Are you new to the C-Drama world? Or Chinese drama fanatics who have missed a lot of series aired in 2022 and want to catch up?
Here are 20 of the most interesting Chinese series in 2022 for you to check out. This list covers all drama genres, from historical fiction, fantasy, and mystery, to action thrillers and romance:
1. Reset - Mystery, Suspense
This is a mystery thriller and a time-loop theme that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Reset is one of the highest-rated Chinese dramas in 2022 so if you have not watched it, you may add it to your list of dramas to catch up.
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| Reset poster |
It's the story of two individuals who are trapped in a time loop while boarding a bus that's about to explode. To wake up from their nightmares and save themselves and other passengers, they need to figure out how to resolve the puzzle of the explosion.
Reset stars Bai Jingting and Angel Zhao. It has 15 episodes only and was originally streamed on Tencent/WeTV. You may read our review and check the link to watch the complete episodes for free with English sub.
2. Liar's Love - Suspense, Crime
Liar's Love is a crime suspense drama starring Zao Yuan Yuan as Su Tang and Hong Yao as Peng Zhe/Jiang Yi.
While watching this drama the first thing that popped up in my mind is the Korean suspense series, "Flower of Evil", but actually Liar's Love is not an adaptation, it is in fact, based on the novel, Xi Xiu Wei Tang.
It tells the story of a married couple, Su Tang and Peng Zhe who runs an art gallery. They seem to be a happily married couple envied by others, but one of them has a dark secret, in fact, a serial murderer.
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| A scene in the trailer of Liar's Love |
The trailer of this drama alone will pick your interest. It shows the glamorous Su Tang dressed in red, happily welcoming her husband, only to be stabbed in the stomach.
It tackles treachery, lies, and dark secrets that haunt the characters. This is a must-see drama if you love suspense and crime thrillers. Original network: iQiYi. Episodes: 16
3. Eight Hours - Sci-Fi, Fantasy, eSports, Romance
Also known as "Save My Love", Eight Hours is a sci-fi romance and eSports drama. It tells the story of two characters traversing in parallel universes - a fictional wuxia world and a modern-day workplace.
Ye Tian, portrayed by Tong Meng Shi, is a tech genius who is the CEO of a tech company, Celeste Group. His company develops Pangu, a virtual reality device that lets users enter into a different universe (more like the metaverse of Mark Zuckerberg), and live like the characters in the online games.
Bai Wei, portrayed by Xiao Yan, is an Augment Reality Expert and is Ye Tian's rival in the Augment Reality Fighting Championship.
In the opening episode, Ye Tian and Bai Wei are neck-to-neck in the championship round. Ye Tian ultimately wins, mocking Bai Wei's defeat.
However, things have a drastic turn when Ye Tian suffers an accident. While testing the Pangu device to check the defects, the device suddenly has an engineering failure which electrocuted Ye Tian.
Almost brain dead, Ye Tian lies comatose in a local hospital. Celeste Group's executives decided to release Pangu, despite its defect, to be tried by the public. Bai Wei is one of the first users to try this device.
As she enters the Pangu system using the code name Sea Flower, she was transported back to the Tang dynasty period, the setting of the Pangu immersive fantasy realm created by Ye Tian.
There, she meets other Pangu players and engages in martial arts to fight enemies, surprisingly, one of the characters in the fantasy realm is Ye Tian.
Exploring Pangu fantasy universe, Bai Wei is shocked to learn that Ye Tian’s real-world consciousness is being trapped within the Pangu system he created.
Explaining what happened to him, and the connection his virtual reality consciousness has with his real-world self, Bai Wei agrees to put aside their differences and help Ye Tian wake up from his coma.
But finding a way to get a virtual consciousness back into the real-world body is a huge challenge. And Bai Wei has only eight hours to figure out how to bring Ye Tian back to reality before the last remnants of his mortal self are deleted permanently.
4. Under the Skin - Suspense, crime, investigative
This has been one of the highest-rated Chinese dramas in 2022, starring Jin Shi Jia and Tan Jian Ci. It has 20 episodes. Here's the plot summary from iQIYI.
Plot summary from iQIYI: The young painter Shen Yi (played by Tan Jian Ci) resigned from the Academy of Fine Arts and entered Haicheng Public Security Bureau mysteriously. Interpol Captain Du Cheng (Jin Shi Jia) was furious and said that he would never accept those who caused his comrade to be killed in the police force.
Five years ago, Shen Yi, who was still a student, was sketching on the street. A man took a picture of a child and asked him to draw what the child would look like as an adult.
However, this painting caused Haicheng detective Lei Yi Fei to be exposed as an undercover agent, and he was killed. And Lei Yi Fei happened to be Du Cheng's long-time friend and confidant.
The strange thing is that, no matter how hard Shen Yi tried to recall for a few years, he couldn't draw the face of the man who asked him to paint the child's photo.
