My 2026 C-Drama Release Wishlist
- May 26
- 6 min read
Updated: Jun 3
Chinese Dramas have a very spontaneous release schedule and often don't confirm release dates until a week before they are set to air. Taking advantage of the hype of popular actors other airing dramas, CCTV slot openings, and investment fulfillment are just a few of the factors that play into a short notice release schedule.
Period dramas in particular tend to have longer filming schedules, more episodes, and greater post-production needs which extends the time before airing. Filming for these dramas can take around 3-4 months, with post production and censorship approval lasting for an average of 6 months. Drama's can also be "shelved" if a relating topic becomes controversial, an actor or director is cancelled, or the platform doesn't believe it will perform well. All dramas must pass censorship and receive a distribution license, which is a great indicator of the readiness of a drama. I've compiled a list of 15 Chinese Drama's I anticipate will be released for the remainder of 2026 (Posting on 5/26/26). I am fully confident I will be wrong about many of them and my little heart will be crushed.
The First Jasmine (Formerly Mo Li)
Starring: Bai Lu (Kunning Palace, Til the End of the Moon), Cheng Lei (How Dare You?!)
Synopsis: Eldest daughter Ye Li marries the crippled Prince Mo Xiu Yao, while her sister Ye Ying weds Prince Mo Jing Li the same day. A descendant of Lishan, Ye Li secretly seeks revenge on those who wronged her clan. Suspected by her husband, who also hides a revenge plan, the couple gradually become allies. Meanwhile, Prince Jing Li plots to seize the throne. In the end, Ye Li and Mo Xiu Yao join forces to defeat their enemies and restore peace to the empire. @MDL
Platform: Tencent and Disney+
Trailer:
In the Moonlight
Starring: Bao Shang En (Generation to Generation) and Wang Hong Yi (Sword and Beloved)
Synopsis: Li Yao Ying is a princess exiled to a distant land through a forced political marriage. She is saved by the reclusive Sultan Gu also known as Luo Jia, who is devoted to the Gods. Under the desert moon, a single glance sparks a destined love. As war and chaos threaten their world, Li Yao Ying and Luo Jia fight side by side, proving that even in the darkest times, love can light the way. @MDL
Platform: Tencent and IQIYI
Trailer:
Road to Splendor (Formerly Escape to your Heart)
Starring: Ding Yu Xi (Love Game in Eastern Fantasy) and Ancy Deng (Eight Hundred)
Synopsis: Zhao Ling, a generous and affectionate private salt dealer, was born in a humble family, but he had great ambitions. He met Fu Ting Yun, a lady from a noble family who was falsely accused of having an affair, and they were forced to flee together. The two went through many tests from their families and the court, fought against fate, and finally became a legendary couple. @MDL
Platform: Tencent
Trailer:
Hidden Shadow
Starring: Wang Chu Ran (How Dare You?!) and Li Hong Yi (Love Better Than Immortality)
Synopsis: A peculiar girl with dual souls, An Jiu (Mei Jiu), after a bloody struggle, transforms from an ordinary girl into a royal female special agent. Along the way, she encounters young general Chu Ding Jiang, elegant young master Hua Rong Jian, and unique special agent companions. @MDL
Platform: Youku
Trailer:
In Her Eyes
Starring: Xing Fei (This Thriving Land) and Tim Huang (Captain Han)
Synopsis: With the passing of her landlady, Shen Tong, her ever-present "grandson," enters Pei Ling Ling's life and becomes her new landlord. This brings with it a series of strange occurrences... This creates a whole new, "unspeakable" world, shattering Pei Ling Ling's illusions of a peaceful, ordinary life. @MDL
Platform: Youku
Trailer:
Remnants of Gold
Starring: Xin Zhi Lei (The Inner Eye) and Yin Fang (The Long River)
Synopsis: Three hundred thousand taels of gold appear without warning in the vast desert, stirring the winds of fate. Rumor has it that all who seek the treasure are doomed to become vengeful spirits, consumed by greed and madness. On the very first day of his investigation, a Jinyiwei officer falls into insanity. His faithful deputy, lost in the shifting dunes, spirals ever deeper into a struggle between desire and loyalty. Meanwhile, a woman once marked for death—her entire family slaughtered, her body now immune to all poisons—returns to the desert. She willingly places herself at the heart of a brewing storm, making herself the prize in a deadly contest fueled by revenge. @MDL
Platform: Tencent
Trailer:
Key to the Phoenix Heart
Starring: Hou Ming Hao (Glory, Love in the Clouds) and Aim Mi (Literally Everything)
