The 20 Best C-Dramas To Watch On Netflix Right Now

Drama, intrigue, courtship, comedy...in no particular order.

Netflix is inundated with a plethora of Chinese-language dramas — aka C-dramas — you can lose countless hours in.

Netflix

Also, by C-dramas I am referring to any Mandarin-language drama, whether from Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, or the mainland.

Here are some standouts to browse:

(Warning: I reveal a bias toward fantasy and historical C-dramas.)

1. Use for My Talent (2021)

Netflix

Closeted clean-freak Gu Ren Qi owns a robot cleaning company employing charismatic and outgoing Shi Shuang Jiao. As the two slowly fall in love and realize artificial intelligence can (at least right now) not replace humans, they develop the goal of bringing high-end cleaning services to ordinary people to improve everybody's health and quality of life.

2. Word of Honor (2021)

Netflix

Ancient Chinese John Wick vibes. To leave assassin organization The Window of Heaven, lead assassin Zhou Zi Shu performs an obligatory departure technique that only leaves him with three years to live. Disguised as a drunkard wandering the martial arts world, he is recognized by the mysteriuos Wen Ke Xing. The two are entangled in a conspiracy involving the Glazed Armor, a legendary key to a mighty armory. 

3. The Rational Life (2021)

Netflix

A fun depiction of modern expectations placed on professional women in China. Thirtysomething professional Shen Ruo Xin is considered a "leftover woman" in China due to her single status, and is drawn to two very different men at her workplace. One, her older bachelor boss, the other her fun-loving young assistant. Will she cave to societal mores and marry "appropriately," or listen to her heart and pursue a younger man?

4. The Rise of Phoenixes (2018)

Netflix

Oh, how I love beautifully embroidered Hanfu and dramatic battle scenes. Feng Zhi Wei is the daughter of the Qiu family, who are on the losing side after the empire is conquered. Zhi Wei dresses as a man and attends the prestigious Qingming academy, climbing her way up to become the supreme scholar to the Emperor. She falls in love with sixth prince Ning Yi and is embroiled in a plot of revenge.

5. The Ghost Bride (2020)

Netflix

This Malaysian Taiwanese ghost drama is based on the eponymously named New York Times bestselling novel, and may be more compelling to Western audiences seeking faster-paced storytelling. A young woman in 1890s colonial Malacca marries a dead man as a "ghost bride" so that her family's financial debt can be forgiven. When she attempts to escape her fate, she discovers a murder conspiracy that goes into the afterlife much more complicated than she ever imagined. 

6. The Untamed (2019)

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Another martial arts drama filled with flowing sleeves, gorgeous wigs, and crazy flying fight scenes. Two talented disciples of respected clans, Wei Wu Xian and Lan Wang Ji, meet during training and discover a secret threat to the world. They join forces to destroy the threat, but Wei Wu Xian dies. Sixteen years later, he is brought back to life through a self-sacrificing ritual where he assumes the identity of his summoner and hides behind a mask. He rejoins Lan Wang Ji, and they resume their quest to unveil the truth.

7. Eternal Love (2017)

Netflix

Loosely tied to Chinese legend (the nine-tailed fox spirit is prominent in folk legend), Eternal Love follows Nine-Tailed Fox Bai Qian, youngest daughter of the Fox King, as she becomes a disciple of the God of War, Mo Yuan. A war forces Mo Yuan to sacrifice his life to seal a demon lord, who resurfaces seventy thousand years later. Bai Qian also attempts to sacrifice herself to cast him back, but instead gets stuck in the mortal realm, where she loses all her divine powers and memories. A love story ensues between Bai Qian and Crown Prince Ye Hua of the Nine Heavens, both not knowing each others' true identities. 

8. Meteor Garden (2018)

Netflix

High school sucks. An "ordinary" (not wealthy and not considered pretty despite being obviously gorgeous) attends the country's most prestigious school, clashing with F4, a clique of four of the handsomest and wealthiest boys in school. After plenty of bullying and pranks, the boys begin to acknowledge her humanity, with friendship and romance blossoming. 

