Source: Hong Kong Movie Nostalgia
In the blink of an eye, half of 2024 has passed, and the domestic drama market in the first half of the year can be described as a hundred flowers blooming and lively.
In terms of genres, there are period dramas, spy war dramas, ancient puppets and modern heroine dramas, and the types are very rich.
From the perspective of popularity, from "Flowers" and "South to North" at the beginning of the year, to the recent top hits "Ink Rain Clouds" and "The Story of Roses", the competition between high-quality dramas almost runs through the timeline of the first half of the year.
The ratings here are rising, and the topic has reached a new high there, and the audience is like walking into a kaleidoscope of national dramas, and they are overwhelmed.
Today, let's take the topic popularity as a reference and the score as the ranking criterion, let's take a mid-year inventory and review the 10 most popular dramas in the first half of the year.
Let's start with Part 10 -
No.10 "Cheng Huan Ji" scored 6.2
"Chenghuan Ji" starring Yang Zi, Xu Kai, Niu Junfeng and others is adapted from the novel of the same name by female writer Yishu.
Yishu has become a frequent visitor to female urban dramas in recent years.
For example, "The First Half of My Life", "The Golden Years", and "The Story of Roses", which will be talked about later, are all adapted from her novels.
The configuration of traffic stars + powerful actors, coupled with the blessing of Yishu IP, basically belongs to the type that must explode in the market.
In fact, this drama has indeed received a lot of attention from the audience, and the peak ratings of the Central Eight once broke 2, and the number of online broadcasts has also reached 1 billion+.
However, this drama also caused a lot of controversy during the broadcast, and netizens discussed the adaptation alone.
For example, the conventional configuration of crazy parents that is often found in domestic family dramas, "Cheng Huan Ji" is not exempt from vulgarity.
In the play, the mother played by He Saifei was complained by netizens that she was too controlling, and her excessive involvement in her daughter's private life was "suffocating".
seems to care about his daughter's meticulous care, but in fact, he takes everything about his daughter into his own hands, and even deceives his daughter into marrying the rich second generation in the later period.
In addition, the accidental encounter between the male and female protagonists, the death of relatives in car accidents, and the reconciliation of mother's illness and other bloody episodes are also important reasons for the low evaluation of this drama.
Dog blood, suspension, idolization, when will the "three-board axe" of urban life dramas change into routines?
No.9 "Between the Ink Rain Clouds" has a score of 6.6
In the first half of the year, the wealth of the costume drama was made by Yu Zheng after all.
"Between the Ink Rain and Clouds" has its own topic when it was launched, not only did it instantly beat the "King of the Year" and "Fox Demon Little Red Lady" next door, but the popularity was even closer to the annual hit "Celebrating More Than Years 2".
The plot of "Ink Rain and Clouds" is really a "cool" word, the heroine in the early stage is "reborn" and transforms into the daughter of the Prime Minister's house, the stepmother fights her ex-husband, and the male protagonist incarnates as a super god of war in the later stage.
In addition to the male and female protagonists, the femme fatale stepmother played by Chen Qiaoen and the crazy eldest princess played by Li Meng are all popular villains full of tension, which makes the audience love and hate them.
Especially the tragic fate of the eldest princess in the later period, which makes the arc of this character plump.
was humiliated in the years when the enemy country was hostage, and the red blood in the cold lake water during the abortion made the audience unbearable to look at it directly.
Outside the play, Li Mengyin was finally seen by more people because of the role of the eldest princess, and Wu Jinyan and Wang Xingyue, the on-screen CP, were loved by many netizens, and Yu Zheng was also ready to let them pair up.
Although there are bugs in the details and even some intelligence reduction, such a fast-paced and refreshing revenge drama is still a very good "electronic mustard" for the audience.
No.8 "Walking with the Phoenix" scored 7.2
This year's works in the ancient puppet market with word-of-mouth and ratings are lackluster, and "Walking with the Phoenix" is one of the best.
This is also the second cooperation between Zhao Liying and Lin Gengxin after "The Legend of Chu Qiao", and this time the two pairings are also making countless ancient puppet fans look forward to it, and they are looking forward to the "Star and Moon Myth" being combined again.
Living up to expectations, after the broadcast of "Walking with the Phoenix", the hot search topics continued, the love between the sick boyfriend and the female god of war was sweet and funny every day, and the two redeemed each other in the later stage, and the plot of staying together for life despite all difficulties also abused and cried a lot of fans.
I have to say that after "Article 20", Zhao Liying's acting skills have become more and more pleasing to the eye, and she plays the god of war Shen Li, the king of Bicang, who is powerful and domineering, especially the eye drama is very brilliant.
When he was stabbed by his subordinates, the despair and disbelief in Shen Li's eyes filled with a sense of brokenness.
In the face of a strong enemy, the firmness and calmness in his eyes can show the powerful aura of the character to the fullest.