Five years later, the guilt became heavier. In order to find out the truth, Shen Yi accepted the invitation of Director Zhang of the Public Security Bureau and became an artist of the Interpol Team.
Under Zhang Ju’s persuasion and arrangement, Du Cheng was forced to accept Shen Yi as his colleague, but he was still full of annoyance and despised Shen Yi’s “drawing to solve cases,” and the two had a tense working relationship in the team.
However, in several collaborations, Shen Yi has repeatedly cracked the "dead end" of cases with his three-year-old painting, drawing based on audio, micro-color discrimination, and other stunts, which silently impressed Du Cheng.
On the way to uncover the truth of Lei Yi Fei's death, Shen Yi and Du Cheng eventually become partners.
5. Legally Romance - Romance-Comedy, Fantasy
This is one of the most underrated Chinese series in 2022. Other drama fans in the Chinese drama fandom rated this series as "outstanding". It has 33 episodes and was streamed on Tencent/WeTV,
Plot summary: At twenty-eight years old, Qian Wei (Lareina Song) should have been well on her way to establishing herself in her career. However, working as a paralegal for Lu Xun (Z. Tao) has so far proven to be anything but awesome.
Harboring a grudge that dates back to their days as students, Lu Xun has made sure Qian Wei’s life is nothing short of a living hell. But when Qian Wei becomes the victim of a tragic accident, everything changes.
Now in a coma, Qian Wei finds herself in a dream world in which she has reverted back to her teenage self. It’s here, in the world within a world, that she finds a very different Lu Xun. Meeting him in this dream world, Qian Wei discovers an entirely different side of her cold boss.
6. Love Between Fairy and Devil - Fantasy, romance
This is one of the most popular series from mainland China in 2022 starring Dylan Wang and Esther Yu. Plot summary: According to legend, in order to obtain terrible power, Dongfang Qing Cang (played by Dylan Wang) of the Moon Tribe became an emotionless monster.
He killed his father, seized the position of Moon Supreme and led an army of 100,000 Moon Tribe soldiers on a path of devastation. Shuiyuntian (the immortal fairy realm), Cangyan Sea (the Moon Tribe), and Yunmeng Lake (the mortal world) eventually were in grave danger.
To save the world and stop Dongfang Qing Cang and his army, the first God of War of Shuiyuntian destroyed her primordial spirit. Dongfang Qing Cang’s army and primordial spirit were sealed and his body was locked away in Haotian Tower under the immortal bonds of the Haotian Matrix.
However, if his primordial spirit was restored and Dongfang Qing Cang were to break free from his tower, the world would be in danger once more. Legend says that only the Goddess of Xishan can prevent this catastrophe, but she vanished without a trace.
Thirty thousand years after the first God of War’s sacrifice, there was a disturbance in the Haotian Matrix. While attempting to help the new God of War reinforce the Matrix, Orchid (played by Esther Yu), a weak and low-ranking flower fairy, accidentally finds herself inside Haotian Tower and face-to-face with the Moon Supreme himself. Their encounter sets off a chain of events that threatens to change the fate of the world once again.
7. Lighter and Princess - romance
This has been one of the most popular Chinese series in 2022 because of the solid plot, well-written characters, and talented lead cast - Arthur Chen (Chen Fei Yu and Zhang Jing Yi.
Lighter and Princess is a coming-of-age drama, full of cute and sweet moments between the two lead characters. And their interaction is enough to reduce viewers into fits of giggles. Arthur Chen and Zhang Jing Yi have great on-screen chemistry.
Plot summary from Viki.com:
Li Xun (Arthur Chen) is a cool and calculating computer programming ace who gained special admission to college. To others, he can sometimes seem aloof and distant, but this is mainly down to his worldview: He sees life as one great big computer program, and only feels comfortable when he is in control of what is going on. He knows nothing of love – considering it to be an emotion that may be beyond his understanding.
Zhu Yun, meanwhile, is a clean-living and innocent young woman who has just begun her college life after doing everything her parents and society expected of her to the best of her ability. When she meets Li Xun, she feels conflicted.
She worries that he is a disruptive influence and a possible troublemaker, but still feels somehow drawn to him. Although they seem to butt heads at first, they start to begin cherishing their time together. But when a life-altering incident threatens to separate them – just as romance was starting to brew – their affection is about to undergo the ultimate test!
8. New Life Begins - historical, romance comedy
This is the first time that I watched Bai Jingting in a costume/historical drama. The last three of his series I binge-watched, Whirlwind Girl season 1, Reset, and You Are My Hero, are all modern dramas.
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| Bai Jingting and Tian Xiwei |
True enough, in a Bai Jingting fashion of playing a drama character, there's a comical relief in his role here. And it's somewhat hilarious and entertaining. So this is definitely a must-watch Bai Jingting starrer.
