China News Service, Beijing, October 15th (Reporter Wang Shiyao) A domestic drama has not yet become a big hit in China, but it has become popular overseas; the workplace stories performed by Chinese actors have been followed by audiences as far away as Brazil; and the comment areas of many domestic dramas are filled with foreign netizens busy discussing Amway plots and characters in various languages...
Nowadays, when domestic dramas go overseas, some new changes are taking place.
"Early Spring" ranked second on Netflix's global non-English TV series weekly list.
Domestic dramas go overseas and "Four Musketeers" work together
This year, the "Four Musketeers" of domestic dramas, composed of "Chasing Jade", "Early Spring Sunny", "Orchid Fragrance Remains Like Old" and "Irreplaceable", have become representative samples of this craze.
Among them, "Early Spring Sunny" performed particularly eye-catchingly. According to relevant statistics, the show ranked second on Netflix's global non-English drama weekly list just 5 days after its launch, setting a record for a mainland Chinese drama on the list. It also entered the top ten of daily lists in 54 countries and regions.
The American "Time" magazine reported "Early Spring Sunny".
What is even more noteworthy is that the popularity of this drama has extended from the streaming media list to overseas media and social platforms. The American "Time" magazine made a special report on the popularity of "Early Spring" and analyzed its impact on the future overseas release of domestic dramas. In the comment area of the report, many overseas viewers praised the show, and some thanked it for recommending it.
Viewers left messages in the comment area.
Starring Jing Boran's overseas social account also attracted many foreign viewers. Some viewers said that they had watched "Early Spring" twice or more and thanked him as an actor for bringing such an excellent work.
Overseas netizens left messages to support Jing Boran.
From being on the charts to attracting media attention, to viewers taking the initiative to re-watch and leaving comments, the overseas popularity of "Early Spring Sunny" is no longer just a playback number.
"Chasing Jade" is also gaining momentum. Not only has it become the most popular Chinese costume drama on Google in the world since 2025, it is also the first domestic drama to rank among the top ten of Netflix's global non-English drama weekly list for four consecutive weeks, with a cumulative viewing count of over 10 million times.
The popularity of the series has also brought the actors overseas attention. Starring Zhang Linghe's popularity has soared with "Chasing Jade", and France's largest newspaper "Ouest-France" published a full-page personal report on him.
According to relevant reports, this is the first time that a Chinese actor has appeared in such a large-scale report in the newspaper in his personal capacity. The report directly called him "China's new superstar taking France by storm", and reviewed many masterpieces such as "Chasing Jade", "Ningan Like a Dream" and "Clouds of the Feather". It also specifically mentioned that he has both oriental elegance and French classical charm.
France's largest newspaper "Ost Française" reported on Zhang Linghe.
When a drama becomes popular, the actors will be noticed by overseas mainstream media, which means that the communication effect of domestic dramas is extending beyond the drama series. Overseas audiences no longer just follow the plot, but also begin to get to know the actors and pay attention to their other works.
"Lanxiang Ruyi" won the 2026 Disney+ Taiwan region's 2026 viewing hours championship for all dramas, and ranked first on WeTV's popular charts in multiple markets including Singapore, the United States, Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines.
"Irreplaceable" has followed the path of "before it becomes a big hit at home, it becomes popular overseas first". In its first week, it ranked 7th on Netflix's global non-English drama list, with 2 million views; the series also entered the top 10 in 24 countries and regions around the world. This also shows that the overseas spread of domestic dramas has begun to have a driving force independent of domestic popularity.
Three changes in the logic of going overseas
The collective outbreak of the "Four Musketeers" is no accident. Behind it is a deep change in the logic of domestic dramas going overseas.
First, the platform strategy has shifted from “borrowing ships” to “building ships”. In the past, domestic dramas mostly relied on free platforms such as YouTube or regional Chinese channels to export overseas, and their influence was limited. Nowadays, "Early Spring" and "Chasing Jade" are directly listed on Netflix's global charts, which shows that domestic dramas have entered the core recommendation position of global mainstream streaming media, competing with traditional non-English content such as Korean dramas and Spanish dramas.
Second, localization has moved from “subtitles” to “dubbing + cultural translation”. The breakthrough of "Early Spring" in the Brazilian market was indispensable to the local Portuguese dubbing. Domestic dramas going overseas are no longer satisfied with the limited dissemination of "Chinese-speaking audiences + subtitles", but reach non-Chinese-speaking mainstream audiences through dubbing and localized marketing.
Third, the narrative types are diversified, with breakthroughs in workplace, ancient costumes, and emotions. "Early Spring" has opened up the global market with its workplace narrative and delicate emotions, "Chasing Jade" has ranked first in Google searches for its costume genre, and "The Orchid Fragrance Is Still the Same" has attracted audiences from many countries to go crazy with its plot tension. Different themes have found overseas audiences, which shows that domestic dramas no longer rely on a single hit type when going overseas, but instead form a multi-content matrix.
"Irreplaceable" ranked seventh on Netflix's global non-English drama list in its first week.
Still need to think coldly despite the craze
The achievements of "The Four Musketeers" are worthy of recognition, but domestic dramas are still in a climbing period when going overseas. Compared with the long-term dominance of Korean dramas on global streaming media platforms, the outbreak of domestic dramas is still an isolated case.
Although the "Irreplaceable" model of "domestic failure, overseas first move" is inspiring, it also shows that there has not yet been a stable mutual promotion between overseas popularity and domestic industrial cycles.
At present, domestic dramas have entered the top ten weekly lists of global mainstream streaming media, but there is still a gap between them and their true cultural influence. How to get overseas audiences to go from "watching a drama" to "following a genre of drama" is a question that needs to be answered in the next stage of the overseas release of domestic dramas.
"The Four Musketeers" has proven that domestic dramas have the ability to occupy a place on mainstream global streaming media platforms, allowing audiences with different languages and different cultural backgrounds to stay for the same story.
From "sporadic overseas expansion" to "large-scale landing", the routes for domestic dramas to overseas are broadening. What is needed next is more "Four Musketeers" and the industrial capabilities to turn this craze from "phenomenon" to "normal".
