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| In the Name of Justice (Youku) |
It’s showdown season for summer 2025 telly, and one unlikely contender has stolen the spotlight. In The Name of Justice, director Fu Dongyu’s gritty legal suspense drama, is absolutely smashing it on the ratings charts. Only a week since dropping on CCTV and Youku, the show’s already topping everything in sight — with audiences buzzing about its unflinching take on government corruption.
To be fair, the drama didn’t come in with fireworks — facing down heavyweight rivals like The Princess Gambit and A Dream Within A Dream, it was hardly anyone’s bet for a summer hit. Its premiere share only scraped around 2%, ranking 12th.
But blimey, did that change quick. By the end of the first week, viewership share had shot up nearly sevenfold, now sitting pretty at a whopping 13.4% — and a Youku popularity score that’s smashed past 9614, which is mad impressive for a legal genre drama.
Fans reckon it’s the drama’s realistic edge that’s pulling them in. None of those pretty-faced idol cameos, just a proper cast of veteran actors led by the incredible Zhang Yi and Magnolia-winning Jiang Xin, dishing out intense, believable performances. If they keep up this storytelling pace, safe to say the series will stay king of the ratings pile for a good while yet.
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| In the Name of Justice Topped the Charts |
Plot with Bite
Set in fictional Haidong Province, In The Name of Justice follows prosecutors Hong Liang (Zhang Yi) and Zheng Yaping (Jiang Xin), who get stuck back into a notorious cold case — the “Wan Hai Organised-Crime Case”. Digging deeper, they find a nasty network of judicial insiders who’ve been bending the law to protect a massive criminal syndicate.
With a whistleblower’s help, Hong and his team go toe-to-toe with the corruption festering under the surface, taking down crooked officials and exposing the rot in a system that was meant to protect the public. It’s the kind of storyline that feels ripped straight out of the news, and audiences are loving it.
Star Power
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The series ropes in an all-star cast:
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Zhang Yi as prosecutor Hong Liang
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Jiang Xin as Zheng Yaping
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Li Guangjie as Li Renjun
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Liu Jia as Lan Jingming
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Feng Jiayi as Xu Yanwu
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Hao Ping as Xie Hongfei
With these powerhouses leading the charge, there’s not a single weak link, which is rare for legal dramas that sometimes drown in exposition.
Already Breaking Records
According to platform data, In The Name of Justice now tops the charts in three categories: best suspense drama, best exclusive drama, and best legal-case-themed drama. That’s a proper triple crown for Youku, building on its other 2025 hits like The First Frost, A Better Life, and The Legend of Zang Hai — all dramas that crossed 10k popularity this year.
Backed by the Haidong Provincial Prosecution Service (in the story, of course!) and the fictional Political and Legal Affairs Commission, the plot unpacks issues of accountability and trust in a way that’s really hitting home with Chinese viewers.
If you fancy something tense, twisty, and with a proper moral bite — In The Name of Justice is the drama you’ll want on your summer binge list.