Although there were some controversies in the later stage of the broadcast because of the plot setting and other reasons, on the whole, "Walking with the Phoenix" is still a top-notch existence in ancient puppet dramas in recent years.
No.7 "South to North" scored 7.2
As the opening drama of CCTV this year, although "South to North" failed to achieve the effect of "The World" that year, it is still quite eye-catching in terms of ratings.
As soon as it was broadcast, the ratings of eight sets of CCTV broke 3%, and the peak reached 4%, setting a record for CCTV's ratings in recent years.
The director of this drama is Zheng Xiaolong, who has directed "The Legend of Zhen Huan" and "Golden Wedding".
Screenwriter Gao Mantang has single-handedly created classic period dramas such as "Breaking through the Guandong", "Old Farmer", and "The North Wind That Blows".
The two bigwigs joined forces to tell a story about the "little people and big times" of the railway police.
Gao Mantang also tried to integrate social hot topics such as anti-pickpocketing and anti-abduction, and the combination of detective elements and nostalgic life scenes of criminal investigation dramas is a new attempt in period dramas.
The whole drama gives people a lively Northeast flavor of ballast, and it is absolutely qualified as a "New Year's drama".
In addition, the railway policeman Ma Kui played by Ding Yongdai and Wang Xin played by Bai Jingting in the play, the master-apprentice relationship between the two who love and kill each other has also touched many audiences.
Yuling played by Jiang Yan left a deep impression on the audience in her ill-fated life encounters, becoming the most embarrassing out-of-the-circle female supporting actress this year, and successfully won the Magnolia Award.
No.6 "Celebrating More Than Years 2" has a score of 7.2
If you want to say that the first hit in the first half of the year, it must be "Celebrating More Than Years 2".
Before the start of the broadcast, the number of reservations in the goose factory station reached an unprecedented 18 million, and after the broadcast, it was a double explosion on the Taiwan network.
The average rating of the Central Eight was 1.76%, with a peak of 2%, and it topped the ratings championship of the day.
In less than an hour after the online broadcast, the popularity value exceeded 30,000, setting a historical record, and even the goose factory personally certified the title of "Drama King" of "Celebrating More Than Years".
The plot of "Celebrating More Than Years 2" of the Return of the King starts low and goes high, and after the farce of fake death ends, the story seems to really enter the main topic of tension and excitement.
The court debated, the spring proctoring, the assassination in the hanging temple, and the fighting house in the south of the Yangtze River, the climactic plot made the audience enthusiastic.
In addition, "Fan Xian's Father Heavenly Troupe" shocked the audience again and again in the performance, Emperor Qing's sensitivity and suspicion, Chen Pingping's strategizing, and Fan Jian's beloved son were heartfelt, all of which made the audience sigh at the strength of Fan Xian's backing.
Although the controversy caused by the substitution of some characters, the flaws are not hidden, which does not affect the excellent quality of "Celebrating More Than Years 2", and I hope that the third part can meet us as soon as possible.
No.5 "The Story of the Rose" has a score of 7.3
I have to say that after Liu Yifei returned to the drama circle, her vision for picking scripts is really a must.
"Menghualu" and "Going to a Windy Place" have exploded one after another, and this year's "Story of Rose" has also attracted much attention and aroused heated discussions.
This drama is also adapted from the novel "Rose Story" by writer Yishu, which tells the emotional story of the heroine Huang Yimei at various stages of her life.
Among the many big heroine dramas with "character collapse", Huang Yimei played by Liu Yifei can be called a clear stream.
After experiencing the pain of first love, the tempering of marriage, and the death of her soulmate, she can still maintain an optimistic and independent attitude towards life and face life bravely.
Liu Yifei can be said to have suffered from the torture of a scumbag and the experience of life in the play, so this drama is also called "The Passion of the Fairy Sister" by netizens, and Huang Yimei's tortuous emotional experience has resonated with countless audiences.
As some netizens said, this kind of Mary Sue plot of "all men love the heroine" has become credible because of Liu Yifei.
No.4 "Spring Sends Lover" scored 7.7
When it comes to romance dramas, many viewers will subconsciously feel a little crooked.
But this "Spring Lover" is a rare romantic drama that is sweet but not greasy.
Just like the title of this literary and romantic play, it uses a healing pastoral style to make people indulge in the yearning for Nazi love.
Between Chen Maidong, the mortician played by Li Xian, and Zhuang Jie, who is disabled, played by Zhou Yutong, from the ignorant emotions of his youth to the rekindling of love after reuniting in his young years, his emotional development is delicate and gentle.
Outside the emotional line, the contradictions between the two due to differences in occupation, living environment, values, etc., are quite objective, and on the premise of mutual understanding and mutual respect, they have not lost their affirmation of themselves.
