LayarHijau – The drama What a Good Girl (好一个乖乖女) is set to be adapted into a longer television series after the short-form version achieved major success last year. The project will be directed by Liu Tan, who previously helmed the drama The Eight (民初奇人传).
In this new adaptation, Xu Mengjie and Ren Shihao will play the two lead characters. Xu Mengjie will portray the female lead Lu Mingyu, while Ren Shihao will take on the role of the male lead Duan Xiuming. The series is planned to run for 24 episodes, each lasting more than 20 minutes, placing it in the mid-length drama category.
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Previously, the short drama version of What a Good Girl became one of the standout titles on the Hongguo platform during last year’s Spring Festival season. The vertical-format series recorded more than 4 billion cumulative views across platforms, with a completion rate of 68 percent—far exceeding the industry average.
Its popularity was also reflected in online discussions. Topics related to the drama accumulated more than 3.8 billion reads across various platforms. The short drama’s lead actors, Ke Chun and Yu Yin, quickly gained large numbers of new followers thanks to the show, making them a typical example of how short dramas can rapidly create new stars.
This success ultimately led to the IP being developed into a longer series.
Interestingly, the new project is not adapted from the same web novel as the short drama. Instead, the full-length drama is directly upgraded from the hit vertical short drama itself. This type of adaptation marks an important shift in the industry, where the relationship between long-form and short-form dramas is moving from a one-way model to a two-way exchange.
Over the past year, the collaboration between long-form and short-form drama IPs has clearly undergone a noticeable shift.
At first, the short drama industry adapted many popular long-drama IPs. Major series such as Joy of Life (庆余年), Ashes of Love (香蜜沉沉烬如霜), and The Prisoner of Beauty (折腰) all launched short drama spin-offs. These lighter productions allowed the industry to extend audience attention while maximizing the commercial value of existing IPs.
Later, the content industry began exploring more diverse strategies with simultaneous development across different formats. One example is the project How Dare You!? (成何体统), which was developed across animation, short drama, and long drama formats at the same time. In this model, the short drama often serves as the initial breakthrough to attract attention, while the long drama expands the story on a larger scale.
Now, however, a new phenomenon is emerging: short dramas themselves are becoming the original source of IP for long-form adaptations.
This shift reflects a change in industry logic. Short dramas are no longer seen merely as quick, click-driven entertainment. Instead, they are increasingly viewed as a content testing ground with lower production costs, smaller risks, and the ability to quickly gauge audience response. When a story proves successful in short form, a full-length drama can leverage the existing audience base to reduce the risk of failure.
Another factor behind this trend is the growing pressure faced by the long-form drama industry in competing for audience attention. In recent years, the rapid rise of short dramas has created a push-and-pull dynamic between the two formats. Amid a shortage of original scripts and the uncertain chances of producing hit series, many producers have begun turning to IPs that have already been validated by the market.
At the same time, the storytelling style of short dramas—fast-paced narratives filled with intense conflicts, frequent twists, and dense emotional moments—has also begun shaping audience viewing habits. This trend is indirectly pushing long-form dramas to improve narrative efficiency, giving rise to what some observers describe as the “short-drama style” of long-form storytelling.
However, not every short drama can easily be transformed into a long series.
From a production standpoint, the shift from vertical short dramas to horizontal full-length dramas involves more than simply expanding the screen format. It also requires expanding the narrative structure, upgrading production quality, and reaching a broader audience. As a result, the story itself must have the potential to appeal to viewers beyond its original niche.
The adaptation strategy for What a Good Girl is expected to retain the key elements that made the short drama popular—especially the satisfying premise of a seemingly gentle female protagonist who secretly carries out a calculated revenge, along with the intense push-and-pull dynamic between two equally strong characters.
At the same time, the long-form version will expand the story with additional layers, including family conflicts, workplace storylines, and deeper character development. This approach aims to build a more complete narrative that fits the viewing habits of long-form drama audiences.
Looking ahead, this type of adaptation is unlikely to remain a single case. As short dramas move from the margins to the center of the industry—evolving from mere traffic generators into full-fledged IP sources—the long-form drama sector is also entering a new phase that is more efficient, more market-oriented, and closer to audience preferences.
The trend of adapting “from short to long,” along with the growing exchange of IP between the two formats, is likely to become increasingly common. Ultimately, however, whether a drama succeeds in winning over audiences will still depend on one thing: the strength of its content.
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