The summer drama battlefield ended with This Thriving Land (生万物), but the second half of the year has only just begun.
Every year, once summer vacation is over, the drama market slips into a brief "hibernation." By this point in 2025, most of the heavyweight titles have already been consumed in the first half of the year. Still, the Qixi Festival (Chinese Valentine's Day, usually in August) brought fresh promo pushes: Chasing Jade (逐玉), Blossoms of Power (百花杀), Speed and Love (双轨), Love Beyond the Grave (慕胥辞), Our Dazzling Days (烟花少年), and Banquet at Yong'an (宴遇永安) all dropped new teasers. Rumors suggest many of them are lining up for a Q4 2025 to Q1 2026 release.
Looking back at past winter holiday schedules, the family-friendly and comedy slots tend to dominate. Period pieces with an ensemble touch have also done well here—titles like Always On The Move (南来北往), Six Sisters (六姊妹), Perfect Match (五福临门), and Legend of the Undercover Chef II (鹊刀门传奇第二季) all pulled solid ratings in this timeframe.
On the production side, platforms aren't rushing into large-scale historical projects just because of the latest supportive policies. They're keeping things steady. Over the past month, most new shoots have been modern dramas, while big-budget costume epics remain rare. Even among projects still in development, the impact of the new policies is trickling in slowly.
Romance, Suspense, and Big-Costume Epics
This summer showed how reality-based stories and costume dramas could go head-to-head. On one side we had This Thriving Land, The Narcotic Operation (扫毒风暴), and In The Name of Justice (以法之名) sparking heated debate. On the other, A Dream within A Dream (书卷一梦), The Immortal Ascension (凡人修仙传), Feud (临江仙), and Coroner's Diary (朝雪录) kept reinventing the period-drama playbook with male-centric fantasy, body-swap setups, and detective-driven plots.
Heading into Q4 2025 and Q1 2026, that duel continues. Modern works with real-world themes are stacking up alongside costume shows. Among the modern lineup, Love's Ambition (许我耀眼), Vanished Name (隐身的名字), Innocence (人之初), and Lady Liberty (独身女人) are already drawing plenty of buzz. The last two lean into suspense: Innocencebuilds a mystery around orphan Gao Feng, heiress Wu Feifei, and a long-buried skeleton. Vanished Name, adapted from Yi Nan's novel, follows two generations of women entangled by an unsolved case, each searching for their own form of redemption.
Love's Ambition matters most to Zhao Lusi. Almost Love (恋人), this is her only unreleased project. Filming wrapped on September 19, 2024, and it secured distribution approval by March this year. The release date has been stuck in scheduling, but on June 23, Tencent Video revealed an "Ambition Disguised" trailer at its showcase event. For Zhao, this drama is critical, and for her fans—known online as "Keluli" (a fandom nickname that combines her surname Lu with a playful sound)—this is the show they're counting down to.
Lady Liberty (独身女人) follows on the heels of The Tale of Rose (玫瑰的故事) as another Xinli Media production adapted from a Yi Shu novel. From the very start, it has never lacked attention. Every time Yi Shu's works get adapted—My First Half of Life (我的前半生), My Best Friend's Story (流金岁月), The Tale of Rose—the industry goes into heated discussion again. Judging from the trailers and stills already released, this drama is at least hitting the expected quality baseline.
On the costume-drama side, The Journey of Legend (赴山海) is already warming up. Cheng Yi's fan screening has locked in September 11, and the platform clearly sees its potential to attract new subscribers. They even launched a promo: watch 30 minutes of the show, get one month of VIP membership. It's a straightforward way to pull in casual viewers while also priming the audience pool for what comes next.
The Journey of Legend is adapted from Wen Rui'an's Heroes of Divine China (神州奇侠). It mixes "transmigration into a book," RPG-like system mechanics, and classic wuxia tropes. Cheng Yi plays three roles: Xiao Mingming, an exhausted modern-day office worker; Xiao Qiushui, a hot-blooded swordsman; and Li Chenzhou, a villain. His sharp switches between gaze and voice have earned him the label of "chameleon actor" online. So far, the series has already crossed 10 million pre-reservations across two platforms.
There's also buzz around Love Beyond the Grave (慕胥辞) and Love on the Turquoise Land (枭起青壤), both rumored for Q4. The former is a power-struggle period drama starring Dilraba Dilmurat, while the latter is a fantasy suspense piece. Love Beyond the Grave sets up a connection between the strongest female spirit master of Guixu and a mysterious young general, their senses intertwined and destinies linked. How exactly will the story of a mortal and a ghost king play out? Many viewers are hoping this could broaden the possibilities for the costume-romance market.
