Zhang Linghe and Tian Xiwei's period romance Pursuit of Jade was one of the most talked-about Chinese series on Netflix Taiwan this year, yet audiences rate it only fifth among 2026 releases. The crime thriller Light to the Night, starring Pan Yueming and Dylan Wang, leads the field with a 7.0 on Douban, based on scores as of September 15.
Douban is mainland China's best-known film and television review site, where viewers grade titles out of 10. Storm Media ranked every Chinese series that premiered in 2026 and has streamed on Netflix in Taiwan by its Douban score. Only the winner reached 7.0, two shows tied at 6.8, and The Early Spring took fourth place at 6.7. The bottom of the list sits at 4.9.
Pursuit Of Jade Loses Steam After A Fast Start
Pursuit of Jade scored 6.4. Tian Xiwei plays Fan Changyu, a butcher's daughter, and Zhang Linghe plays Xie Zheng, a marquis who has fallen on hard times and hides his true identity. The two marry because of their circumstances, and the story widens from market-town life on Xigu Alley into war, revenge and court politics.
The opening stretch won warm reviews on PTT, Taiwan's largest online bulletin board. One viewer described the first seven episodes as fast, good-looking and steady, and fans said the leads were easy to root for as a couple. Viewers who stayed through the second half were less united, with some saying the storyline about the fate of the nation made the plot messier and left the two halves feeling uneven.
Light To The Night Wins On Mystery And Two Timelines
Light to the Night is a crime mystery built around a case that has gone unsolved for 18 years. Pan Yueming and Wang Hedi, who is known in English as Dylan Wang, play detectives He Yuanhang and Ran Fangxu, with Ren Min and Jiang Peiyao in supporting roles. The story jumps between two time periods, and each new clue puts another piece of the old truth back in place.
Many PTT users liked the suspense and the double timeline. One commenter said the show was a better watch than a pile of costume dramas, while others praised the way it builds atmosphere. A second group of viewers felt Wang's line delivery sounded robotic in the early episodes, but said Ran's emotions grew fuller as the plot moved forward and the character became more rounded.
Two Dramas Tie At 6.8 Ahead Of The Early Spring
The runner-up spot is shared by Unveil: Jadewind and Lady Liberty, both at 6.8. In Unveil: Jadewind, Bai Lu plays palace investigator Li Peiyi and Wang Xingyue plays Xiao Huaijin. A baffling death at a Lantern Festival banquet draws them together, and the string of cases they solve gradually leads to a secret from 15 years earlier. PTT viewers called the early standalone cases excellent, and several long reviews noted that each one centers on a woman facing a different dilemma. Others said the show lost much of its detective flavor as it went on.
Lady Liberty stars Tang Yan and Zhao Youting, who is also known as Mark Chao, in an adaptation of the novel Single Woman by Hong Kong author Yi Shu. It starts with the relationship between Lin Zhanqiao and He Han, then expands into the career, family and friendship questions that urban adults face when weighing marriage. One Dcard user, writing on the social platform popular with young Taiwanese, said the characters are imperfect and flawed but feel real. Others found some of the figures suffocating and the story so true to life that it was depressing, though for many that realism is what makes the show resonate.
The Early Spring, at 6.7, follows advertising executive Luan Nian, played by Jing Boran, and Shang Zhitao, a newcomer to Beijing played by Sun Qian. What begins as a boss and subordinate relationship turns into a secret romance, with the pair pulled between love, separation and career choices. Netflix data show the series launched on August 26 and won Taiwan's weekly chart for TV shows in its first week.
Fans said they could not stop watching and thought Jing was well cast as a sharp-tongued manager. Other viewers used the show to debate whether a romance between a boss and a direct report is realistic in a modern office.
Five Dramas Fall Below 6.0 On Douban
The lower half of the list is dominated by fantasy, youth romance and palace revenge stories. Dazzling, at 5.9, casts Guan Xiaotong as Qing Ye, a city girl who moves to a small town after a family crisis and ends up under the same roof as Li Yunrui's Xing Wu. One PTT viewer called the leads an evenly matched, refreshing pair, and while others said the plot leans on familiar youth-romance tropes, the first-love mood kept many watching.
The Eternal Fragrance, at 5.8, stars Song Weilong and Ju Jingyi in a story set 100 years after a war among the three realms of immortals, spirits and demons. Its first episode was criticized as confusing, though one viewer said it felt more normal from the second episode on. The reception depends heavily on how much patience a viewer has for the genre's usual themes of hidden origins, fate and clan conflict.
Veil of Shadows, at 5.4, stars Ju Jingyi and Zeng Shunxi in a fantasy world where humans and spirits coexist, with Chen Duling and Tian Jiarui also in the cast. Reviews on PTT were sharply split: some viewers called the story, effects and visuals thrilling and beautiful and went straight into a second viewing, while others said they could not tell what the point was after several episodes because of the constant case reversals and muddled character backgrounds.
The Epoch of Miyu, at 5.2, features Zhu Zhu as Xu Miyu and Wallace Chung as Ji Feng. After her marriage collapses, Xu leaves her husband and rebuilds her career at a hotel. Some viewers dismissed the premise of a tycoon falling for a divorced woman working as a cleaner as stale, but several said the show turned out closer to everyday life than expected, and praised Zhu's acting.
Last on the list is Ashes to Crown, at 4.9, a rebirth-and-revenge story with Chen Duling as a general's daughter and Zhou Yiran as Xie Yanlai. It debuted on Douban at 5.1 in June and slipped as more viewers rated it. Much of the debate concerns how the adaptation changes its source novel: one PTT user said the heroine's best moments were handed to the male lead, which weakened the female-led spirit of the original. Others praised the period styling and fight scenes and said it still works as a fast-paced rebirth drama.
All 10 series have streamed on Netflix in Taiwan. Douban scores can shift as more viewers add ratings, as the slide of Ashes to Crown shows.
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