LayarHijau — Chinese social media platform Weibo has announced the five dramas it certified as hits of 2026. Pursuit of Jade (逐玉) ranked first, followed by Small Town Remedy (小城良方). The Early Spring (早春晴朗) placed third, Against the Current (兰香如故) fourth, and The Lead (主角) fifth.
To make the list, a drama must meet three criteria. It needs more than 30 million qualified engagements. It must appear at least 600 times in total across Weibo’s two Hot Search rankings. And its popularity index must stay above 100 million for at least three days.
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No. 1: Pursuit of Jade
This romantic period drama stars Zhang Linghe and Tian Xiwei. Pursuit of Jade recorded 70.18 million qualified engagements and appeared 1,876 times on the Hot Search rankings. Its popularity index stayed above 100 million for 10 days.
The story follows a butcher’s daughter in a small town who raises her younger sister on her own. During a snowstorm, she rescues a badly wounded man. He turns out to be a young general with the title of marquis, hiding his true identity. To keep her family home from being seized by a relative, she asks him to marry into her family. What starts as an arrangement slowly turns into real love, and then is tested by war.
The drama drew criticism over its storytelling and the male lead’s look, especially in battle scenes. Still, its visuals, directed by Zeng Qingjie, who also directed Blossom (九重紫), won wide praise, and clips of its scenes were widely shared on social media.
No. 2: Small Town Remedy
This medical drama marks Xiao Zhan’s return to television series. Small Town Remedy earned 44.69 million qualified engagements and appeared 719 times on the Hot Search rankings. Its popularity index stayed above 100 million for three days.
Xiao Zhan plays a gifted doctor who hits rock bottom after a major blow in his life. He is forced to return to his hometown in northeastern China and look for a new footing at a small hospital. There he gathers a ragtag team of people with very different personalities to look after local residents’ health. Instead of complex surgeries at big hospitals, the drama focuses on the daily lives of medical workers in a small town with limited resources.
The drama premiered on October 21 on CCTV-8 and iQIYI and runs 28 episodes. According to Chinese media, it became the fastest drama to earn Weibo’s hit certification as of the announcement.
No. 3: The Early Spring
This urban romance stars Jing Boran and Sun Qian. It recorded 38.20 million qualified engagements and appeared 1,323 times on the Hot Search rankings. Its popularity index topped 100 million for three days.
Shang Zhitao, a woman from an ordinary educational background who has moved to Beijing, lands a job at a top advertising agency. On her first day, her boss, Luan Nian, a brilliant but sharp-tongued creative director, tells her to give up. Brave and relentless, Shang Zhitao grows into a capable employee and gradually breaks down Luan Nian’s guarded heart. Their forbidden relationship lasts for years, marked by breakups and reunions.
Jing Boran’s performance as Luan Nian drew praise. The Early Spring also reached No. 2 on Netflix’s global chart for non-English TV series. Some viewers criticized the drama for romanticizing a relationship with a power imbalance, and some workplace scenes were seen as unrealistic.
No. 4: Against the Current
This period drama stars Tan Songyun and Liu Xueyi. It gathered 33.92 million qualified engagements and appeared 1,634 times on the Hot Search rankings. Its popularity index topped 100 million for three days.
The story follows Shen Jialan, the eldest granddaughter of a high-ranking court official, who is engaged to Lin Jinqi, from the family of the Minister of Personnel. After her grandfather is accused of treason, her family is wiped out and the Lin family cancels the engagement. A pair of servants from the Lin household save her by swapping her identity with that of their daughter, Xu Lanxiang, who has just died. From then on, she lives as a third-rank maid in her former fiancé’s home. With kindness and intelligence, she gradually rises, wins Lin Jinqi’s heart, and fights to clear her family’s name. The drama earned praise for its visuals, costumes and classical Chinese garden settings.
Criticism targeted its slow pacing, overly preachy dialogue, and some changes from the source story. On Weibo, the drama opened with a score of 8.7, then rose twice to 8.9.
No. 5: The Lead
The Lead gathered 32.41 million qualified engagements and appeared 687 times on the Hot Search rankings. Its popularity index stayed above 100 million for three days, and its Weibo score reached 9.4.
The drama stars Liu Haocun, Zhang Jiayi, Qin Hailu and Shawn Dou. It is adapted from the novel of the same name by Chen Yan, a writer from Shaanxi Province and winner of the Mao Dun Literature Prize, one of China’s most prestigious literary awards. Zhang Yimou serves as executive producer.
The story begins in the 1970s. Hu Sanyuan, a drummer with a county opera troupe, signs up his niece, a shepherd girl from a remote mountain village, and renames her Yi Qin’e. He takes her out of the village to learn Qinqiang opera, one of China’s oldest forms of opera. The drama follows Yi Qin’e through many obstacles until she becomes a renowned Qinqiang performer. Her life spans more than four decades and reflects the changing times.
The Lead’s place on the list is a surprise, since traditional-arts dramas tend to appeal to middle-aged and older viewers, who are less active in driving trending topics on social media. Its average rating on CCTV-1 reached 4.210%, with a peak of 4.615%. That makes it the highest-rated TV drama of 2026 and the second highest since 2018, behind Six Sisters.
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