LayarHijau– As 2025 powerfully draws to a close, various platforms and industry agencies have begun releasing their definitive data on the dramas aired throughout the year. Tencent Video, for instance, kicked off the season by publishing its list of the most popular Chinese drama characters on its platform.
The focus now shifts to Yunhe, which has released its list of the year’s most popular dramas based on average episode viewership. The urban romance drama starring Zhao Lusi and William Chan, Love’s Ambition, emphatically took the lead with an average viewership of 65.77 million per episode. The drama successfully outperformed Tan Jianci’s hit, Under the Skin Season 2, thus securing Love’s Ambition’s position as number one on this chart.
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Third place was secured by the crime drama Drifting Away, starring Zhao Jinmai. Fourth place went to Legend of Zang Hai, starring Xiao Zhan. Meanwhile, the highly anticipated Guardians of the Dafeng, led by Dylan Wang, rounds out the top five.
Love’s Ambition set absolutely remarkable records. Within just 16 days of its premiere, the drama secured the title of Tencent’s most popular drama of the year. Its popularity index on the platform soared to 32,638 points. Total viewership reached 2.1 billion, with the average viewing per episode hitting 65.7 million. This performance positioned it as the most popular drama in China based on Yunhe data.
The series not only catapulted Zhao Lusi and William Chan to a new level of stardom but also successfully revitalized Tencent’s performance, which had previously been stagnant. Rumors suggest that the massive success of Love’s Ambition has provided strong ammunition for Zhao Lusi in her ongoing dispute with her management company, Galaxy Cool Entertainment.
Under the Skin Season 2, starring Tan Jianci and Jin Shijia, followed the success of its first season. Airing simultaneously on Tencent Video and iQiyi, the drama featured a thrilling and suspenseful investigation plot. Its per-episode viewership reached 65.73 million, just a whisker-thin margin behind Love’s Ambition, earning it second place.
Young star Zhao Jinmai paired with veteran actor Guo Jingfei in the 14-episode iQiyi-produced crime drama Drifting Away. The series narrates an intense effort to clear a good name and uncover the truth, packed with tension from start to finish. Industry experts noted that the plagiarism controversy surrounding the original novel briefly halted promotions, suggesting its final rank could have been even higher without the disruption. It averaged 64.61 million views per episode, placing it third.
Ranks four and five are solidly dominated by costume dramas with male leads. Fourth place was taken by Xiao Zhan’s historical strategy drama, Legend of Zang Hai, while fifth place went to Dylan Wang Hedi’s time-travel drama, Guardians of the Dafeng. Both dramas were so popular that fans were eagerly awaiting a second season announcement. The good news: the producers of Guardians of the Dafeng have already announced that a Season 2 is in the works.
Legend of Zang Hai aired on Youku and CCTV, chronicling the story of the character Zang Hai, who survives the destruction of his family and grows into a brilliant strategist bent on revenge. The drama was directed by Zheng Xiaolong, renowned for his work on Empresses in the Palace. With a solid combination of writer, director, and cast, its popularity is unsurprising. It achieved 55.11 million views per episode and is also available on the Disney+ platform in select regions.
Guardians of the Dafeng aired on Tencent Video, CCTV, and Disney+ (in select regions). Pre-airing, fan enthusiasm was extraordinarily high, reportedly far exceeding the anticipation for dramas with similar themes, such as Joy of Life.
Upon its premiere, audience response in China was initially lukewarm. However, as the story developed, the ratings climbed, and the average per-episode viewership reached 54.67 million. The drama successfully met its targets, and the production team promptly announced the development of Season 2.
Rounding out the list, from sixth to tenth place, are: Yang Mi in This Thriving Land (51.4 million), Yang Zi and Li Xian in Flourished Peony (50 million), Bai Jingting and Zhang Ruonan in The First Frost (42 million), Bai Lu and Ao Ruipeng in Moonlight Mystique (41.7 million), and Song Zu’er with Liu Yuning in The Prisoner of Beauty (39.7 million).
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