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| Pursuit of Jade crushes March 2026 charts as Zhang Linghe and Tian Xiwei dominate C-drama buzz. (Credits: Sohu) |
The March 2026 C-drama race has a clear winner, and it is not even close. Pursuit of Jade (逐玉) has surged ahead of the pack, turning a competitive month into a one-horse race and reinforcing the industry’s ongoing tilt towards high-performing costume dramas.
Fresh figures released by Kuyun Data on 1 April confirm the scale of that dominance. Led by Zhang Linghe and Tian Xiwei, the series amassed a striking 2.698 billion total views across platforms, alongside 2.578 billion on-demand views.
It topped both metrics simultaneously, a rare double that underscores its reach and replay value among audiences.
The drama’s momentum has been relentless since premiere. For 19 consecutive days, daily views cleared the 100 million mark, while its peak broadcast period delivered averages above 60 million per episode.
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| KuYun |
That makes it the highest-performing series of 2026 so far by episode average, a benchmark few titles are likely to match in the short term.
That success has translated directly into character popularity. Zhang Linghe, in the role of Xie Zheng, secured the top spot with a score of 19,097, while Tian Xiwei’s Fan Changyu followed closely at 18,580.
Their sustained hold over the rankings throughout March signals not just viewership strength, but strong audience attachment to character arcs and on-screen pairing.
Beyond the frontrunner, the broader market tells a more balanced story. Realist drama Wonderful Times (好好的时光), starring Mei Ting, Tian Yu, and Chen Haoyu, claimed second place with 1.462 billion total views.
Its on-demand performance reached 335 million, with per-episode figures consistently above 40 million, reflecting stable and loyal viewership rather than viral spikes.
My Destiny (我的山与海), fronted by Tan Songyun and Dong Qing, followed with 1.057 billion total views and maintained averages exceeding 30 million per episode through its run.
Meanwhile, Love Story in the 1970s (纯真年代的爱情), starring Chen Feiyu and Sun Qian, stood out in the on-demand category, collecting 438 million views and ranking second, with similarly strong per-episode engagement.
Actor Gong Jun also entered the conversation through Hold a Court Now (家事法庭). His portrayal of Shen Xiezhi placed third in the March character popularity rankings with a score of 17,585, marking one of the few challenges to the otherwise dominant top two.
Audience reaction has mirrored the data but remains divided in tone. Fans of Pursuit of Jade have driven sustained online discussion, praising the chemistry between Zhang Linghe and Tian Xiwei, as well as the drama’s pacing and visual scale.
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Many point to its consistent daily performance as proof of genuine engagement rather than short-lived hype.
At the same time, some viewers argue that realist dramas such as Wonderful Times offer stronger emotional grounding and narrative depth, even if they do not generate the same volume of clicks.
What emerges is a familiar but sharpened pattern: spectacle draws mass attention, while grounded storytelling builds steady loyalty.
The gap between the two appears wider this month, with costume dramas commanding headlines and algorithmic visibility, while realist titles continue to anchor the market with reliable, mid-to-high tier performance.
March landscape ultimately reinforces a dual-track industry. On one side, breakout costume hits like Pursuit of Jade define the conversation and set new commercial benchmarks. On the other, realist dramas maintain a consistent presence that ensures diversity in audience taste and platform strategy.
Is the pull of large-scale costume storytelling becoming too dominant, or are steady, grounded dramas still the long game for the industry?