Author / Cheng Shushu
Editor / Api
Operations / Cookies
As of now, the drama market in 2023 is still lively.
"Long Moon Ember Ming", which earned enough popularity in the early stage, the reputation declined in the middle, and the finale that was just broadcast was directly scolded on the hot search, and Douban fell to 5.6 points, for a while, I don't know how to evaluate the trump card of this drama played by Youku. The "Heart Protection", which came up, was online for three days, and the data and word of mouth seemed to have resonated generally.
Of course, how can the popular players in the Q2 quarter be less (Tencent Video) "Long Season", the Douban score once rose to 9.5, and is now stable at 9.4, becoming the highest-rated domestic drama in the past eight years. Caught fire with Teacher Qin Hao's weight loss recipes, and also fired the first shot of Tencent Video X Theater (I don't know if Fat Gong Biao's magical dance in KTV cured the little white boat PTSD brought to everyone by Zhang Dongsheng).
However, to set off a phenomenal drama scene, it has to be iQiyi's hit drama in the opening year - "Crazy". "In 2023, the method of changing your life - selling fish in the vegetable market, buying plasma TVs, marrying widows, and recognizing godfathers." It has simply become the standard copywriter in the circle of friends. Not only is the plot exciting enough, but also the successful appearance of the character's charm. Because Gao Qiqiang's actor Zhang Songwen acted too realistically, so that some netizens asked: "It is recommended to check Zhang Songwen, it doesn't look like acting." (Afraid to speak)
Under the popularity of "Crazy", the first hardcore sci-fi drama "Three-Body Problem" and "Go to a Windy Place" starring Liu Yifei and Li Xian are a little weak. But the former still greatly satisfies science fiction fans, and the latter has also become a "spiritual comforter" for social animals. Especially in "Go to a Windy Place", under Liu Yifei's "spiritual play", 996 people are working part-time, and they can also wander Dali (Mango TV: Fortunately there is Liu Tianxian).
The above is the "highlight" moment of the drama market in the half year on the four platforms of Youai Tengmang.
So how will the drama market monetize in the second half of the year, and what projects can be expected? Is it difficult to surpass the popularity of "Crazy" and the word-of-mouth reputation of "Long Season" this year, as the outside world says? KK took a shallow look at the list of episodes recently released by various platforms for reference.
Youku: What to save the audience's trust value?
From the perspective of the number of classes and types, Youku has many dramas to be broadcast.
66 dramas to be broadcast, only less than iQiyi. In terms of genre, while laying out the six main tracks of "Majestic Power", "Oriental Legend", "Suspense Crime", "Good Time", "Star Sea" and "Blood Journey", Youku also continues to create classic content themes such as Hong Kong dramas and family fun.
Specific to various types of dramas, ancient puppet dramas are still one of the focus themes of Youku drama reserves. In addition to "Protecting the Heart" that took over from "Long Moon Ember Ming", there are also "An Le's Legend" that gathers popular actors Di Li Gerba, Gong Jun and Liu Yuning, "Happy Events in the Flower Palanquin" adapted from the classic ancient puppet "On the Wrong Flower Palanquin Married to Lang", as well as Zhou Ye x Wang Xingyue's "For Dark Incense", Wu Xuanyi x Chen Zheyuan's "Lang Jun is Unsatisfactory", Li Landi x Zhu Zhengting "Su Ji", Ju Jingyi x Liu Xueyi "Flower Order", Fu Xinbo x Xia Meng "Mo Ran", Fang Yilun x Huang Yuying "Senior Brother Always Blossoms", Chen Yao x Liang Jingkang "" Half City Flower Rain with Jun Li" and nearly ten others.
It's just that in terms of the degree of expectation, the only estimates that can be compared with "Long Moon Ember Ming" are "Anle Chuan" and "Happy Events in the Flower Palanquin". After the ancient puppet dramas on various platforms have been diverted, "Anle Chuan" and "Happy Events in the Flower Palanquin" may not be able to reach the popularity of "Long Moon Ember Ming". And, the audience who was hurt by "Who Is He" and "Long Moon Ember Ming" one after another, I am afraid that the cool project has a bad PTSD since then.