Synopsis: During the rebellion of the powerful feudal lord of Dayou, the realm descends into chaos, and warlords rise across the land. Xiao Wu Yi, the cold and ruthless commander general of the Northern Army, sets up a scheme for the hand of Xie Jia Yu, the money-driven, crafty only daughter of the Grand Tutor Xie Huai Gui, in order to quell the rebellion of the Duke of Changsha. Bound by a marriage ordained by royal edict, it is an arrangement crafted not for love, but to serve hidden agendas, where every gesture masks a scheme and every move is calculated in a greater game of power. @MDL
Platform: IQIYI
Trailer:
Against the Current
Starring: Tan Song Yun (Go Ahead) and Liu Xue Yi (Kill Me, Love Me)
Synopsis: Shen Jia Lan, once a nobleman's granddaughter, falls from grace after her family is falsely accused of treason. Abandoned by her fiancé Lin Jin Qi, she is forced to assume a servant's identity in his household. Despite hardships, she refuses to bow to fate. With resilience and wit, she rises above class barriers, wins Lin Jin Qi's heart, earns the family's respect, and ultimately clears her family's name. @MDL
Platform: Tencent
Trailer:
Tiger Sniff Rose
Starring: Meng Zi Yi (Blossom) and Li Yun Rui (Blossom)
Synopsis: Princess Danyang Mu Wan Yao was ordered to leave Chang An and go to Lingnan to pray for her deceased mother. On the return journey, because the axle of the carriage broke on the mountain road, she met Yan Shang, a scholar who was returning home from the rural school. In the mountains of Lingnan, the two fell in love with each other. @MDL
Platform: Tencent
Teaser:
Spring of the Blade
Starring: Xu Kai (Wonderland of Love) and Zhou Ye (Legend of the Female General)
Synopsis: Xie Qing Yuan, orphaned at a young age, lived on the streets until she met Shen Run, who had been sent to the army after a family tragedy. They parted ways with a promise to survive, and Shen Run gave her a penny as a token. Years later, Xie Qing Yuan returns to Xie Mansion, determined to uncover the truth about her mother's death. As Shen Run rises to power, he is assigned to oversee the Xie family during a crisis. While working together, the two rekindle their bond. Shen Run is drawn to Xie Qing Yuan's courage, intelligence, and optimism, while she grows to trust him as a close ally and friend. @MDL
Platform: IQYI
Trailer:
River of No Return
Starring: Cheng Yi (Sword and Beloved) and Lin Geng Xin (Legend of Shen Li)
Synopsis: In the first year of Hongxi during the Ming Dynasty, Crown Prince Zhu Zhan Ji’s treasure ship sank on the banks of the Qinhuai River in Nanjing, and news came that the emperor was critically ill. The earth-shattering and dramatic changes across the two cities made the prince embark on a frantic journey. He must run more than 1,100 km in 15 days from Nanjing to Beijing to save himself and save the dynasty. @MDL
Platform: IQIYI
Trailer:
A Prophet
Starring: Li Xian (Flourished Peony) and Li Yi Tong (A Dream Within a Dream)
Synopsis: The synopsis is crazy on MDL so to sum up a wealthy man falls in love with an actress and a blind man comes and tells him the actress will be his downfall so then he has to build a temple to find his siblings?
Platform: IQIYI and Tencent
Trailer:
Now or Never
Starring: Ao Rui Peng (Coroner's Diary) and Dai Lu Wa (Moonlight Mystique)
Synopsis: The Chen family, a famous family of martial arts in Dafeng State, was framed and exterminated. More than ten years later, its only surviving descendant Chen Yi was wronged again and became a wanted murderer. In order to find out the truth, Chen Yi, with the help of his good friend Ye Bo, avoided heavy pursuit and came to the first crime scene in Fengze City, a border town. @MDL
Platform: IQIYI
Trailer:
The Sweetest Rebellion
Starring: Xu Ruo Han (The Best Thing) and Daniel Zhou (Sniper Butterfly)
Synopsis: These synopsis get more and more crazy but here you go-- Watch a powerful female CEO from the ancient business world rescue a male Cinderella, break through class boundaries to reshape the rules, grow through adversity, and reach the pinnacle of life together! @MDL
Platform: IQIYI
Teaser:
Love in Red Dust
Starring: Wang Xing Yu (The Double) and Xu Ruo Han (The Best Thing)
Synopsis: These synopsis get more and more crazy but here you go-- Watch a powerful female CEO from the ancient business world rescue a male Cinderella, break through class boundaries to reshape the rules, grow through adversity, and reach the pinnacle of life together! @MDL
Platform: IQIYI
Trailer:
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