A Missed Opportunity Despite a Promising Cast
I had been looking forward to Overdo for months, mainly because of Zhang Linghe.The trailers, cast and the fact that it was promoted as an S+ production set my expectations very high. Unfortunately, I ended up dropping it after Episode 6.The biggest issue for me wasn’t the actors..it was the execution. Zhang Linghe and Wang Churan delivered convincing performances with the material they were given, but even talented actors can’t fully compensate for weak storytelling.The pacing felt inconsistent, with emotional moments that didn’t have enough buildup to make them truly impactful. Several scenes seemed rushed, making it difficult to become emotionally invested in the characters or their relationship. While the drama looked visually appealing, the editing and overall direction often made it feel less polished than I expected from a production with such a large budget.The supporting cast also had potential, but many characters weren’t given enough depth to leave a lasting impression. Instead of building suspense and emotional tension naturally, the story often moved from one event to another without allowing important moments to breathe.I understand that many viewers enjoyed the drama and that’s perfectly valid.This review simply reflects my personal experience. Criticizing the writing, pacing and production isn’t the same as criticizing the actors. I genuinely believe the cast deserved a stronger script and better execution.In the end, Overdo wasn’t a terrible drama,it just didn’t live up to the expectations created by its cast, budget and pre-release hype. I had hoped for something unforgettable, but unfortunately, it wasn’t able to keep me engaged.Was this review helpful to you?
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ALL HYPE. Sorry.
With over 12 million reservations, this was one of the most anticipated dramas of 2026. Unfortunately, it turned out to be all hype and a huge disappointment.We didn’t wait this long just to watch AI-generated-looking effects, poor editing with those unnecessary zoom-ins and zoom-outs, and acting that was surprisingly disappointing from two talented actors. They both felt stiff and lacked emotion.
If I wanted to watch an AI-generated drama, I could just watch a short drama — at least those usually have better acting and more creative editing.
The biggest question is: where did the budget go? Did it all go into the actors’ makeup and costumes? Because the production quality definitely didn’t match the expectations.
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Lack of chemistry, bad script, terrible ending
This will be one of my short reviews. I realize that it's a waste of time to try to give all the reasons I didn't like something, so I prefer to focus on what I like and write long reviews for the dramas I loved. So from now on anything that gets less than a 7 gets a short review.There was no chemistry between the leads. I was never invested in their story because although both tried hard it never clicked. The FL is a good actress maybe but these roles don't suit her? I don't know. To be honest I didn't love her in the Fireworks rom com either. The ML did a quite good job, but still something was lacking.
To sum it up, this was too sad, too choppy, too dramatic and there was no payoff. The ending was terrible. When directors or writers think they get artistic using an open ending they make me mad as a reader or a viewer. Very few scripts can support an open ending and here it was a stupid decision to leave things open.
Anyway, there were too many awful characters and two many stupid lines to care.
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I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Only the actors' names are big. I liked the lead actor in his previous drama, but here it's pure comedy—and not in a good way.
The story is one cliché after another. Visually, it looks like it was shot in a rush and on a low budget.
It is the 15-minute web dramas.
Some of them are even better.
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CAPEK
Beres 33 eps beneran nangis soalnya capekkk banget secapek itu ngikutin perjalanan hidup mereka berdua ini anjirrr kekk abwjebfiebdifb tlonggggggbtw buat eksekusinya, diawal jujur aja emang jelek banget. Kayak sinetron, cgi jelek musik kayak drama mainan lah padahal ceritanya sebagus itu sekompleks itu anjirrr. CAPEK pokonya capek. Mulai better di tengah tengah like eps 10 lah, editannya udh gak se lebay yang awal awal, cuma kadang masih ada editan yang miss atau kek keliatan banget ai nya gituu.
churan sm linghe gausah diraguin sih mereka all out banget disini, pemain pemain lainnya juga oke banget. OH paling yang agak disayangkan lagi dubbingnya ya kerasa banget bedanya, gak pas wkwkwk.
okelah 8/10 tapi untuk rewatch its a BIG NO
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Total abomination!
It's horrible oh my god it's disgusting when you watch it and you see only wang churan is even trying to do anything to save this abomination only she's the who trying to act. Horrible screenwriting, horrible cuts, horrible visual effects, horrible acting it's disgusting. I'm pretty sure that they stole this story from multiple short dramas but the fact is that even those small short dramas which most probably have half the fraction of budget are probably better than this abomination.Was this review helpful to you?
A DISASTER IN THE FORM OF A DRAMA
Cheap Trash in Luxury Packaging: You Get What You Paid ForHonestly, what a massive waste of time. How is it possible for two streaming giants to deliver such a weak, lifeless project? It’s high time the industry learned that visual beauty and a multi-million dollar budget can’t save a bad script.
