SBS unveils its 2025 K-Drama lineup with special trailers
Zhao Lusi's The Story of Pearl Girl and Esther Yu's Love Game in Eastern Fantasy were released back to back. Once both the Chinese dramas aired, it was like watching "a clash of the titans."
Initially, it was expected that these two shows would be in a tight race, constantly chasing each other. However, the result was that Love Game in Eastern Fantasy quickly pulled ahead, consistently topping the ratings chart, while The Story of Pearl Girl settled for second place.
But these rankings only reflect the domestic popularity of C-dramas; numbers on global OTT platforms tell a different story.
On November 8, the Chinese historical drama The Story of Pearl Girl topped Netflix Taiwan's rankings list for two consecutive days, leading the global streaming platform's charts. The fantasy drama Love Game in Eastern Fantasy claimed the third spot.
The Story of Pearl Girl also airs on the Hong Kong streaming platform Viu, where it currently ranks second, and Love Game in Eastern Fantasy fourth.
The Story of Pearl Girl is adapted from Tan Tian Yin's novel "Kun Shan Yu Qian Zhuan" and tells the story of a pearl diver named Duan Wu (Zhao Lu Si), who escapes from her pearl farm to be free from humiliation. The C-drama portrays how Duan overcomes struggles, including the loss of her beloved and betrayal by those she trusted, and how she, with her intelligence and courage, ultimately becomes a prominent businesswoman.
Love Game in Eastern Fantasy follows Ling Miao Miao (Esther Yu), who unexpectedly travels to the world of the web novel "Chasing Demons" where she enters the body of the villainous supporting character Lin Yu. To return, she must complete the system's missions, which include slaying a powerful demon. If she fails, she will never be able to return to the real world. During this journey, Ling Miaomiao joins forces with new people. They support each other through repeated crises, growing together.
This year, Youku has been on a streak of bringing a variety of Chinese dramas to global audiences. On May 7, Regeneration was released on Netflix and stayed on the weekly chart in Taiwan for five weeks. In June, The Double topped multiple platforms worldwide. After launching on Netflix on June 17, it quickly reached the top of the Taiwan region's daily chart in just three days. On June 18, it topped Thailand's TrueID platform, and on June 19, it was No.1 on the South Korean streaming platform MOA. By July, The Double debuted on Disney+, making it the first Chinese drama to simultaneously stream on Disney+ and Netflix in Taiwan.
Source: Baidu
