Considering how they start and end at different times, web dramas tend to follow their own pace but there’s no denying that Flying Tiger hitting 100 million views within the first hour is quite an impressive start. I feel like the hype has to come from its veteran cast that has come together to make what could be another classic Hong Kong cop drama. Nostalgia can only last so long, so I’d be curious see how the show holds up in the coming weeks.
Ron Ng who is one of the leading men along with Michael Miu and Bosco Wong says that there may be hope for a sequel with everyone’s continued support. Meanwhile, here’s a look at how the other web dramas are doing.
The Legend of Dugu hits 4 billion views. It’s been almost two months since its premiere and even though it hasn’t accumulated enough to unseat The Flame’s Daughter, which premiered later and ended earlier with 5 billion views, it’s a considerable effort nonetheless.
Siege in Fog hits 2 billion views a little over a month since its premiere.
Secret of the Three Kingdoms, which premiered late March rises fast to hit the 1 billion mark as of this week.
Tree in the River also premiered late March and it has reached 100 million views as of this week.
The next three on the list are dramas that air on tv and online. Online views seem to trend higher for such shows in general. Only Side By Side With You easily reaches 3 billion views when it also premiered in late March.
Long Time No See settles for half of that with 1.5 billion views. It seems to make up for the lower online views by outperforming the rest of the primetime shows on tv. It has been ranking in 1st according to CSM52 / CSM35 Cities ratings.
The Great Expectations which just premiered on April 1 also pulls in decent numbers with 1 billion views as of this week.
Bobatea
Flying Tiger is pretty okay so far, tho its a bit weird to watch them dub in Mandarin when you know they speak Cantonese. it def makes u nostalgia as u'll see a lot of familiar faces if you love TVB dramas.
Sunny
Thanks for keeping us updated on these webnumber dramas. I guess it will become more and more relevant with the sanctions on costume dramas.
Anne J
your welcome, and thank you for your comments as always:)
Yes! I find it interesting to track these now. I used to not watch a lot of web dramas, but that's definitely shifting with the trend.
Anne J
I assumed they'd have a Cantonese version too, guess not?
j.lee
If you don't mind watching "illegally", you can easily find the undubbed Cantonese version online. Just look for the sites that mainly upload Cantonese dramas/shows.
Sunny
@Anne J: Thanks for providing such great content to comment on 🙂
Same. I used to be kind of snobby about web dramas but now I've watched a few Chinese web dramas I've revised my opinion. Some of them are as good if not superior to the shows aired on TV.