Upcoming Cdramas on my radar

Level of hype : My Body is Ready I Need this to air NOW

A new historical romance with a stellar cast and crew. It has Zeng Qing Jie fresh from Blossom's sucess, a very strong screenwriter who wrote the unforgetable epic romances LLTG and Rise of Phoenixes, the delightful Zhang Ling He and Tian Xi Wei, and a classic script about overcoming odds and restoring justice together. Yes !

Level of hype : My Body is Ready I Need this to air NOW

Two sisters get married to two princes after a fiance switch (heroïne was supposed to marry the handsome favored one and ends up engaged to the crippled, disgraced one). Power plays and revenge plots ensue. I'm reading the novel and it's clever, a cut above the usual fare, very promising. Bai Lu and Cheng Lei play the main couple. The director Lam Yuk Fan is a legend in the field as she directed a ton of classics like Scarlet Heart, Eternal Love, Love and Destiny, Lost Love in Times, Love 2O2, and recently Demon Hunter Romance, a hit in China in spite of its production troubles. The screenwriter did Arsenal Military Academy, one of the dramas that put Bai Lu on the map. We don't see her that much in Tang era costume so this is another plus, and I never say no to more Cheng Lei (his abs are their own character now, they can have cameos in other shows). Do we need anything else to be very excited ? The wait begins. 

Level of hype : My Body is Ready I Need this to air NOW

Ths is my most anticipated mini drama. Deng Zhan Neng  did some good stuff on the mini scene like Enslaved by Love and Ready for Love (some scenes from Enslaved by Love still live rent free in my head). He's paired with a great writer (Hard to Find, Familiar Stranger...) so it seems the stars have aligned to give us QUALITY. The mini scene is super interesting and vivid these days and I'm excited to see the results. Cast is awesome too, I have a big crush on Zheng Ye Cheng since My Sassy Princess, Zhao Qing deserves the spotlight, and finally plot is pure catnip, she's a slave in jianghu who has to seduce a haughty warrior to survive by doing dual cultivation (it's sex, she has to absorb his sem...I mean "yang energy" after a coming of age ritual, he was cold before she awakened something in him, don't think too hard it's not complicated it's about sex). Also Jerome Deng is here because clearly what was missing was more sex-appeal (it looks like he has his own side romance, I can't wait). 

Level of hype : My Body is Ready I Need this to air NOW

Bai Lu is doing an historical thriller !!! And it's her first drama with hit director Yin Tao, I'm thrilled ! I was not so thrilled that her partner was Wang Xing Yue at first as I didn't have the best first impression of him in Kunning Palace, but I did warm up a lot to him thanks to Perfect Match and Calming Waves. Anyway, I'm so glad she is allowed to do something a bit different ! The costumes are gorgeous ! Also I'm not usually into role reversal that much but Bai Lu in black and gold male garb is something else (be still my heart). Please let it be great and a success. 

Level of hype : My Body is Ready I Need this to air NOW

Please for the love of God I need this to be Lui Xue Yi return to well written things. It has the writer of the excellent romance Filter so there is hope. Never saw Tan Song Yun  in anything so I'll discover her in this. Also this has one of my favorite trope of lady demoted to servant, and she becomes the servant of her ex-fiance who jilted her when her family was accused of treason (don't ask, I'm weird). The novel also reportedly has a dark sexual element (let's just say that the main lead is not a good guy), but I'm not sure the drama will go there, as none of previous LXY dramas adapting similar stories did. 

Level of hype : My Body is Ready I Need this to air NOW

Resting Bitch Face Lee Hong Yi, Wang Chu Ran and Edward Guo in another dark, sexy and violent assassin tale ! Yep I need this. 

Level of hype : My Body is Ready I Need this to air NOW

Enemies to lovers alert ! With a main actress who can kiss and is even famous for having hot as fire chemistry with her costars. It's made by Chu Yui Bun, so I'm seated. The plot is full of conspiracy, treason, crossdressing, and of course they fall in love while ignoring that they are mortal enemies. Bring it !

Level of hype : Very Excited but Cautiously Optimistic

No crew attached yet but it has Wu Jin Yan and Chen Zhe Yan as leads looking amazing and hot so I'm here for this mature, awesome cast, obviously. The plot is not selling anything new to me (great female scholar who supports the emperor from the shadows, yawn, have we not see this a million times ?) but as always it will come down to the execution. 