Another focus theme of Youku - urban romance, judging from the public opinion reaction of the official announcement, the public attention is relatively high: "Can't Hide Secretly" blessed by IP halo, Guo Jingfei, Ren Min and Wang Yuan starring "Splendid! Splendid! ", Yang Zi and Fan Chengcheng starring "To Love for a Long Time".
However, the current puppet drama has not been able to broadcast a real sense of the hit for a long time, the last one is probably "Dear, Love", but that is only Yang Zi's CP sense and Li Xian's Su sense at that time play a role, plus the star broadcast + summer file of the time and place is favorable.
Suspense and comic adaptations are also the focus of Youku's list of upcoming films. Suspense genre: "Once Upon a Time in the River", "The Wilderness", "Double Food", "Road to Rebirth", "Player", etc., are quite heavy in the main creative lineup. On the comic book side, "Under the Inhumans", "Spirit Cage", "Dartman", "Blood Rekindling of Soul Street" and so on are all high-popularity online anime. But it's still a cliché, big IP is a double-edged sword. For example, on the recently hotly discussed "Under the Stranger", Xiaohongshu, Weibo and other social platforms, original fans have opened the scolding mode.
"Back Wave" and "Dragon Boy", which are expected to become dark horses, are both realistic genres. The former is written by Six Six, starring Wu Gang, Zhao Lusi, Luo Yizhou, Zhang Meng, Jiang Shan, focusing on the inheritance of Chinese medicine culture, currently scheduled for May 14, old drama bones + new generation traffic, can you save respect for Youku dramas, and watch; The latter is directed by Ding Hei, starring Zhang Ruoyun and Huang Yao, with eyes on the life of the "college entrance examination", and there is no online information. But combined with the story, the team, and the trailer released, KK is still looking forward to it.
iQiyi: The main thing is a large amount and a wide range of categories
Although it is often ridiculed by everyone as the poorest contestant, in terms of drama inventory, iQiyi is the most solid in the family. 134 dramas to be broadcast, almost the other three combined.
In addition to the large number, iQiyi's upcoming dramas are also very extensive.
The first is the era drama theme that seems to be the easiest to make a national hit, but it is also quite difficult. In addition to the tax-themed "Water of the Great River" that has appeared in the previous film list, "The Faithful Guard" of the Hong Kong police group portrait, and the railway public security's "South to North", the new film list released at the World Congress on May 10 also added dramas such as the revolutionary historical drama "The Great Long March", the fire investigation "The Fire Adjuster", the intangible cultural heritage unit drama "Just Meeting You", the ancient city renovation "Kashgar Ancient City" and the financial anti-corruption "City within the City". Among them, "The Great Long March" is created by the main creative team of "The Age of Awakening", which presents the magnificent historical picture of the Red Army's Long March in a panoramic manner.
However, I feel that these projects must be time-consuming, and most of them will have to see you next year.
iQIYI has always had a soft spot for the adaptation of serious literary works. The fire of "The World" last year also confirmed the suitability of serious literature and the dramas of the times. This year, the latest novel "Father and Son", also from Liang Xiaosheng, was put on the film list, and it was directed by Li Lu, I don't know if I can replicate the success of "The World".
In addition to "Father and Son", the new film list also includes Xu Zechen's "Going North", Jia Pinggou's "Happy" and Zhang Ji's "South Goods Store". In the area of serious literary IP, iQiyi can be described as a unique one. It is also a testament to the keynote speech given by Gong Yu, founder and CEO of iQiyi: "The only one is more valuable than the first." ”
Of course, iQiyi's highlight is also costume dramas. Like the popular web novel IP adaptation of "Carefree Du", "Yan Xinji", "Changfeng Du", "Lotus Tower", "Yinian Guanshan", "Ning'an Like a Dream", "Guanhe Ji" (yes, it is "Guanhe Notes"), "Seven Nights of Snow"...
Comic drama "Fox Demon Little Red Lady Bamboo Industry Chapter", "Dali Temple Shaoqing Tour", "Tiger Crane Demon Master Record", "Flaming Wu Gengji", "Open Painting! Girls' Comics" and so on, the starring lineup is also matched with Yang Mi, Gong Jun, Ren Jialun, Song Zuer, Bai Jingting, Song Yi, Liu Xueyi, Liu Shishi, Bai Lu, Zhang Linghe, Yu Shuxin and other popular stars of ancient dolls. There is popularity before it is broadcast, but whether to resist the fight has to wait for the drama to be raised.