Since the success of Rattan (司藤), adaptations of Wei Yu's novels have become hot commodities. Parallel World (西出玉门), The Seven Relics of ill Omen (七根凶简), The Lost Return (三线迷回), and Love on the Turquoise Land all came with heavyweight casts and have mostly cleared the "passing line" in terms of reception. Whether Nie Jiuluo, the mad swordsman in Love on the Turquoise Land, can outshine Rattan's heroine remains to be seen.
Beyond those, a crowded slate of dramas is waiting to be scheduled: Chasing Jade (逐玉), The Eternal Fragrance (千香), MOBIUS (不眠日), Low IQ Crime (低智商犯罪), Me and My Destiny (我和我的命), Happiness (高兴), Four Joys (四喜), and Shui Long Yin (水龙吟). The lineup for Q4 2025 through Q1 2026 is shaping up to be busier than usual.
What's Now Shooting for Q4
August brought a fresh batch of production starts. iQIYI rolled out modern dramas including Born to Fly (生而有翼), My Genius Friend (天才女友, not related to the Italian series), The Show Begins (有戏), and Broken Moonlight (折月亮). Tencent Video leaned into historical and period dramas, with Princess Shang (尚公主) and Fangming 39 (芳名三九) both drawing solid attention and discussion. Youku, meanwhile, is doubling down on workplace titles like Irreplaceable (无可替代) and Honor of Doctors (医生荣誉), plus Extreme Wealth (绝顶富贵), a collaboration with comedian Guo Degang. Mango TV also kicked off Marriage for the Country (江山为聘) and Blazing Summer (炽夏). Overall, the ratio skews heavily toward modern dramas.
Plenty of projects are also lined up to start filming in Q4 2025. Among the costume dramas, the one grabbing the most attention is Peacocks Fly to the Southeast (孔雀东南飞). It adapts a short story of the same name from Ma Boyong's collection Tales of Supporting Characters from the Three Kingdoms (三国配角演义), directed by Xin Shuang. While the original Peacocks Fly to the Southeast is a classic Eastern Han ballad, Ma Boyong reimagines it as a political thriller: the tragic romance of Jiao Zhongqing and Liu Lanzhi becomes collateral damage in the power struggle between Cao Wei and Sun Wu. Assassination attempts on Sun Ce, double agents, and court intrigue all come into play.
The rumored cast is stacked—Jackson Yee (Yi Yangqianxi), Shu Qi, Jiang Qiming, and Chen Minghao—but nothing has been officially announced. Filming is expected to kick off in mid-September. It's positioned as a prestige short drama, only eight episodes long.
The concept itself is striking: taking a well-known love story from school textbooks and weaving it together with Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Two seemingly unrelated narratives are placed in the same timeline, filling in the "gaps" of history with a bold re-creation. Combined with Xin Shuang's eerie, stylized visual language, the anticipation for this drama is high.
Another heavyweight period piece, The Qin Riddle (秦谜), is expected to start in October. Rumored leads include Chen Xiao and Zhang Xincheng, while the creative team is even more noteworthy. Director Lü Xing is known for The First Shot (雪迷宫) and Burning Ice (无证之罪), while screenwriter Chang Jiang wrote The Advisors Alliance (大军师司马懿之军师联盟). She has always had her own take on historical storytelling. Unlike the typical depictions of Qin, The Qin Riddle uses the construction of the Zhengguo Canal as its narrative thread, tying it to Qin's eventual unification of the Six States.
Recent period dramas have increasingly chosen concrete dynastic settings. Titles like Officials in White Robes (白衣公卿) and Assorted Tales (什锦) are among them. Others continue to innovate through character arcs and story setups. For example, Unbound by Night Patrols (金吾不禁) follows Shen Qingwu, a sheltered young woman who by chance enters the military. Through hardship, she rises as a female general, joining forces with scholar-official Zhang Xingjian to suppress rebellions, defeat bandits, counter corrupt ministers, and repel foreign invasions—while also challenging the aristocratic marriage traditions of her era. The Phoenix Does Not Rest (凤不栖) mixes palace intrigue with a forbidden romance, promising strong dramatic hooks.