Having attractive actors, flawless costumes, and a luxurious aesthetic is completely useless if the story is empty. These days, there are low-budget mini-dramas with storylines and performances light-years ahead of this disaster.
iQIYI selling this work as a "huge success" is a joke—if the numbers are high, it’s purely thanks to blind devotion from fanbases trying to protect their idols' image, not because of the drama's quality. And don't even try to claim the public is complaining out of grudge or because they "haven't gotten over [POJ]." The reality is simple: the drama is terrible strictly on its own merits.
Amateurish Direction and Post-Production: The direction is awful, the background music is wildly over-the-top—trying to force emotion where there is none—and the special effects have absolutely nothing "special" about them.
Cast on Autopilot: Zhang Linghe delivers a completely expressionless performance, while Wang Churan seems more concerned with posing for the camera and looking pretty than actually conveying real emotion. She is stunning, but as an actress, she leaves a whole lot to be desired.
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NOT WORTH THE WATCH
Yeah for an S+ double platform drama this is pure shit from the butt. I feel sorry for Wang Churan and Zhang Linghe. The directing, cinematography, CGI, dialogue, and background music is so awful it's literally unbearable to watch. The acting and chemistry did not translate well on camera at all. I thought Linghe's acting got better but turns out it was Pursuit of Jade's director who made him look good. For a highly anticipated work, Overdo was a total let down that it's actually become a joke. Yijun should never direct again, too bad he's currently working on Chen Zheyuan and Wang Churan's next drama.. save your time and go watch something else. This is truly awful it's giving Chinese makjang meets low budget short drama with all the toxic male lead clichés. DROPPED!Was this review helpful to you?
Worst directing with that excellent cast
It's the only drama made me headache with the first shot of the first episode...I don't know what is the reason for this kind of worst making ?
The setup of the "switched at birth" plot and the tragedy that falls upon Ren Susu's family felt incredibly rushed. I felt they were being force-fed traumatic backstory at 2x speed without being given the time to emotionally connect with the teenage versions of the characters.
The camerawork in the pilot episode was "weird" and shaky. In an attempt to make the Republican-era setting look dynamic, the camera panned and moved too aggressively, making me feel dizzy.
*Low-Budget Lighting and Filters
*Bland Pacing
*Choppy Editing
*Unsympathetic Character Trope
Director and the Production/Post-Production Team for terrible editing, cheap aesthetics, AI usage, and failing to deliver a cinematic experience worthy of the actors' star power.
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How do you let reuters make your own drama better than yourself, director?
Overdo was one of my most anticipated dramas of 2026. The millions of leaks from videos to photos made me more excited, and that pairing? everything. Quite a surprise to find out the production team used AI and the bad directing and editing, etc.It's my first republican drama and I know it's supposed to have a messy plot that is filled with drama and betrayal, but it doesn't really create any sense of that. I agree with others; this really does feel like a short drama with the lighting, editing, etc.
Im on episode 12, I think, and it's just hard to get into. I think the drama tries to evoke an emotion in viewers by making the story have a big dramatic effect, which makes the scene overdramatic instead. The editing honestly makes me feel like im watching a reality TV show instead lol. Sometimes certain scenes come off rather sarcastic as well.
Not to mention that this drama had billions of leaks during its shooting last year and it felt like I watched the whole drama lol, tho it did kill some of the excitement.
It's a shame that the production wasted such leads on a very badly executed story, and for those saying "it's a republican drama what do you expect?" it doesn't excuse the bad execution.
The styling is definitely very pretty; WCR looks stunning in each episode, and ZLH looks dashing. Besides beautiful visuals, the story doesn't offer much as of right now. I do hope ZLH and WCR get reunited for a new drama tho in the future.
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Awful story
Murong Qingyi reminds me of Donald Trump and his TACO moves. He is just all big talk and ends up chickening out. I hate his character. He thinks he is so smart when in fact he is a fool for love. The story is so confusing too. I had to read someone else's explanation before grasping why his own mother hated him so much and why he had two families. There's the saying, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." Murong Qingyi,shame on you.
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so disappointing
As a huge fan of ZLH – I'd happily watch him reading the back of a packet of cornflakes for an hour or two – but even his presence and energetic attempt at providing this drama with a degree of pizzazz will not make me want to watch further than the first three episodes. I'm sorry, but the ridiculous pace, the clichéd filming, the poverty of character development meant that this drama offers nothing for this viewer to latch on to. I admit to not having watched a 'Republican' drama before, and reading some of the reviews below, I gather it is a genre that has its own specificities, tropes etc. Even so, the drama's inability to credit viewers with a brain, a critical eye, and dramatic sensibility means, for me at any rate, that this drama is a flop. I truly wish I could say otherwise. This is one of the very few dramas that have not wanted to see through to the end before I made up my mind.Was this review helpful to you?
