Among Chinese dramas broadcast and distributed since the start of 2026, only three works have currently surpassed a popularity index, "Heat," of 30,000 on video streaming services.

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On the 25th, the official account of video streaming service Tencent Video (騰訊視頻) announced on Chinese SNS Weibo (微博). The three works that achieved over 30,000 "Heat" in 2026 were all distributed on Tencent Video: "The Proud Sun," "Jade Dynasty: The Jade Lord," and "The Protagonist."

Modern romance "The Proud Sun" stars Song Weilong (宋威龍) and Zhao Jinmai (趙今麦). Based on the novel of the same name by popular author Gu Man (顧漫), it set a new highest "Heat" in the modern idol drama genre on Tencent Video since 2024. The viewership demographic showed a clear trend of younger audiences, with viewers aged 35 and under accounting for 62% of the total, which also became a topic of discussion. As a result, the commercial value of the two lead actors, including their endorsements and brand contracts, significantly increased.

The historical drama "Jade Dynasty: The Jade Lord," starring Zhang Linghe (張凌赫) and Tian Xiwei (田曦薇), recorded the highest "Heat" of the year at 31,248. It was distributed on Tencent Video, iQiyi (愛奇芸), and Netflix. On Netflix, it secured the top spot in the weekly rankings in 15 countries. Furthermore, it became a work that simultaneously achieved over 10,000 "Heat" on both Tencent Video and iQiyi platforms. With 78 sponsors, it also broke the all-time advertising records on both platforms. It demonstrated overwhelming strength in both commercial value and popularity.

Starring Liu Haocun (劉浩存), "The Protagonist" began broadcasting and distributing on state-owned television China Central Television (CCTV) and Tencent Video on the 10th. Based on the novel of the same name, which won China's highest-ranking novel award, the Mao Dun Literature Prize, it depicts the traditional opera Qinqiang (秦腔) and the human drama surrounding it, set in China's northwestern region. On CCTV, the peak instantaneous viewership rating surpassed 4%, and on Tencent Video, it achieved over 30,000 "Heat" at the fastest rate for the epic narrative genre. (Mathilda)