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| Xiao Zhan Starts Filming High-Concept Fantasy Thriller The Infinite 10 Days in Qingdao — Big Budget, Bigger Ambition. (Credits: Weibo) |
Xiao Zhan has officially clocked in for work on The Infinite 10 Days (十日终焉), with filming now underway in Qingdao’s Oriental Movie Metropolis, and the industry is already treating it like an event rather than just another drama shoot. Backed by Linmon Pictures and Tencent, the project wastes no time signalling scale: a dystopian fantasy with memory resets, deadly cycles and a lead character who is equal parts genius and menace. Subtle? Not really. Effective? Quite possibly.
Adapted from the popular novel Ten Day Ultimatum, the story drops viewers into a brutal loop where ordinary people are forced into a ten-day survival cycle inside a fabricated “End World”. Each reset wipes their memories, which feels less like a narrative device and more like an excuse for maximum chaos.
At the centre is Xiao Zhan’s Qi Xia, a swindler with a strategist’s brain and a singular goal — escape the loop and return to reality to save his wife. It’s high stakes, high concept, and very much leaning into the current appetite for darker, survival-driven C-drama storytelling.
Production is clearly not cutting corners.
Reports point to a budget exceeding 200 million yuan, with roughly 40 per cent allocated to visual effects alone.
An 8,000-square-metre virtual studio has been constructed, complete with motion capture and real-time rendering tech, aiming to bring the novel’s surreal “End World” to life.
If that sounds familiar, it’s because the same effects team behind major Chinese sci-fi hits has been brought in. The message is clear: this is being built like a film, not a typical TV set.
The choice of Qingdao is doing more than providing a backdrop. The city’s reputation as a full-chain production hub — from shooting to post — makes it a practical powerhouse, but it also adds atmosphere.
Early filming reportedly coincided with heavy fog and a striking red moon, eerily echoing the novel’s opening scenes. Whether that’s coincidence or clever timing, the production isn’t complaining.
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Behind the camera, Derek Hui directs while Jiang Feng handles the script, reuniting after their work on I Am Nobody.
That pairing suggests a balance between stylised visuals and narrative control, though adapting a dense, psychologically driven novel into a coherent series is rarely straightforward. Ambition is one thing; execution is where these projects usually wobble.
The cast reads like a carefully assembled “no weak links” lineup. Alongside Xiao Zhan, names like Wei Daxun, Hu Xianxu, Li Zhiting, Li Zefeng, Vanda Margraf, and Qiu Tian fill out a story designed as much for ensemble impact as for its central lead.
Special appearances from Lan Yingying and Mao Xiaotong add further weight. Early character details suggest a mix of morally grey figures, hidden abilities and shifting alliances — in other words, expect trust issues all round.
Xiao Zhan’s Qi Xia, in particular, is being positioned as a demanding role: a high-IQ psychology graduate turned professional fraud, burdened with decades of cyclical memory and an ability tied to revival mechanics.
It’s the kind of layered, slightly unhinged character that can either elevate a performance or expose its limits.
Given his track record with complex roles, expectations are understandably high — and perhaps a bit unforgiving.
Instead of testing the waters with a single season, the production is reportedly committing to a three-season, 72-episode arc, with cast contracts locked in from the start.
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It’s a confident move, or a risky one, depending on how you view long-form storytelling in an era of shrinking attention spans. Either way, it avoids the all-too-common problem of mid-series casting changes.
Online reaction has been predictably loud and slightly divided. Fans of the original novel are cautiously optimistic, especially after leaked glimpses of Xiao Zhan’s grey-eyed look, widely praised as a near-perfect match for Qi Xia.
Others are taking a wait-and-see stance, pointing out that ambitious adaptations often struggle to translate internal monologues and complex timelines onto screen.
Meanwhile, casual viewers seem more focused on the cast alone, which, to be fair, is doing plenty of heavy lifting in the hype department.
The project was first teased at the Hong Kong International Film and TV Market in March, where it was introduced as a seasonal series, with the first instalment expected to run 24 episodes.
Filming is scheduled for around 100 days, targeting a mid-July wrap, which suggests a relatively tight production timeline given the scale involved.
For now, The Infinite 10 Days sits in that familiar space between promise and pressure.
It has the budget, the cast, the concept and the technical backing — essentially all the ingredients needed for a standout hit. Whether it actually delivers something cohesive rather than just visually impressive is the real question.
If nothing else, it’s one to keep an eye on, if only to see whether this pays off or ends up stuck in its own loop. What do you reckon — potential classic or another ambitious near-miss?