In addition, in the play, Chen Maidong's professional identity is used to discuss the heavy topic of death, so as to draw out the true meaning of life of cherishing the present and bravely chasing dreams.
Although it failed to explode in popularity, its excellent drama level has provided a correct template for other romance dramas, which is of great significance.
No.3《追风者》评分7.8
At a time when spy war dramas are collectively sluggish, "Wind Chaser" has single-handedly carried the banner of the revival of spy war dramas and rekindled the popularity of spy war themes.
Compared with previous spy war dramas, it chooses to use the rarely seen "financial war" as an incision to show the light and dark contest between the enemy and us in the economic field.
Wei Ruolai, the "financial genius" played by Wang Yibo, under the guidance of Shen Jinzhen and others, has continuously trained to become a qualified member of our team and embarked on the road of the Long March.
In the play, Wang Yibo's performance is remarkable, whether it is the young and ignorant who has just entered the workplace, or the mature and stable temperament exuded after going through hardships, he has just the right handle.
In some moments of emotional outbursts, the change and control of emotions also show the performance ability that young actors should have.
In addition, Wang Yang's performance in the play is also very solid, creating a smart and resolute villain image with a deep city, and his performance strength is obvious to all.
relied on word-of-mouth to play "The Wind Chaser", but because of the subsequent Magnolia Award nomination controversy, it was involved in an unwarranted disaster.
Instead of making noise in awards and positions, it is better to return to the work itself and polish more high-quality products like "The Wind Chaser", which is the right way.
No.2 "Flowers" scored 8.7
Although it will start broadcasting on December 27, 2023, it can be classified as a 2024 episode.
The king of sunglasses "went down" to shoot a TV series, and he is also full of fascinating elegance and romance.
This kind of brilliance created by light and shadow contrasts with Po's love that ended without a problem.
Whether it is the fate between Ah Bao and Miss Wang, or the ambiguity between Li and Li, or the emotional pull of breaking up with Lingzi, it will eventually be forgotten by the Yellow River Road.
Studying each character in detail, whether it is the protagonist or the supporting role, each character has their own complete story line and destiny trajectory.
For example, Ling Hong, who is popular in the market, Mr. Fan, who is the first in sharp words, Manager Pan, who is quiet and wise, and even the three sisters who have few roles, each little person has his own unique arc and charm.
The explosion of "Flowers" has made almost all actors enjoy benefits, needless to say, Hu Ge and Xin Zhilei, especially Tang Yan, who blended with Miss Wang and ushered in the highlight moment of the actors.
This is the charm of a good drama, good money drives out bad money, it will let the audience learn to distinguish the quality of a drama, and it will make the actors glow with the brilliance that originally belonged to them.
At the same time, congratulations to "Flowers" for winning 5 awards in Magnolia.
No.1 "My Altay" scored 8.9
240,000 people gave a high score of 8.9, which can be said to be unbeatable this year, and almost booked the seat of the annual word-of-mouth drama in advance.
This ultra-short drama with only 8 episodes has even single-handedly stimulated Xinjiang's cultural and tourism industry, especially the Altay region, which is full almost every day.
"My Altay" is the director's first short play, adapted from the essay collection of the same name by writer Li Juan.
Originally, Teng Congcong planned to make the original story into a movie, but due to the length of the story, he changed his mind and made it into a short drama with a cinematic texture.
"My Altay" can be described as "beautiful people, beautiful scenery, and more beautiful feelings".
There is not only the original nomadic life form, but also the love of boys and girls who have a good feeling for each other.
The scenery in the play can be called "full wallpaper level", each empty mirror is a painting, holy snow-capped mountains, green meadows, clear lakes, lush forests, every frame is fascinating.
What is commendable is that in addition to the extreme scenery, the group portrait shaping of this drama is also very exciting.
Zhang Fengxia played by Ma Yili is bold and atmospheric, and her character of daring to love and hate makes her look like a grassland heroine, especially the action of pointing a gun at her ex-boyfriend at the end, which makes people look at it a pleasure.
With Ji Fa's rise to become the male god of the whole people, Yu Shi, the Kazakh guy Ba Tai played in the play, rode a horse and raised a whip, pulled a bow and shot arrows, and once again fascinated countless netizens.
A lyrical Kazakh ballad makes people see the infinite possibilities of Yu Shi as an actor.
As a healing drama, the success of "My Altay" is not only because of the meticulous carving of the picture, but also because it captures the most realistic appearance of life.
Before poetry and distance, remember to learn to live first, this is the true meaning of this drama.
Overall, the national drama market in the first half of the year looks quite lively, but there are not many works that are really well-known.
But being able to see "Flowers" and "My Altay" is a "unique" level drama, which can be regarded as a lot of encouragement for national dramas.
I hope that domestic dramas in the second half of the year will make persistent efforts to make high-quality hit dramas become the norm in the market! (Written by Pipi Shrimp)