i agree! Also the quality of production is soo questionable. I mean Yuzheng kept rambling negatives about Yuan…
And have you guys noticed? It’s not just one genre either. His dramas with this kind of long-term appeal span across very different genres, from modern idol romance to costume drama and even Republican-era drama.
Next, I’d love to see him in a modern thriller or suspense drama, of course with smart writing and strong production quality like DNAD. That would be really nice, and it would give him another opportunity to expand his range and challenge himself in a completely different genre.
Too bad Light the Dark is only a mini-series, it would have been better if it is a full-length drama because this kind of genre would give him much more room to show a different side of his acting.
i agree! Also the quality of production is soo questionable. I mean Yuzheng kept rambling negatives about Yuan…
Yes, I think we can say that Bodi Production is capable of making good-quality dramas even with a limited budget. They seem to spend their resources where it actually matters on the production itself, from the costumes and script to hiring directors who are well known and experienced in their respective fields. So in my opinion, they already have the quality, what they really need is more funding.
I also think they probably made a decent profit from both DNAD and FH. DNAD aired on CCTV and has reportedly been rebroadcast on satellite and local TV stations across the country many times already...almost 50 broadcasts in total.
Meanwhile, FH performed very well internationally, with over 2 billion views. It became the most profitable costume drama on the iQiyi International platform last year and is still appearing on the iQiyi International charts this year, ranking in the top 5. And the funniest part is that the drama wasn’t even produced by iQiyi itself... 🤣
Neither drama may have made a huge splash when it first aired because of the limited publicity, but both seem to have performed very well in the long run.
CZY’s dramas tend to have this kind of staying power when they come with a good script and strong production. Not to mention, HL is still on the V-Pulse chart and has barely left the top 10 for almost three years, while so many other C-dramas have come and gone. It’s also still getting a lot of views on Netflix even this year which says a lot about its long-term appeal.
I know one of the reasons is definitely ZLS’s popularity, but at the same time, this is the only one of her dramas that has managed to stay on the chart for such a long time. So I don’t think it’s unfair to say that the chemistry between ZLS and CZY as the leads also played a big part in capturing the audience’s hearts and making people want to rewatch the drama again and again.
And of course, the director deserves a lot of credit too. The drama was very well executed overall, and when you have a good script, strong directing, and leads whose chemistry really works, that kind of long-term popularity makes perfect sense.
i agree! Also the quality of production is soo questionable. I mean Yuzheng kept rambling negatives about Yuan…
Almost all the actors and actresses in this drama are from his agency, so... of course, most of the screen time goes to them 😂 Aunt Yu Zheng’s tactic is way too obvious 🙃
I really hope he never has to deal with a fraudulent production team like this ever again. 🙏https://x.com/i/status/2088582862354464791https://x.com/i/status/2088652066113941976
Since it has already happened, I’ll just treat this as one of CZY’s dramas that helped him grow as an actor. And from what we fans know, he really devoted himself to it, even while dealing with his collarbone injury.
Whether his agency actually learned anything from this is still a mystery 😑 Do they even care enough to be more selective when choosing projects for him? And please, avoid anything related to Yu Zheng as much as possible.
Thank God Bai Lu has already left him!!! 😂 When I found out, I was literally laughing and clapping like crazy 👏😂 .... I hope Xu Kai leaves him next too 😌
The official fan club announced that Fusheng will wrap filming on August 19 which is only 3 days away. At least, I know I can enjoy the costumes in this drama because every single one of CZY’s looks good so far. Apart from that, I don’t know what to expect. But well... let’s see how it turns out.
This is from X that posted by Enigma05 below.----------------The central media (CCTV) has repeatedly given #ChenZheyuan…
I already mentioned this here before, but I’ll say it again. CZY was born in Shenzhen which is close to Hong Kong, so his natural accent is quite strong and sounds closer to a Cantonese-influenced accent than standard Mandarin. He also sometimes stutters a little when speaking, so dubbing his own dramas is definitely not an easy task.
First, he has to adjust his natural accent, work on speaking more smoothly without stuttering and at the same time deliver the lines with the right emotions, just like a professional voice actor would. That takes a lot of time and effort on top of improving his acting skills. CZY rarely goes on Weibo to express himself, even when filming is tough or when controversies about him are happening on social media. Most of the time, he just stays silent. But when he really couldn’t dub his own character, he actually came on Weibo late at night to apologize to his fans.... that shows how seriously he takes this. Some people might think dubbing character isn’t such a big deal but clearly it matters a lot to him because he has promised to use his own voice whenever he can. So when he couldn’t do it, he genuinely felt bad about it.