Plot summary:
Li Wei (played by Tian Xiwei) arrives in Xin Chuan for marriage selection into the royal family, but she secretly hopes to return home unselected. She just wants to work and live in her hometown.
Yin Zheng (Bai Jingting), the 6th Prince of Xin Chuan is somewhat an unfavored prince. Nonetheless, he is ambitious albeit cautious. He has also been suffering from gastric problems, thus, is thought to be a weak man. He is also choosy about food.
Much to the disappointment of Li Wei, Yin Zheng chooses her to be his wife. Despite the loveless start of their romance, they slowly fall in love as they start their new life together.
9. The Blue Whisper - fantasy, romance
One thing that got me interested to watch this drama was due to the director, Zhu Ruibin, who directed great historical and fantasy dramas: The Long Ballad (2021), Skate Into Love (2020), Eternal Love of Dream (2020), Ashes of Love (2018), The Classic of Mountains and Seas (2016), and Legend of Ban Shu (2015) among others.
The Blue Whisper drama was actually the fourth collaboration of Zhu Ruibin and Dilraba Dilmurat (after Legend of Ban Shu, Eternal Love of Dream, and The Long Ballad).
It's a fantasy drama that tells the story of a powerful and talented demon master, Ji Yun He (Dilraba Dilmurat) who is blessed with a unique gift, able to tame any demon. She lives in Flower Valley and loathes a dark secret that restricts her from exploring the world at her leisure.
Changyi (Allen Ren) is a merman who appears in the Valley, courtesy of the cruel Princess Shunde. Her Royal Highness commands Yun He to make the merman speak human words, cut his tail, give her his pearl and be loyal.
But there is a catch! Yun must enlist the aid of Lin Hao Qing, her adopted brother and sworn enemy. Keeping company with the merman has Yun He becoming closer to him. In time, she will have to make the fateful choice between the merman‘s freedom and her very own.
10. Unchained Love - Historical, palace intrigues
Dylan Wang's acting shines in this drama. Definitely, this is one of his best series so far. He is being paired with Chen Yu Qi for the first time. In as much as we love him in Love Between Fairy and Devil, Dylan portrays a different character here.
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| Dylan Wang and Chen Yu Qi |
During the Longhua period, Xiao Duo is a fake eunuch who enters the palace to avenge the death of a loved one. While Bu Yin Lou (Chen Yu Qi) is a woman from the emperor’s household. She is condemned to die and is supposed to be buried with the late emperor but Xiao Duo rescues her at the request of Fu Wang (Peter Ho).
Yin Lou then stays at Xiao Duo's manor, and they grow closer to each other, but needs to conceal what they feel. But Yin Lou wants to take her chances and be with the man she loves despite the impending trouble.
11. City Streamer - Crime thriller, historical, romance
This is one of the most underrated Chinese dramas in 2022 but the story is actually interesting. The plot itself tells the story of a spy who enters the service at her target. It stars Jing Tian and Timmy Xu.
Plot summary: Set in the Shanghai Shores at the beginning of the 20th century, where warlords begin to seize their powers; many heroes emerge, and revolutionary movements begin to rise. Making use of their wealth, the influential Rong family often abused their powers to commit various heinous crimes.
In order to uphold justice, Feng Shi Zhen decided to embark on the road of revenge. She successfully sneaked into the Rong family, and became a tutor of the young master Rong Jia Shang.
However, in the midst of testing and making use of each other, Feng Shi Zhen slowly finds herself falling for the enemy's son.
When the truth of the injustice and grievances that happened twenty years ago begin to surface, the two lovers who were initially in two different camps work together to brave through numerous hurdles, and ultimately reveal the shocking truth.
12. Hello The Sharpshooter - romance
If you are looking for some cutesy romantic drama, this series might get you interested. It stars Hu Yi Tian and Xing Fei.
Plot summary:
Many years ago, when they were high schoolers, Tang Xin (Xing Fei) met the tall and dashing Shen Qing Yuan (Hu Yi Tian). She instantly fell for him, although she didn’t tell him at the time.
He told her that he wouldn’t forget her, but since then, their paths have gone in different directions. She has become a trainee reporter, while he has become the country’s leading 50-meter pistol shooter, heading China’s bid for Olympic glory.
As the pistol shooting team prepares for the Olympics, Tang Xin is assigned to interview him. But when she is suddenly confronted by the man she held a candle for, she is overcome with nerves.
He, meanwhile, is dismissive and cold toward her. Tang Xin is assigned to film and interviews the team as it prepares for the Olympics, but Shen Qing Yuan finds that he is unsettled by her presence, as it even starts to interfere with his performance.
He cannot seem to understand why his aim is affected by Tang Xin. But as they spend more time together, he starts to wonder if he isn’t perhaps falling for her. Will Olympic glory – and maybe romance – come calling?
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