 highlights.
"Season of Falling Flowers" is adapted from Anai's novel of the same name and produced by Noonday Sunshine. Prior to this, Noonday Sunshine and Anai had already joined forces to create two series of blockbuster dramas of "Ode to Joy" and "Great Rivers and Great Rivers", and the strong combination of starring Lei Jiayin and Yuan Quan was also highly anticipated by the audience. "Female Psychologist" is adapted from Bi Shumin's novel of the same name, starring Yang Zi and Jing Bairan, which is also the first collaboration between the two actors. In addition to the webcast, the drama will also be broadcast simultaneously on Hunan Satellite TV.
At the same time, iQiyi also holds urban dramas such as "Dreaming of a Lion", "The Princess of the Movie Emperor", and "Saved You Ten Thousand Times", while Mango TV has "Perfect Evidence" and "Good Men and Good Women" and other dramas to be broadcast.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="61" > Q4 with diverse episode types</h1>
In addition to several popular tracks in suspense, costumes and cities, the Q4 drama genre also shows a diversified trend.
In terms of period dramas, iQiyi holds "If Life Is Like the First Sight" depicting the portrait of the young revolutionary group after the change of Gengzi State, "Being the Head of the House" that promotes the brocade culture, etc., and the Republic of China idol drama "Falling in Love at First Sight" starring Chen Xingxu and Zhang Jingyi has been scheduled to start broadcasting on November 9 at youku Pet Theater, and "Heirloom" and "Our Southwest United Congress" have not yet been finalized.
In terms of military dramas, there are two dramas to be broadcast, "Peace Ark" and "We Are Young". Starring Chen Kun and Zhang Tianai, "Peace Ark" is set against the backdrop of hospital ships and focuses on the Chinese Navy, telling a series of transnational rescue operations by military doctors. "We Are Young" is produced by the noonday sun and starring Wan Qian, Qin Hao and Li Jiahang, mainly telling the daily life story of the army.
In addition, Tencent's medical industry drama "Ebola Frontline" is also one of the key points of Q4. Based on the 2014 Chinese medical aid team to Africa to fight the "Ebola" virus, the drama is a key guidance project of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, starring Luo Jin and Mao Xiaotong.
Overall, there are many plays worth looking forward to in this year's Q4. After eating the suspense dividend, iQiyi continued to bet on the Mist Theater and used multi-type suspense dramas, Tencent still followed the model of big IP + traffic to create blockbusters, Youku to be broadcast mostly for positive dramas, and Mango TV worked hard to make a sound on the monsoon theater. The uncertainty of the current drama market is still very large, and it is still unknown whether these unscheduled episodes can be released in Q4 as scheduled, but we still earnestly hope to get more surprises at the end of 2021.