The historical romance drama “Pursuit of Jade” has become the first Chinese TV show to rank among streaming giant Netflix’s weekly top 10 foreign language series, simultaneously topping domestic streaming platforms and spurring debate online over the validity of viewership metrics.

Following the ranking, the show also became the first drama to simultaneously attain “hit series” status on both Chinese streaming platforms Tencent Video and iQIYI. A “hit series” is determined by a show’s “heat index” — a composite popularity marker incorporating factors such as views, engagement, watch time, and search trends. 

On March 22, “Pursuit of Jade” reached a market viewership share of 55.1%, the second highest on record, trailing only 2023 crime drama “The Knockout,” according to domestic analytics platform Yunhe Data. But while “The Knockout” holds a strong 8.5 out of 10 on ratings platform Douban, “Pursuit of Jade” currently stands at 6.6.

In the wake of “Pursuit of Jade” topping online rankings, netizens began to discuss viewership metrics, with many reporting on March 9 that their Tencent Video accounts incorrectly showed them as having watched it. 

As of mid-2023, Netflix ranks its top 10 lists according to total views, defined as the number of hours watched divided by a title’s runtime. Since 2018, most major Chinese streaming platforms have shifted from displaying raw view counts to using a composite “heat index” — a move aimed at curbing manipulation of metrics that directly influence advertising deals and actors’ market value. However, the lack of transparency in these metrics has led to growing suspicion about whether platforms manipulate show rankings behind the scenes.

Released March 6, “Pursuit of Jade” takes place during a fictional historical era inspired by China’s past dynasties. It follows the story of a butcher’s daughter who rises to become a female general and enters into a fake marriage with a fallen general living in disguise and seeking revenge. 

Online reactions to the show have been mixed. Some praise its aesthetic appeal and strong female protagonist. Others have criticized it for prioritizing visual beauty over narrative coherence, citing plot inconsistencies.

Responding to the controversy, Tencent Video stated on March 9 that the abnormal viewing records were merely a “display error” that did not affect any internal or external data metrics, adding that the issue had been fixed. 

Some domestic media outlets have called for a new standard for evaluating show popularity. “Such a standard should not become another closed ‘black box,’ but instead strive for maximum transparency, multidimensional assessment, and resistance to manipulation,” wrote The Beijing News in a commentary. “Only with a unified and credible metric can the label of a true ‘hit’ carry broadly recognized value.”

Editor: Marianne Gunnarsson.

(Header image: A still from “Pursuit of Jade.” From Douban)