This summer's Chinese drama season has finally produced a phenomenal hit! The period drama All Living Things, starring Yang Mi, tells the story of the daughter of the richest family in a rural village whose fate changes dramatically after being kidnapped by bandits on her wedding day. Since its premiere on June 13 on CCTV and streaming platforms, the show has achieved both high TV ratings and impressive streaming numbers, not only restoring Yang Mi's reputation as the “ratings queen,” but also becoming the savior of this drama season’s low ratings slump!
All Living Things is adapted from Zhao Defa’s novel Lingering and Resolute, using the changing landscape of land ownership in southern Shandong’s rural areas as a backdrop. Yang Mi plays “Ning Xiu Xiu,” the daughter of the rural landlord who, on her wedding day, is abducted by bandits. Her father, unwilling to sell his land to pay her ransom, instead sends her younger sister to get married. Disappointed, she severs ties with her father and marries her rescuer, “Feng Dajiao” (played by Oho Ou). The series portrays the heroine’s journey of growth, as she leads rural women in escaping feudal ideas, experiences decades of social change, and achieves self-fulfillment. The protagonist’s perseverance amid hardship has left countless viewers in tears!
The show’s ratings have surged since its debut on CCTV Channel 8 on June 13, consistently holding first place on the daily charts and surpassing 2% in ratings. At the same time, streaming platform viewership share has exceeded 30.1%. Some viewers estimate that individual episodes have topped 7 million streams, and since other summer dramas are seeing low total streaming volumes (around 200 million), All Living Things’s launch has pushed the overall market up to 240 million, accounting for 30% of all summer drama viewership online. Many predict the show is on track to break 100 million daily streams.
Additionally, the show’s heat index on streaming platforms surpassed 10,000 in record time; on the 17th, the official Weibo announced a heat index of 10,500. According to platform historical data, its current value (10,572) has already tied the 2022 record set by Love Between Fairy and Devil. The top two are My Heroic Husband and The Knockout. With only half the episodes aired so far, there’s still significant room for its popularity to grow.
After leaving “Jiaxing Media” in 2023 to start her own company, Yang Mi faced setbacks with her series Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Yuehong Chapter underperforming in ratings and the film No More Bets being pulled from release. After these dramatic failures, her starring role in All Living Things has generated a sensation with its soaring TV and streaming viewership, reversing her recent streak of box office disappointments and earning her the nickname “platform savior” from netizens.
Source: ETtoday Starlight Cloud