whoissilmoy

They are now over 30. I think it would be great to watch the actors when they were much younger.

Eight Hundred is ranked #2 for Maoyan's online crime series in 1H 2026. "The power of the long-tail effect of this series will continue. "

The Monkey King drama usually refers to adaptations of the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West (16th century), centering on Sun Wukong (the Monkey King), one of the most iconic characters in Chinese literature and mythology. Journey to the West is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of China.

The Monkey King 3 is however only loosely inspired by the Daughter Country arc. It uses the all-women kingdom as the setting and includes some Journey to the West elements, but it’s mostly an original fantasy-romance story with new main characters and plots.

Bai Lu plays Wu Shuang — a completely original character: a strong, overbearing martial artist / demon hunter. She does not exist in the original Journey to the West novel.
Hou Minghao plays Jiang Liu Er (also called Yang Liu Er / Tang Seng in some descriptions) — a kind-hearted young man who can shape-shift. He is presented as a version or former life related to Tang Sanzang (the monk), but he is not the classic Tang Sanzang from the novel.
The classic Monkey King (Sun Wukong), Pigsy, and Sandy do appear, but they are supporting characters with their own purposes for entering the kingdom. The main focus is on the romance and adventures between Bai Lu and Hou Minghao’s characters.

MDL is insignificant. It only has 3,775 watchers

I see that the lower‑rated reviews. among the five reviews, the story was given ratings 1, 2, 6, 6.5, and 7

don't use kisskh you can get virus

The poster looks AI-generated. Xu Kai’s hands are the biggest giveaway. He has large hands in real life, but with long, elegant, and slender fingers. The AI struggled with them, so after heavy inpainting they ended up puffy, wrinkled, and grandpa-like.

Very likely AI-generated or at least heavily AI-assisted because it’s fast and cheap.

it wrapped filming 9/26/24! I prefer to see FI before SOTB.

2027

"Dragon TV's younger and urban audience matches the show's style perfectly and helped boost its popularity and ratings. It's a light, absurd, funny, fast-paced 'stupid criminal + lucky detective' black comedy — not heavy brain-burning suspense. Younger viewers (Dragon TV’s strength) love this entertaining, down-to-earth vibe and tend to rate it generously (Douban 8), while Douban’s more mixed audience, combined with the show’s deliberate 'dumb fun' style, naturally brings out some negative takes. Overall, the combination of Dragon TV’s broadcast and iQIYI’s platform created strong cross-channel momentum, as shown by its iQIYI 10K+ heat and nearly 100k Douban ratings (99,456). This drove solid commercial heat and positive word-of-mouth among its core fans, while the distinctive tone explains the range of opinions."

Douban has a margin of error of around 0.5 points too. A 6.5 vs 7 (or 7 vs 7.5) doesn't really tell you which is better — it's just a flawed number. A bigger gap, like 5.5 vs 7, can give some directional indication, but you still can't rely on ratings alone. There are dramas sitting at 3.3 on Douban that are genuinely very good and remain super popular globally years later.

How Generous! 7.3 to 7.4. What does it take to move the needle when there are over 20% 1 star ratings.

Until 800, I thought SAF6 was Xu Kai’s most underrated drama. The ending was quite polarizing, the Möbius time-travel storytelling was very niche, and many viewers disliked the FL’s voice. Still, the overall quality of the acting was very good, and Xu Kai’s dual performance as Yue Jin Zhao / Bian Luo Huan was genuinely strong.
But 800 is on another level. It’s a grounded, well-crafted modern crime/suspense/family drama with excellent writing, solid directing, atmospheric tension, moral complexity, and a strong veteran cast (Imo, Hu Ke gave a more refreshing, lively, or surprising performance than Ding Yongdai in this drama). The acting is excellent by the entire cast and Xu Kai’s portrayal of Chen Hui — a layered, flawed, and intense character, far from the usual idol or xianxia pretty-boy roles. This drama relies entirely on word of mouth.

I get where you're coming from but at the same time, I still very much enjoyed his performances in those dramas. He carved out incredible characters.

It’s a genuine mainstream media pickup based on the drama’s real performance and buzz, not a paid advertisement — something Xu Kai doesn’t engage in, and something his agency doesn’t do for him either.

Reputable journalist & outlet: Written by 罗攀 (Luo Pan), a professional reporter affiliated with 北青网 (Beijing Youth Daily's platform). The piece was carried by Chinanews.com.cn. Both are established mainstream media, not obscure promo sites. Luo Pan has a track record writing for these outlets on various topics.

all the points he makes is spot on

This event happens every year with Xu Kai. His fans all know about it.

An actor’s commitment is a lot more than just the three months they spend filming. There’s all the prep work before shooting, the actual filming, and then post‑production things like ADR, dubbing their own lines, fixing scenes, or doing reshoots. And after all that, they still have promotions to take care of.

Melons are pretty standard in C-ent — nothing unusual for Xu Kai or most actors. He just wrapped Tian Du Yi Wen Lu only 3.5 months ago and Spring of the Blade wrapped about 10 months ago. Xu Kai dramas in recent years have taken over 12 months from wrap to airing. It’s actually very common for actors to take 3–6 months between projects. Xu Kai has mentioned that he wants to slow down from his old non-stop back-to-back schedule. He’s been a workaholic since he was 18, carrying the full financial weight of his own life and his family’s—an achievement that’s remarkably rare. Now he finally has the luxury to take more personal time off and spend more time with his family, which is a good thing. No one lies on their deathbed wishing they had worked more, right? Xu Kai is a versatile actor who keeps challenging himself with new genres and deeper roles.

Spring of the Blade already has trailers and posters out, so it’s actually moving at a decent pace for a historical drama — ten months post‑wrap with trailers already released is standard, not a red flag.

If Xu Kai is indeed letting his contract expire in August 2026, he’s likely getting ready for that transition. When an actor gets close to the end of a contract, the focus usually shifts to finishing whatever commitments are already in place so things can wrap up smoothly. If anything is left unfinished, it can slow down the exit, make the separation messy, and even lead to disputes or legal issues. There are also financial and administrative details that need to be settled before everything can officially close out.

The industry itself is in flux. The average length of Chinese dramas has dropped to around 28–29 episodes, with the 21–28 episode range growing significantly to become the largest share of new releases. Overall, the 20–32 episode bracket has emerged as the new mainstream standard.
Xu Kai’s role in Eight Hundred — a ~20-episode suspense/crime drama — looks like a smart move. It fits the new norm perfectly: concise, high-impact, and binge-friendly. This should help him transition further into more serious and versatile roles as well. But actors at his level rarely go 100% serious drama only. He’ll likely continue mixing it up for fans and commercial appeal.

I’m thinking the contracts likely include clauses requiring artists to reserve a portion of their income for security, PR, and travel. Yu Zheng may insist on these provisions, but the expenses are ultimately deducted from the actor’s own earnings rather than being personally covered by him or his studio. So Xu Kai is probably using those allocated funds — and if they fall short, he would need to pay the remaining costs out of pocket.

"some fans also highlighted Xu Kai's latest appearance which is considered to look fitter than before"

I find subtitles make C‑dramas a bit time‑consuming to watch, because it’s easy to miss details while trying to keep up. They also don’t always capture the full nuance of the original dialogue.