Photo of Serendipity

Another popular Chinese TV drama is heading abroad after seeing success in China, continuing a trend that has seen numerous works from the Chinese film and television industry sail overseas in recent years. 

As the Chinese romantic fantasy drama Serendipity comes to an end on Thursday night, the 12-episode time-traveling drama has earned nearly 20 million views on streaming platform Souhu Video and a high rating of 8.1/10 on mydramalist.com, a TV series review website.

The drama debuted around Chinese Valentine's Day, which fell on August 14 in 2021. It tells the story of a girl named Mu Xiaoru and her peculiar time travel adventures after she accidentally enters a parallel world that is just like a story she read in a book. There Mu gets to know Yan Sui, one of the characters in the book, and they embark on a journey which turns various worlds upside down.

Overseas, the show has also landed on various video platforms including YouTube, Viki, ODC, Line TV, and LiTV, finding audiences in countries including the US, Canada and Vietnam. It is also set to release in countries such as Thailand, Japan and South Korea.

There has been a trend recently that has seen numerous Chinese produced dramas and movies becoming sudden sensations in many other countries, especially in Southeast Asia.

"In recent years most of the Chinese movies and shows we have translated have gone to Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Myanmar, and Vietnam. For example, our country's [suspense comedy] Detective Chinatown became hot in Malaysia," a representative of translation company Transn told the Global Times in July.

When talking about the reasons for the trend, the Transn representative said that the "similar cultural background" between China and countries in Southeast Asia meant people could better "understand Chinese stories."