Level of hype : Very Excited but Cautiously Optimistic

Oh my God they are adapting Story of Saiunkoku ! It takes me back to a time where you could find actually good epic anime romances in costume, where the romance part of the story was taken seriously (yes I know Apothecary Diaries exist, it's not really my jam, too caustic for me). I was not excepecting this to resurface. The choice of Joseph Zeng did not make a lot of sense to me, but now that I've watched him play a king in Feud I can totally see it. Not sure if I will like the plot, it felt very fresh in the 2000's but this kind of girl power stuff about a poor but brilliant girl who will change the Court from the inside might feel stale after years of iterations.I feel like Li Yi Tong is a bit too old for the role of Shurei (girl is supposed to be 16 at the beginning !) but I guess this was cast way back (the drama had copyright troubles apparently ? I don't really know what happened)...it's actually quite funny as a lot of secondary roles had a breakout since doing this so we are going to get Deng Wei, Tian Jia Rui, Jerome Deng, Chen Hong Xin and Dai Lu Wa, it's a very hot and trendy cast. 

Level of hype : Very Excited but Cautiously Optimistic

Peng Xiao Ran and Zheng Ye Cheng, I like this cast. It's a xianxia, and the plot is going for full blown romantic poetry with dragons, mermaids, pearls, and captive princess. The basic idea is that the girl swallows the life gem of a sacred dragon, the hero stole the other pearl, and now they fate are linked, Fairy and Devil style (like DFCQ, he captures her fearing for his life). Also, mermaid clan ! Yay I love them, they get shiny blue costumes and silver jewels (they are such victims tho, always suffering with assholes hunting them, hope they don't get killed for once). I'm waiting for more details and promo. 

Level of Hype : My Curiosity is Piqued

I'm not the biggest Ju Jing Yi and Chen Du Ling fan but I love Joseph Zeng and Edward Guo, and can't resist the awesome fox demon costumes.  Also we need some love again for the fox clan after the big disappointment that were the Fox Spirit shows. 

Level of Hype : My Curiosity is Piqued

I have to try this, it's xianxia, Dilraba tends to choose interesting scripts, or at least characters to play (this time she's a ghost master) and it has a dark, gothic vibe I'm digging. We are going to hell... I think ? The synopsis is very confusing. I feel like this could be either a huge hit or a total bust. Dilraba needs a strong show after the disappointment of Legend of Anle so I hope this is good. 

Level of hype : Very Excited but Cautiously Optimistic

Can Ding Yuxi finally catch a break and act in a drama where he won't have to carry the entire show. This one feels like a strong bet, it's made by Deng Ke (yay). I haven't seen enough of Melody of a Golden Age to have a solid opinion on Ancy Deng. I like the premise of runaway lady and rugged salt dealer, it feels a bit different. 

Level of hype : Very Excited but Cautiously Optimistic

I have yet to like a Neo Hou drama (I find him very stiff and slightly too enamored with himself) but this show looks gorgeous (those costumes...), it's written by the talented Zhou Mo (Yanxi Palace, Perfect Match...), Gulnezer is breathtakingly beautiful (lots of suitors are chasing after her in this, believable), the plot is JUICY (magistrate is saved by a princess who wants to take revenge on him, she makes him her servant and finds herself targetted by marriage plots), and we are promised that it will be all intrigue and power play with very few fighting, which is a plus for me. It could be a hot mess but I know myself too well, I will be there for the pilot. 

Level of Hype : My Curiosity is Piqued

So funny to me that this is getting a drama, I was targeted by the Youtube algorithm to watch its donghua (Youtube does know me, ha). I did end up watching the beginning and it's actually really fun. It's a "I became the villainess and fell on the tyrant's lap" kind of gimmicky story, with a few twists : it turns out that our heroïne is far from the only transmigrated person in this novel, and she has to double-guess everything, trying to find who are her allies and her enemies. Wang Chu Ran is an excellent choice for our corpo slave turned evil concubine who likes to goof around and Cheng Lei is a perfect fit. I'm not expecting a masterpiece but I hope it will be fun. 

Level of hype : My Curiosity is Piqued

For this one I just saw a random trailer from Tencent and was instantly mesmerized by the plot, and by plot I mean Zhou Yi Ren looking insanely hot while suffering (yeah Cdramas ruined me and I have now a thing for masochistic hot boys coughing blood in flowy wigs and silk robes, sue me). 