Working alongside veteran actors is another way for him to step outside his comfort zone. In a more serious drama like DNAD, he could have been criticized very easily if his performance couldn’t keep up with the experienced actors around him, especially since he was the main character and had around 70–80% of the screen time. If the audience didn’t accept his performance, it could have affected the entire drama. But in the end, CCTV viewers responded well to it. They don’t really care about fake popularity, fandom hype or marketing accounts pushing a drama, they simply turn on the TV and watch. And DNAD still managed to achieve a CVB rating of over 2%.
That’s also why central media praised him for having the courage, as a young actor to challenge himself instead of staying in his comfort zone. Taking on this kind of role comes with a much higher risk of criticism, but he still chose to do it and proved that he is serious about pursuing acting as a long-term career rather than simply chasing popularity.
He’s doing it again in Light the Dark too. If we’re lucky enough, iQiyi might actually air it sometime this year... I suppose.
This is from X that posted by Enigma05 below. ----------------
The central media (CCTV) has repeatedly given #ChenZheyuan their stamp of approval – and that's no small feat.
Truth is, in the domestic entertainment industry, there aren't many young actors who can consistently earn recognition from state-backed media. At first, I thought it was just occasional promotional coverage for one drama. But as I looked deeper, I realized it wasn't a one-off hype campaign – it was one project after another, with recognition that kept building.
I remember watching a behind-the-scenes interview that really stuck with me. Someone asked him why his line delivery had improved so noticeably. He admitted that he used to have a strong accent problem, so whenever he had free time, he'd practice phrasing and emotional inflection over and over. After wrapping up filming, while others rested, he'd stay behind to fine-tune his dubbing, carefully polishing every single line. He never believed that his looks could substitute for real acting skills.
When he starred in Dark Night and Dawn, he stepped outside the idol drama mold and took on a period spy thriller. CCTV's drama review section gave the series a special feature, acknowledging the completeness of his character portrayal – shattering the stereotype that he could only do sweet romance dramas. Many casual viewers were surprised, saying they never expected a traffic actor to take on such a meaningful, mainstream project with such dedication.
In Song of a Smile, he used his own voice for the entire drama, delivering long, intense court dialogue with natural emotional flow. CCTV Drama even did a dedicated interview about the series, directly commending his vocal performance. The drama was also featured in a cultural export initiative, serving as a case study for Chinese productions going global. Even friends of mine who watched it remarked how rare it is these days for young actors to commit to full original voice acting.
During the broadcast of The Royal Ballad, CCTV Culture & Entertainment conducted a solo interview with him, delving into the loneliness and inner struggles of the young emperor he portrayed – not just promoting the show, but exploring the deeper thinking behind his character-building. That's a sign of respect for an actor's craft.
He rarely uses gossip or trending topics to stay in the spotlight. He finishes one drama and immediately dives into the next. Even at the peak of his popularity, he didn't rush to take on a bunch of similar idol dramas to cash in quickly. Instead, he actively sought out completely different characters to expand his range.
In summary:
The central media's repeated support for Chen Zheyuan isn't accidental. It's not manufactured hype through short-term marketing – it's the result of years of steady work, a willingness to refine his craft, and the courage to step outside his comfort zone and explore different genres. Compared to fleeting viral fame, solid, tangible work is the strongest foundation for being recognized by the mainstream.
YSL posted CZY on TikTok. I was so happy seeing it on my FYP😍😍😍😍😍
Yeah, YSL treats CZY really well. He has gotten so many billboards in department stores across China. If I’m not mistaken, he may also attend another fashion week for YSL. Let’s see 😊
It looks like Against the Current is airing next on Tencent, which unfortunately means we'll probably have to…
One drama usually airs for around two weeks not a whole month, so September is still possible but it also depends on Tencent.
As a long-time CZY fan, I think we’re better off keeping our expectations low when it comes to his dramas. He doesn’t have strong capital backing and his agency is super weak. Whenever his dramas come out, there’s rarely much hype or proper promotion. They always seem to get suddenly dropped with almost no official announcement beforehand.
Just take FH as an example. It aired only a day after the official announcement, had almost zero promotion on Chinese social media and barely trended anywhere. But it still ended up doing pretty well and reached a good heat index (which I think is harder to achieve on iQiyi compared with the other two major platforms) because viewers themselves shared and discussed it on social media not because marketing accounts were pushing it.
Same with RB. It basically dropped without a proper official announcement, yet it still topped Maoyan’s Daily Effective Playback Ranking for several days, even alongside Mystic Nine, which is a much bigger hit with the huge promotion and stronger production quality. Not to mention Mango has the less number of viewers compare to the big 3.
