2023 Better Cdramas

Modern Wuxia pioneer, one of the best manhua adaptations.  Hilarious, with tight pacing and solid acting from key characters.  Editing, camera work, music, CGI all show far higher level of intentionality and polish compared to most cdramas.

A realistic and profound examination of life and love for the urban professionals in modern China, one of the best romance cdramas.

Quirky, comedic, and heartwarming.  This show has plenty of mystery, heart, family, bromance, and laughs.

Highly rated school year SoL comedy

Hilarious wuxia sitcom featuring one of the godfathers of Chinese comedy.  Insightful parody and commentary of modern China through its wacky skits.

However the subs are terrible and it doesn't feature young attractive people of idol dramas.

Highly rated TW thriller

Excellent cinematography in this historical mystery crime drama.

Early episodes were so good that it had the making of Breaking Bad.  But last 3rd of the show tanked hard under the weight of censorship.

Frontrunner for the 2023 NRTA Award

Soothing, realistic, SoL drama with solid acting and production.

Hilarious Wuxia comedy that mostly retains a coherent central plot line.

Solid Wuxia effort that delivers a steady diet of bromance, intrigue, and engaging characters.

Better than expected and faithful to the book.  Could have been stellar with more budget and less NRTA

The more polished sequel to YB1 with much improved acting.  But just like YB1, suffers from the lack of focus created by a few plot twists too many.

Decent Scifi effort that benefits from the 'shorter is better' mantra.  Though compared to better scifi works, the concept, themes, and execution is rather derivative.