Level of Hype : My Curiosity is Piqued

Seriously WTF is this title. Wasn't it supposed to be called Princess Shang ? Anyway. I always have a softspot for princess romance, this one has the Blossom couple, and a very strong team of women director/writers. It could be really good. 

Level of hype : My Curiosity is Piqued

Ren Min and Ci Sha in a period drama about a socialite going back to her clan after being raised liberally by her grandmother, and getting merried to an ambitious official. I *adore* Ren Min's energy, visuals and costumes (I just hope she will not dub herself, she's too high pitch for my taste, and that comes from somebody who loves Esther Yu's baby voice), and I'm glad to see Ci Sha getting more recognition. 

Level of hype : My Curiosity is Piqued

Please tell me this is going to be a good proxy for the utter disappointment that was Moonlit Reunion, it has the same basic premise of demon hunter falling in love with a demon girl and solving mysteries. I want to see more of Guo Ju Chen (loved him in Beauty of Resilience) and I was impressed by Xia Meng in Fated Hearts. 

Level of hype : My Curiosity is Piqued

I like to keep an eye on smaller scaled projects like this little wuxia about a general's daughter infiltrating an eneuch's pavilion to get revenge. Casting is on point, Aero Xiao has a more masculine physique/visage than the usual angel-faced flower boys we are getting used to so it's a nice change. 

Level of hype : My Curiosity is Piqued

Why isn't it called Flowers of Novoland ? It's confusing. Ahem, anyway, one day I will watch a Novoland show. It's a hugely popular fantasy setting with tons of stories to tell. Maybe this one ? It does have a good cast. 

Level of hype : My Curiosity is Piqued

This is called Shadow of Desire and has lovers from enemy camps so obviously I *have* to try it, even if the synopsis is giving me nothing beyond the usual "win battles, purge the court, team up for the poeple" über standard fare. Young and trendy cast, IQIYI drama, I'm keeping an eye on it. 

Level of hype : My Curiosity is Piqued

Clicked on it on a whim, very cute cast,  role reversal. 

Level of hype : My Curiosity is Piqued

Republican era romance, I'm excited due to the cast and plot. 

Level of hype : My Curiosity is Piqued

If the Zhang Ling He Republican era romance isn't good or enough, what about a Cheng Lei one ? Vertical fans will cheer for Guo Yu Xin branching out, hope she gets more recognition. 

Level of hype : Tempered Interest

Lee Hong Yi with a newcomer actress in a time-travelling romance. Interestingly, they are not that common anymore, as they have been largely replaced by isekai fare. I looks like it wants to blend several genres and has 40 episodes, so I guess this is quite ambitious. 

Level of hype : Tempered Interest

Ooh it looks really good, but I guess I should watch Princess Agent first because this is clearly the sequel they never could do after the cliffhanger ending. Tian Tian is very young tho (17, what the hell ?) but she's been in the industry forever and was so delightful in Perfect Match, I give her casting a pass. Zhao Li Ying was 30 when she led the drama, so I'm wondering if they want to make it more male-centric with this change. It's not called "princess agent" anymore but "Rebirth" and he's the one who is going to be born again from his frozen lake so I guess he will be the center of attention. 

Level of hype : Tempered Interest

An original production, a true rarity in the cdrama landscape as most of these fantasy shows are adapted from novels. Not sure about the cast, I can't really see Tan Song Yun and Neo Hou as a couple, but it does have an interesting crew. The plot is basic xianxia fare : plucky human girl goes to the demon world, meets sexy demon king and everyone is searching for some magical artifact, yada yada yada. The trailer has seriously tempered my curiosity : it's sooo childish, is it aimed at teens ? Not sure I'm the public they are aiming for, seems to me they are targetting donghua-loving kids. 

Level of hype : Tempered Interest

Cent is bent on covering every single cultural art in drama probably for softpower reason and I'm getting burned out, but this one has Elvis Han and good looking costumes, so maybe I'll give it a try. Yang Zi is getting typecasted in these shows, I hope she'll do something else after. 

Level of hype : Tempered Interest

It's Ai Mi big debut ! I have to try it. Of course the fact that she's only 17 is icky, and I'm not sure Neo Hou is a great first ML for her (why not someone her age ??), but she's been in the industry forever and I think it's time for her to sink her teeth in a leading role. 

Level of hype : Tempered Interest

Waiting for You was too weird for me so I was left wishing for another better fantasy romance with Zhu Li Lan, this one could fit the bill. 