CZY’s dramas are always like this...
And actually, I’m okay with CD not airing right now. He’s still filming another drama and I really want him to get some rest. Otherwise, he’ll have to run around promoting the drama again while still working nonstop.
I just want him to take a proper break. If CD is good, people will like it. If it isn’t, then it’ll go another way. Either way, there are so many factors we can’t control, and C-dramas are always unpredictable anyway. We really can’t expect every drama to have great overall quality.
At the end of the day, what matters most to me is that our CZY works hard and always delivers what he can with the role he’s given. For me, that’s already good enough 🥹
He has been recognized by CCTV since DNAD, FH and now again with RB. At least it feels like the official media also sees him as a promising young actor who is disciplined and takes his profession seriously.
Once again, RB topped the Daily Effective Playback Ranking on Maoyan.
LOL... even with a drama like this.....not exactly great in terms of the script or overall execution with barely any publicity or major popularity hype, CZY still delivers 👏
Just like FH, which still made it onto iQIYI International’s chart for the first half of 2026. when FH was airing, iQIYI treated it so badly too... didn't even have the fix screens on it websites with zero promotion......
State media recognition; very important! Here’s the translation: https://x.com/chenzheyuanbao/status/2088134257915101608?s=46&t=zqI38SPvJuccjplZiNI69Q
Thank you for sharing, mate!! Being recognized by CCTV is definitely something we should be proud of. But at the same time, doesn’t CCTV praise rising stars every now and then not only CZY? 🤔
How about giving CZY another role in a CCTV drama? Then I’ll believe the praise actually comes with some real intention behind it, rather than just being another article with no further meaning 😌 Sorry, I’m already at the point where I don’t fully trust anything from c-ent anymore even when it comes from CCTV 😂
Are there any Ao chi and Sha luo scenes without zi miao lurking around them? Whatever reuters I'm seeing he is…
Yeah, speaking of that, C-dramas really love ruining the plots of the original novels. It’s like they also love producing “tofu dramas” not just tofu buildings 🤣
They keep torturing the ML or FL with completely illogical plot lines, almost like the script itself is a sociopath 😂 And then you have a director everyone is already scared will ruin the drama, while they’re also apparently trying to mess with the ML/FL relationship.
Then when the drama finally airs and there isn’t much interaction or skin ship between the leads, you already know what the first complaint in the comment section will be: “Ohhh, the leads have no chemistry.” 🤣 Apparently, if there’s no steamy kiss or bed scene, a normal relationship is just too boring for audiences who desperately want romance, romance and more romance 🤣
I didn't expect much from the drama, I just wanted it to pass well. It wasn't the best, but not a bad watch. We…
As far as I know, I got it from Weibo. It seems to refer to a production team that lacks certain skills and professionalism. I’m not exactly sure what the “three” specifically refers to, but I think it means three essential things a production team should have, but doesn’t.
#RoyalBetrothal Has Achieved Over 800 Million Cumulative Effective Playback Volume on MaoYan. https://x.com/cdramacharts/status/2088104431740956866?s=12Okay,…
News 
Next, I’d love to see him in a modern thriller or suspense drama, of course with smart writing and strong production quality like DNAD. That would be really nice, and it would give him another opportunity to expand his range and challenge himself in a completely different genre.
Too bad Light the Dark is only a mini-series, it would have been better if it is a full-length drama because this kind of genre would give him much more room to show a different side of his acting.
So in my opinion, they already have the quality, what they really need is more funding.
I also think they probably made a decent profit from both DNAD and FH. DNAD aired on CCTV and has reportedly been rebroadcast on satellite and local TV stations across the country many times already...almost 50 broadcasts in total.
Meanwhile, FH performed very well internationally, with over 2 billion views. It became the most profitable costume drama on the iQiyi International platform last year and is still appearing on the iQiyi International charts this year, ranking in the top 5. And the funniest part is that the drama wasn’t even produced by iQiyi itself... 🤣
Neither drama may have made a huge splash when it first aired because of the limited publicity, but both seem to have performed very well in the long run.
CZY’s dramas tend to have this kind of staying power when they come with a good script and strong production. Not to mention, HL is still on the V-Pulse chart and has barely left the top 10 for almost three years, while so many other C-dramas have come and gone. It’s also still getting a lot of views on Netflix even this year which says a lot about its long-term appeal.