It is worth mentioning that iQIYI's debut "Condensation Project" launched works such as "Great Han Fu" and "Great Tang Fu" and "Two Beijing Fifteen Days" with the theme of ancient costume legend. The team has not yet been determined, but it is still necessary to boast about iQiyi's courage in doing similar appearances, and after the "ancient restrictions" have become stricter, the industry has rarely developed such historical dramas in recent years.
If the routine of costume fairy dramas is laziness in the industry, and youth idol dramas are the stars of the industry, then crime suspense dramas have a bit of tempering meaning of dilemma for survival.
And iQiyi, which single-handedly created the Misty Theater, is also full of ammunition in suspense dramas. There is Zhang Yi x Qin Lan's "The Price of Silence", which focuses on juvenile delinquency; Ou Hao x Li Yitong's "Unspeakable", Zhang Yi x Wei Chen "Three Major Team", Ma Yili x Tong Dawei "Staggered Scenes", Wang Zhiwen x Zhang Xueying "Buried Truth", Pan Yueming x Chen Shu "The Disappearing Eleventh Floor", and "Legitimate Defense" exclusively authorized by the Supreme People's Procuratorate. Among them, "The Price of Silence" is about juvenile delinquency, and in the case of tightening censorship restrictions, the scale is unknown, but the topic is social enough.
In terms of urban dramas, unlike everyone who concentrates on love and sweet pets, iQiyi's "Old Guy", "Mature Year" and "Vanishing Elephant" focus on social issues such as urban pension, middle-aged families, and the bottom of society. Among them, "Old Guy" gathers Zhang Guoli, Wang Gang, Zhang Tielin Iron Triangle, and interprets the modern urban pension life of the trio of "Iron Teeth Copper Teeth Ji Xiaolan".
In addition, there are many dramas to be broadcast such as the era business war genre "Difficult Manufacturing", "Guangzhou Thirteen Lines", "Nanyang Daughter Love", the anti-Japanese war theme "Harbin 1944", "Fatal Enemy", sci-fi theme "Interlocutor", "Legend of the Galaxy Heroes" and many other dramas to be broadcast, in addition to the theme is eye-catching enough, the creative team is looking forward to it.
Tencent Video: Although the number is small, it is star-studded
Over the years, Tencent Video has been betting on women's works, and the most obvious action is to invest in ancient puppet dramas and current puppet dramas with large IP+ traffic. This is directly reflected in the film list.
Tencent Video currently has 12 costume dramas to be broadcast, accounting for 25.5% of the total film list, and they are all popular players on the fan urging list.
For example, "Jade Bone Yao" starring Xiao Zhan x Ren Min, in the past long time, as long as this drama has a little wind, it can always easily become a hot search topic, whether it is the plot, the fixed file or the starring, there are countless related discussions. There is also Lin Xinxin Zhao Liying, Xinli operated "With Phoenix Xing", which may be to make up for the regret that Yuwen Yue has not yet been salvaged from the bottom of the lake, and has not yet been finalized, and the play has been booked by as many as 1.542 million people on the video platform.
In addition, there is Yang Zi X Zhang Wanyi's "Sauvignon Blanc", although the plot of the dog's blood is not fresh enough, but Zhang Wanyi and the setting of the male protagonist dark and cool careerist and the aura of Zimei's explosive drama, the popularity of the play remains high.
There are also "Leyou Yuan", "Leyou Yuan", "Snow Eagle Lord" and so on that Xu Kai and Jing Tian, Yu Shuxin, and Yu Shuxin formed CP respectively, which are also the hearts of fans who break their fingers and look forward to broadcasting. (Xu Kai's fans don't know if it's joy or sadness)
Of course, Zhang Ruoyun owes "Qing Yu Nian 2" in many second series. To be honest, the second part of this IP is more sensual, but because the drama has only started, conservatively watch, I will see you next year.
It can be seen that from the perspective of a single drama, whether it is the original IP or the popularity of the actors, the inventory of these costume dramas in the hands of Tencent Video still has a great advantage over other platforms.