Level of hype : Tempered Interest

Ao Rui Peng has the ability to make my brain turn to mush so of course I'm eyeing his next wuxia. The plot is fun, it's about a lazy cultivator who is very cautious and skeevy about ascending (he only does it for the immortality) until a female junior apprentice ruins his plans. I can totally see this young cast having fun adventures, and it will be done by the Back From The Brink/Blossoming Love director whose work I do enjoy. Main point stopping me from really looking forward to it is that I'm not a big Sun Jenny fan, she's fine but I feel something is lacking in her performances for a leading leady. 

Level of hype : Tempered Interest

Ming Dynasty is having a moment these days, it seems. I like Song Zu Er a lot, I got into Cdramas when she was still banned and was thrilled to see her make a successful comeback, but why is she cast every single time with a lead actor I'm mid about ? Here she looks once again iconic, but I really don't understand why Chen Xin Hai's sudden rise needed to happen, it feels manufactured. I really hope I'm wrong about him. 

Level of hype : Very Mild Interest

A xianxia with Sun Jenny and Li Hong Yi, an interesting pairing (they kinda have the same bitchy, pouty vibe ? Will they try to out-bitch each other ?) and a plot that feels like a mish-mash of classics : the girl with a healing body, the sealed demon king. The original webnovel is an anthology of tragic stories, so I guess it will need some writing to complete the gaps. As I said not very excited for a Sun Jenny FL but we'll see. 

Level of hype : Very Mild Interest

Ju Jing Yi is not the worst idol actress of her gen, I think she's very much in the middle : not as bad as someone like Yang Chao Yue who's striking as a model but a very limited actress, but also definitely not reaching the highs of Bai Lu, Zhao Lu Si or Esther Yu. I think she should have expanded her range of genre to reach a wider audience and hone her skills, but for some reason she's stuck in her costumes and wigs in period or fantasy romances. People have also notice and complain that she's always styled the same way with the same type of makeup, robes and hair jewels, and as a result it never feels like we are seeing different characters, but just her dressed like this ethereal princess in pastels 100% of the time. It was even detrimental to her in In Blossom where she was supposed to be a down to earth coroner but looked like yet another fairy princess lost in the human world. At least in Eternal Fragrance her appearance is coherent with the setting but I'm not sure I want to see her yet again in this kind of role. She has a ton of projects lined up for 2026, not sure what the public's reaction will be if she can't really improve her performance and show some range. 

Level of hype : Very Mild Interest

Soooo they are really trying to make Chen Xin Hai happen, after promoting him heavily in second lead roles in The Double, Feud and Love of the Divine Tree. I'm baffled honestly, I'm not sure anyone was asking to see more of him. He's handsome, sure, but I think he lacks this little something more other actors of his generation have, acting-wise he's a bit one-note, and I never connected to a single one of his characters (and he was given quite a complex, humane role in Divine Tree). He actually annoyed me more than anything in some of these. I'm also kinda pissed that Guo Jun Chen, who's a much better actor (and is hotter) in my opinion, is playing second fiddle to him. I'm still not sure what to think of Li Yi Tong, on one side she does have a lot of energy, on the other I want to see less pouting and more depth from her. Their pairing is weird. Director is good, writer is...eh ? The synopsis is ultra vague, giving us nothing about the real plot, we only know it's going to be about immortal sects and...music ?? I'm not convinced. Visuals are pretty cool tho. 

(still in dev phase)

Crazy melons are flying around the adaptation of this novel, described as "no cheats, no time travel, no rebirth. Pure ancient Chinese historical romance with high-IQ espionage and political maneuvering." It is inspired by the fascinanting Jin-Song wars and tells the story of a double agent who captures a thief and trains her to become a killing machine. The cast is being carefully selected so I guess it's a big production. Plot is both familiar and different. 

(still in dev phase)

Final (?) adaptation of a rebirth and revenge saga adapted from the work of Qian Shan Cha Ke. The Double was awesome but I dropped Legend of the Female General. Thankfully this time it's The Double director who is doing it, and I really hope he will get help again from Ren Ya Nan, she did crazy good work.  The director loves color as much as I do and his dramas are striking. In the novel, the empress herself was the perfect wife and mother of the nation, only to be betrayed and hanged. Her family is killed, she's replaced by a concubine and her stepsisters, her kids are dead. She's rebirthed back to fourteen and vows to take her revenge. Whe she gets back she gets a new perspective on things an an unlikely ally in her family's enemy, the young Xie marquis. We are holding our breath for the casting, melons are all over the place. The novel is engrossing but also already dated, it's clearly a novel written when Minglan stories were all the rage (the 2010's) and some plot devices feel a bit trite and sometimes even unsavory. So this is a case where I think that there is potential, but some tweaks are very much needed. 