I know one of the reasons is definitely ZLS’s popularity, but at the same time, this is the only one of her dramas that has managed to stay on the chart for such a long time. So I don’t think it’s unfair to say that the chemistry between ZLS and CZY as the leads also played a big part in capturing the audience’s hearts and making people want to rewatch the drama again and again.
And of course, the director deserves a lot of credit too. The drama was very well executed overall, and when you have a good script, strong directing, and leads whose chemistry really works, that kind of long-term popularity makes perfect sense.
Aunt Yu Zheng’s tactic is way too obvious 🙃
Whether his agency actually learned anything from this is still a mystery 😑
Do they even care enough to be more selective when choosing projects for him? And please, avoid anything related to Yu Zheng as much as possible.
Thank God Bai Lu has already left him!!! 😂 When I found out, I was literally laughing and clapping like crazy 👏😂 .... I hope Xu Kai leaves him next too 😌
At least, I know I can enjoy the costumes in this drama because every single one of CZY’s looks good so far. Apart from that, I don’t know what to expect.
But well... let’s see how it turns out.
[MaoYan] Daily Effective Playback Ranking (All Dramas)
🥇 #RoyalBetrothal
✨ #ChenZheyuan × #WuJinyan
https://x.com/cdramacharts/status/2088820781627097502?s=46
#RoyalBetrothal Has Achieved Over 900 Million Cumulative Effective Playback Volume on MaoYan. Congratulations to the Team 🎉
✨#ChenZheyuan #WuJinyan
https://x.com/cdramacharts/status/2088687627817898310?s=46
First, he has to adjust his natural accent, work on speaking more smoothly without stuttering and at the same time deliver the lines with the right emotions, just like a professional voice actor would. That takes a lot of time and effort on top of improving his acting skills.
CZY rarely goes on Weibo to express himself, even when filming is tough or when controversies about him are happening on social media. Most of the time, he just stays silent. But when he really couldn’t dub his own character, he actually came on Weibo late at night to apologize to his fans.... that shows how seriously he takes this. Some people might think dubbing character isn’t such a big deal but clearly it matters a lot to him because he has promised to use his own voice whenever he can. So when he couldn’t do it, he genuinely felt bad about it.
Working alongside veteran actors is another way for him to step outside his comfort zone. In a more serious drama like DNAD, he could have been criticized very easily if his performance couldn’t keep up with the experienced actors around him, especially since he was the main character and had around 70–80% of the screen time. If the audience didn’t accept his performance, it could have affected the entire drama.
But in the end, CCTV viewers responded well to it. They don’t really care about fake popularity, fandom hype or marketing accounts pushing a drama, they simply turn on the TV and watch. And DNAD still managed to achieve a CVB rating of over 2%.
That’s also why central media praised him for having the courage, as a young actor to challenge himself instead of staying in his comfort zone.
Taking on this kind of role comes with a much higher risk of criticism, but he still chose to do it and proved that he is serious about pursuing acting as a long-term career rather than simply chasing popularity.
He’s doing it again in Light the Dark too. If we’re lucky enough, iQiyi might actually air it sometime this year... I suppose.
----------------
The central media (CCTV) has repeatedly given #ChenZheyuan their stamp of approval – and that's no small feat.
Truth is, in the domestic entertainment industry, there aren't many young actors who can consistently earn recognition from state-backed media. At first, I thought it was just occasional promotional coverage for one drama. But as I looked deeper, I realized it wasn't a one-off hype campaign – it was one project after another, with recognition that kept building.
I remember watching a behind-the-scenes interview that really stuck with me. Someone asked him why his line delivery had improved so noticeably. He admitted that he used to have a strong accent problem, so whenever he had free time, he'd practice phrasing and emotional inflection over and over. After wrapping up filming, while others rested, he'd stay behind to fine-tune his dubbing, carefully polishing every single line. He never believed that his looks could substitute for real acting skills.
1. 𝙃𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙙𝙧𝙖𝙢𝙖 𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙜𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝘾𝘾𝙏𝙑'𝙨 𝙙𝙧𝙖𝙢𝙖 𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙨.
When he starred in Dark Night and Dawn, he stepped outside the idol drama mold and took on a period spy thriller. CCTV's drama review section gave the series a special feature, acknowledging the completeness of his character portrayal – shattering the stereotype that he could only do sweet romance dramas. Many casual viewers were surprised, saying they never expected a traffic actor to take on such a meaningful, mainstream project with such dedication.
2. 𝙃𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙫𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙝𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙗𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙝𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙙 𝙙𝙧𝙖𝙢𝙖 𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙪𝙚.