9. Ashes of Love (2018)

Netflix

Chinese mythology fan fiction offers endless inspiration. When Jin Mi was born four thousand years ago, her flower deity mother, Zi Fen, abandons her for the afterlife, and Jin Mi's fate was sealed as a prisoner in Shui Jin. Before she dies, Fen feeds her infant daughter the "unfeeling pill" and orders her daughter's identity to be hidden. Four thousand years later, the Heavenly King's second son Xu Feng is rescued by Mi, and they fall in love.

10. Handsome Siblings (2020)

Netflix

OK, OK, there are dramas that don't have martial arts or ancient costumes on this list, I swear. Next.

Twin brothers separated at birth grow up to be supreme martial artists, and soon find themselves becoming good friends despite being raised by opposing families — one as a mischievous villain and one as a noble. They search for their true identities while becoming entangled in a conspiracy that may ruin the entire world of martial arts. 

11. A Touch of Green (2015)

Netflix

SEE?! Something set in the 20th century. 

This Taiwanese drama tells the tale of Guomingtang air force pilots and their families from 1945 to 1971, as they face the horror of forced emigration, death, and war. In the face of continuous atrocities and hardship, the military families band together to support each other. 

12. Detention (2020)

Netflix

Beginning at Greenwood High School in the 1990s, transfer student Yunxiang Liu accidentally wanders into the forbidden area of campus and encounters the ghost of Ruixin Fang. Fang reveals the hidden trauma and history of the past 30 years of a group of young teachers and students fighting for freedom in the era of censorship. Their stories haunt the school like ghosts, waiting to be told and unveiled. 

13. The King's Avatar (2019)

Netflix

Elite gamer Ye Xiu leaves the professional gaming scene and works as a manager at an internet café after being kicked off his pro gaming team. When multiplayer online game Glory launches a new server, he throws himself back into the game, equipped with 10 years of gaming experience, a lust for revenge, and an incomplete self-made weapon. Compelling story of a nerdy underdog fighting his way to the top again. 

14. Well-Intended Love (2018)

Netflix

An unsuccessful actress with leukemia needs a bone marrow transplant quickly to live and continue her career. She enters into a secret marriage with company CEO Ling Yi Zhou. The two manage to find true love despite many misunderstandings and conspiracies. 

15. The Fierce Wife (2010)

Netflix

This controversial TV show was so popular that it made the term "xiaosan" (little third) a popular euphemism for "the other woman." Xie An Zhen's seemingly happy marriage was shattered when her husband cheated on her with her cousin. The ensuing divorce made her question every aspect of her life and her relationships.

16. The Little Nyonya (2009)

Netflix

This Singaporean Chinese drama set in the 1930s spans several generations of a wealthy Straits-born Chinese family in Malacca and their various feuds. Yue Niang becomes entangled in the family's drama and refuses to be resigned to poverty and sets out to take her destiny into her own hands, eventually becoming a successful businesswoman. 

17. The Princess Weiyoung (2016)

Netflix

There are some steamy scenes in this palace drama, with the leads sparking a rare degree of chemistry. Plus, I love the era of the three kingdoms. After the Northern Wei Dynasty was obliterated, Princess Feng Xin Er escapes death and enters enemy territory under the identity of Li Wei Young, the Prime Minister's daughter. Through her resilience, wits, and charm, she gains power in the kingdom as well as a beautiful romance. 

18. The Dream Job (2016)

Netflix

Singaporean drama The Dream Job begins with a false interview, a plot device similar to the Japanese film Audition. Luckily, no needles or piano wires are involved. An old rich man with no wife or children auditions candidates to be his heirs, settling on two women and one man. Plenty of scheming, family infighting, and dark secrets arise. Well-acted and complex. 

19. Unrequited Love (2019)

Netflix

Childhoood playmates Sheng Huai Nan and Lou Zhi grew up best friends, but slowly drifted apart as they got older. They coincidentally attend the same university, and the scholarly Luo Zhi still pines for her childhood friend, who seems to have left her behind. As they are thrown together unexpectedly during an excursion, their old friendship is rekindled, but unforeseen obstacles and a series of misunderstandings stand between them. 

20. Yanxi Palace: Princess Adventures (2019)

Netflix

There are countless Qing dynasty palace dramas, but this one is worth a watch. While as cheesy as any, the leads breathe life into familiar roles in this period piece centering around a determined Qing dynasty princess navigating palace intrigue and a deep-seated vendetta against her family.