(still in dev phase)

I've still to watch a single treasure hunting chinese drama wich is a feat in itself considering how obsessed China is with stories about exploring tombs and chasing artifacts (an entire sub-genre in itself).  The director did Who Rules the World, wich seems to me like the perfect crew for another big scale adventure.  Alas the casting is in trouble as apparently Esther Yu and Wang Anyu are no longer involved, and we don't know yet if the drama will get another cast or if it's doomed. 

(still in dev phase)

Next Chu Yui Bun drama about rebirth and revenge. Yet to be casted. 

(still in dev phase)

No idea what it's about beside it being a period drama but I like the cast, cute and talented rising stars. 

(still in dev phase)

Political marriage and love in far away lands, I'm here. 

(still in dev phase)

Legendary crew and novel writer, we are waiting for it to be casted.

(still in dev phase)

The plot gave me Lost You Forever vibes and funnily enough, its director is in the crew. I'm not a fan of reverse harem stories and this one has FIVE suitors for the FL so...mmmh. Reportedly the FL is Wu Jin Yan but the ML has yet to be confirmed (if there is even a main ML ??). It could be Miles Wei, hope it's him. 

(still in dev phase)

I can't make head or tails of the MDL synopsis, it's so damn confusing, it's about an amnesiac princess and her ex-lover who was forced to become a concubine (how does that even work, was he in a male harem, are we in a fantasy world like in Tiger and Rose ? How did he got out ? Is it just a bad translation and it's actually about a princess and her matrilocal husband ?) ?? She will resolve the feud between the ex and her fiance ??? The webnovel resume is better, I guess there is not one male lead but two indeed (not a fan of this TBF) but it's quite short, more like a long poem than a novel, so I guess I could read the epilogue to see where this is going (!spoilers! I did, and I'm still very lost, this has like three different endings, but at least I know who is the true ML and yeah it's the ex-concubine or something, and we don't care about the fiance, or maybe the fiance is also the ex-concubine ?? I'm so confused). Great screenwriter though (Rise of Phoenixes, LLTG, Coroner's Diary) so I'm very curious to see who they cast. 

(still in dev phase)

New historical fantasy romance about a ghost princess who wants to find who killed her. There is a twist as her own mom benefited from her death and became a ruling empress (yeah the actual ruler, not the prime consort), which is quite a unique dynamic. There is some cultivation elements but I'm not sure it's a xianxia, more like wuxia ?? There is reincarnation in the plot, so I don't know. Latest melons are saying the drama is courting Lu Yu Xiao and Chang Huasen, a very handsome newcomer who made an impression in Moonlight Mystique early in 2025. 

(still in dev phase)

The story about Orchid's master Si Ming by the famous fantasy author who wrote Fairy and Devil, Blue Whisper, Back from the Brink, Shen Li and Shadow Love. Most of her novels right's have been bought so there is a ton of projects lined including this one about a dragon and his lover. The plot reminds me of Blue Whisper (spoilers ?) : immortal master saves a dragon boy and takes him as her disciple but they have to escape to the mortal world where they fall in love, she becomes a demon to save him so he sacrifices himself and sends her back amnesiac to heaven, she escapes her wedding to Dijun and saves him and they ally to defeat evil. I just hope that they will be able to air more episodes because lately xianxia have suffered from the new shorter format. Bring back the 60 episodes epics, you cowards !

(thrown in the cold palace)

Only mentioning this for posterity. I cant' believe the (quite mediocre) korean adaptation of the novel aired before this 2020 production. Well, it's been five years, and even if the novel about a young girl solving crimes with a prince as his eunuch was a hit, even if they replace Kris Wu, I can't see this airing now. The plot feels overdone, historical gender benders are not focusing on scholars and euneuchs these days as female generals are all the rage, and I wonder if Yang Zi will be okay with airing old shoots of her edited with newer ones. I would be very, very surprised to see this ever see the light of day.

(thrown in the cold palace)

Cute Li Landy historical romance, I have no idea why it has been jailed by Youku for so many years.