In Song of a Smile, he used his own voice for the entire drama, delivering long, intense court dialogue with natural emotional flow. CCTV Drama even did a dedicated interview about the series, directly commending his vocal performance. The drama was also featured in a cultural export initiative, serving as a case study for Chinese productions going global. Even friends of mine who watched it remarked how rare it is these days for young actors to commit to full original voice acting.
3. 𝙄𝙣-𝙙𝙚𝙥𝙩𝙝 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬𝙨 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨.
During the broadcast of The Royal Ballad, CCTV Culture & Entertainment conducted a solo interview with him, delving into the loneliness and inner struggles of the young emperor he portrayed – not just promoting the show, but exploring the deeper thinking behind his character-building. That's a sign of respect for an actor's craft.
4. 𝙉𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙝𝙮𝙥𝙚 – 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙥𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙦𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠.
He rarely uses gossip or trending topics to stay in the spotlight. He finishes one drama and immediately dives into the next. Even at the peak of his popularity, he didn't rush to take on a bunch of similar idol dramas to cash in quickly. Instead, he actively sought out completely different characters to expand his range.
In summary:
The central media's repeated support for Chen Zheyuan isn't accidental. It's not manufactured hype through short-term marketing – it's the result of years of steady work, a willingness to refine his craft, and the courage to step outside his comfort zone and explore different genres. Compared to fleeting viral fame, solid, tangible work is the strongest foundation for being recognized by the mainstream.
As a long-time CZY fan, I think we’re better off keeping our expectations low when it comes to his dramas. He doesn’t have strong capital backing and his agency is super weak. Whenever his dramas come out, there’s rarely much hype or proper promotion.
They always seem to get suddenly dropped with almost no official announcement beforehand.
Just take FH as an example. It aired only a day after the official announcement, had almost zero promotion on Chinese social media and barely trended anywhere. But it still ended up doing pretty well and reached a good heat index (which I think is harder to achieve on iQiyi compared with the other two major platforms) because viewers themselves shared and discussed it on social media not because marketing accounts were pushing it.
Same with RB. It basically dropped without a proper official announcement, yet it still topped Maoyan’s Daily Effective Playback Ranking for several days, even alongside Mystic Nine, which is a much bigger hit with the huge promotion and stronger production quality. Not to mention Mango has the less number of viewers compare to the big 3.
CZY’s dramas are always like this...
And actually, I’m okay with CD not airing right now. He’s still filming another drama and I really want him to get some rest. Otherwise, he’ll have to run around promoting the drama again while still working nonstop.
I just want him to take a proper break. If CD is good, people will like it. If it isn’t, then it’ll go another way. Either way, there are so many factors we can’t control, and C-dramas are always unpredictable anyway. We really can’t expect every drama to have great overall quality.
At the end of the day, what matters most to me is that our CZY works hard and always delivers what he can with the role he’s given. For me, that’s already good enough 🥹
He has been recognized by CCTV since DNAD, FH and now again with RB. At least it feels like the official media also sees him as a promising young actor who is disciplined and takes his profession seriously.
🥇 #RoyalBetrothal
✨ #ChenZheyuan × #WuJinyan
https://x.com/cdramacharts/status/2088406214065500581?s=12
Once again, RB topped the Daily Effective Playback Ranking on Maoyan.
LOL... even with a drama like this.....not exactly great in terms of the script or overall execution with barely any publicity or major popularity hype, CZY still delivers 👏
Just like FH, which still made it onto iQIYI International’s chart for the first half of 2026. when FH was airing, iQIYI treated it so badly too... didn't even have the fix screens on it websites with zero promotion......
https://x.com/YuanBaosWorld/status/2088122464870203696?s=12
How about giving CZY another role in a CCTV drama? Then I’ll believe the praise actually comes with some real intention behind it, rather than just being another article with no further meaning 😌
Sorry, I’m already at the point where I don’t fully trust anything from c-ent anymore even when it comes from CCTV 😂
They keep torturing the ML or FL with completely illogical plot lines, almost like the script itself is a sociopath 😂 And then you have a director everyone is already scared will ruin the drama, while they’re also apparently trying to mess with the ML/FL relationship.
Then when the drama finally airs and there isn’t much interaction or skin ship between the leads, you already know what the first complaint in the comment section will be: “Ohhh, the leads have no chemistry.” 🤣 Apparently, if there’s no steamy kiss or bed scene, a normal relationship is just too boring for audiences who desperately want romance, romance and more romance 🤣
https://x.com/YuanBaosWorld/status/2088126809976226269?s=12
🥇 #RoyalBetrothal
✨ #ChenZheyuan × #WuJinyan
https://x.com/cdramacharts/status/2088105420485247316?s=12
🤡