Beyond these, other dramas slated to start filming in Q4 2025 include The Legend of Nine Songs (天行九歌), Burning Feathers (燃羽), The Noble Son of the Han Clan (韩门贵子), Entering the Game (入局而定), Blood of the Cicada (碧血蝉), Golden Branches (金枝), Sword Comes (剑来), and When Flowers Fall in Moon City, They Bloom by the Sea (月都花落，沧海花开).
In the realm of period dramas set in the modern era, two stand out: Meishun and Changsheng (美顺与长生), directed by Li Lu, and Ninth Heaven (九重天), written and directed by Xu Bing. For Meishun and Changsheng, the rumored lead actress has shifted several times, from Zhou Dongyu to Tan Songyun, and most recently Liu Haocun. Ninth Heaven is structured as an anthology. Its setting spans from the third year of the Xuantong Emperor (1911) to 1945, centered on the glazed-tile village of southern Fujian. It begins with scholar-official Yu Chuhao's retirement and return home, only for him to confront the fall of the Qing dynasty and sweeping historical changes. The rumored lineup here is also very strong.
Upcoming modern dramas are also showing fresh directions compared to the past. Stories about young people are no longer just about romance, and stories about middle-aged characters are no longer limited to midlife crises. Happy Birthday (生日快乐) tells of a mother who travels back 14 days before her daughter's suicide. Finding Her (找到她) revolves around a missing-girl case that tightly binds three families together. Purple Dahlia (紫色大丽花) digs into the emotional dilemmas of city dwellers, designed to spark conversation.
Other projects set to begin filming soon include This Moment of Life (此刻的生活), Early Spring Sunshine (早春晴朗), Detective's Hour (刑警时刻), Today Is a Sun Shower (今天是太阳雨), Confession (告白), Thelma & Louise (末路狂花, borrowing the English film's title but reimagined in a Chinese context), Warm Sun on Earth (人间暖阳), Even If You Can't Have It All (虽然不能同时拥有一切), The Unmatched Minister (不二之臣), Ask the Heart 2 (问心2), and Abyss (深渊).
Will Long Dramas Make a Comeback?
In August, the National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) issued Measures to Further Enrich Content for TV Screens and Promote Supply of Audiovisual Programming. This document—nicknamed the "21 NRTA Measures" (广电21条)—contains 21 reforms, including: removing the 40-episode cap, easing restrictions on costume dramas, emphasizing quality documentary production, and strongly supporting high-quality animation. It has been called one of the industry's most significant recent policy boosts.
Among these, the "Five No Restrictions" rules are drawing the most attention, especially the one stating that "TV dramas are no longer capped at 40 episodes." This directly impacts works still in development. In recent years, platforms have leaned toward "slimming down" series, making shorter dramas the trend. Now that the restriction has been lifted, will long-form dramas surge back?
For now, the answer seems to be not immediately. "One project directed by a top-tier domestic director wanted to increase its episode count after the new rules, but the platform still refused," said producer Li Ming (alias). "Even with a strong creative team, suddenly adding volume is difficult. Ad sales are hard right now, and client budgets are shrinking. If a drama is too long, platforms feel the pressure."
So while the 40-episode ceiling is gone, the bar for long dramas has effectively been raised. Only certain story types can sustain that length, and few teams have the capacity to take on such heavy projects. Extra-long dramas mean higher budgets and higher risks. Given the current state of the industry, mounting such productions is no small challenge.
Screenwriter Wang Meng (alias), who is adapting a serious literary work for one platform, confirmed that episode counts have not been adjusted even after the new rules. "We're still creating according to the original plan," she noted.
Similarly, the easing of time and quota restrictions on costume dramas hasn't triggered a sudden surge in new projects. Platforms are stricter than ever about script quality, and with so many costume dramas overlapping in themes and style, approval isn't guaranteed. "Relaxed rules don't automatically mean easy greenlights," one insider said.
Where there is clear benefit is in overseas IP adaptation. "Now we can buy foreign IPs, but the procurement process is complicated and time-consuming," explained producer Wang Qing (alias). "This policy is really aimed at helping traditional TV stations. From allowing mid-roll ads, to expanding prime-time episode slots, to encouraging simultaneous TV-and-online release, the upside is mostly for broadcasters."
For years, industry workers have kept grinding through what's been called the "long winter." Each year seemed colder than the last. The "21 NRTA Measures" are a spark, but warming the entire landscape will take time. Still, with policies already in motion, the frozen ground may finally be loosening. Spring might not be here yet, but there are signs it's on the way.