However, sometimes 1+1 may not be able to produce an effect greater than 2, and previously "Long Song Xing", "You Jade" and "Ancient Jue Dust" all had the problem of strong cast and collapsing reputation. I hope that these upcoming dramas of Tencent Video will not commit this problem (hands folded).
Tencent Video's live puppet drama is the same way. Luo Yunxi X Wu Qian "Chaser of Light", Zhang Binbin X Wu Qian "Three Divided Wild", Zhang Yishan X Guan Xiaotong "Zeng Junior", Chen Weiting X Zhang Ruonan "Illuminate You", Zhong Chuxi X Zhang Yunlong "The Farthest Distance". (Hey, I don't know if they arrange the CP in this way, and can they correspond to the corresponding plot after the show is broadcast?) ）
Of course, under the cost reduction and efficiency increase, the content direction of Tencent Video has also undergone slight changes. After all, traffic can also fail. Routine laziness, if you are not careful, you will lose the moat of word of mouth. On April 26, Tencent Video officially announced the launch of X-Theater, a cluster theater for Chinese short dramas. A boutique short drama that includes realistic suspense, era legends, costume detectives and other themes. X Theater's first work suspense drama "Long Season" has received a good reputation, and the dramas of the same theme "Black Earth Speechless" and "Under the Bustling City" in the upcoming dramas also look quite textured.
In addition, the strange adventure pen series "Tibetan Sea Flower" and the ghost blowing lamp series "Return to the South China Sea" should also be a word-of-mouth line to see the cast.
Mango TV: Seeking stability, breaking the circle, difficult
In the past, Mango TV has appeared a number of well-performed solo works in the fields of urban, family, sweet pets and other themes. Among the dramas to be broadcast, this part of the genre is still important.
Among the 32 dramas to be broadcast, a total of 21 belong to the urban emotional theme, accounting for 64.5% of the total. Among them, there are not some key projects, such as "My Human Fireworks", which is directed by Li Muge (the director who can shoot landscapes and beautiful women), starring Yang Yang and Wang Churan (well, I suddenly thought of the melon I ate yesterday), incorporating elements such as fire protection and medical treatment. (Before yesterday, this drama was still worth looking forward to.) ）
In addition, there are Bai Lu with Wang Hedi "Camp with Love", Zhao Jinmai with Bai Yufan's "Those Young Times That Can't Go Back" and Song Qian and Chen Xingxu's "Our Translator", etc., according to the consistent routine, almost all of them are love dramas dressed in the coat of the workplace, whether there is a sense of CP, sweet or not, whether the plot is okay, and will be evaluated at that time.
Of course, there are also sweet dramas in pure love. Like Song Yanfei and Gao Hanyu's "Exploration Method of Love", Wei Zheming and Huang Riying's "More Than Like You" and Cai Wenjing and Han Dongjun's "Apocalypse", are they good cakes or bad cakes? From the lineup alone, dangerous and dangerous.
Costume dramas, Mango TV's inventory is not much, only six. "Da Song Youth Chronicle 2" has its own traffic due to the good response of the first part. And "Falling Flowers and Jun", which should have been optimistic, may not be available for a while for some reason.
In terms of suspense dramas, Mango TV, which has broken the circle, has four dramas to be broadcast, such as "Evil Hypnotist's Dream Catcher", "Born to Waste", "Silent Testimony", and "19th Floor", of which the starring lineup of "Born Waste" and "Silent Testimony" has not yet been revealed.
It is worth mentioning that "Chang'an Twelve Hours 2", the first drama for male audiences scored well on Youku, I don't know how the sequel will be created in Mango TV.
summary
Judging from the film list, affected by the previous environment, in addition to iQiyi, each family seems to be restrained in the production of long dramas (it may also be that it has not been announced). In addition, after the stage of this year's short drama, it is also distributing the attention of long dramas. Of course, this may also be a breathing gap for the implementation of cost reduction and efficiency increase, and the adjustment of content by various platforms. (Hopefully this gap is not too long)
But in general, there are still a lot of good dramas worth looking forward to in the current inventory of dramas to be broadcast, that is, I hope that the platforms will be "bold", don't save it, but go online!
Source: Weibo, Douban, invasion and deletion.