Promotional material for Evil Minds Photo: Courtesy of iQiyi

When Netflix won their first Emmy Award with an online drama in 2013, most people in China had the impression that online shows were of low-quality, had poor stories and were filled with clichés and bad jokes. Soon after, however, this industry grew to become one of China's hottest online industries.

Some people feel 2014 marked a fresh start for self-produced online series in China. Series such as iQiyi's Linghun Baidu (lit. Soul ferry) and Death Notify by v.qq.com tested the waters of the suspense and supernatural genre and were well received by audiences, while Youku Tudou's Tiny Times series and Sohu TV's Back in Time series grabbed young audiences' appetite for campus romance. Each of these series will soon be coming out with new seasons this year.

Co-productions have also been on the rise over the past year, such as when Youku Tudou invited the Japanese team from popular Japanese TV series Shinya Shokudo to produce a Chinese version of the show known as Midnight Taxi. This year, some streaming sites have even started producing what they call "self-produced Korean dramas." For instance, LeTV announced in December that they were working with the creative team and cast of South Korean TV series You Who Came from the Stars to produce a new show focused on the plastic surgery industry called Bei Meiren. Meanwhile, Sohu TV has also released plans to produce three dramas featuring actors and actresses from South Korea.

Other online series are looking to the West for inspiration. In March, iQiyi announced a new show Evil Minds, which the producers say will be modeled after US crime drama series and available online in May.

IP war

The most eagerly awaited online drama of the year might be The Lost Tomb, adapted from Nanpai Sanshu (Xu Lei)'s book series Grave Robbers' Chronicles. The success of the stage drama and game adaptation of the series of books have already proven the value of this popular IP. The online series has gathered a star-studded cast, including popular young actors Li Yifeng and Tang Yan, as well as Hong Kong-based actor Ken Chang and the award-winning Pei-Pei Cheng.

After protests by archaeologists, the series changed the background of the main character Wu Xie from a grave robber to the son of archaeologists, while their stories about grave robbing have been altered into adventures centered on protecting ancient tombs. While these changes have disappointed some fans of the original books, the show's producers still plan to launch the 12-episode first season this summer on iQiyi.

The average budget for each episode of The Lost Tomb is over 1 million yuan ($161,000), but this is still not the most expensive online series.

While two separate studios are each coming out with their own film versions (directed by Lu Chuan and Wu Ershan respectively) of the popular book series Ghost Blows Out the Light this year, the series' author Tianxia Bachang (Zhang Muye) announced in December that he would direct and write the script for an online series adaptation of his books. Golden Horse Award winning actor Liu Ye is set to play the main role of Hu Bayi.

Another online series that has attracted more than 100 billion yuan in investments is Braveness of the Ming produced by LeTV. The drama is an adaptation of the 2011 online novel by Yueguan (Wei Lijun). Although LeTV is coproducing the show with Guizhou TV, the series will first appear online before it is broadcast through traditional means.

Besides the novels, popular Chinese games are also a coveted source of content. Based on long-lived Chinese RPG game series Chinese Paladin (PAL), Youku.com is now producing online drama PAL Inn, which throws the main characters from PALs one through five together in an all new story that takes place at an inn. Filming started in March and the series is expected to make its way online in May.

Dark horses

Although numerous investment companies are rushing into the online series market, it's still rather difficult to predict just what might become successful. A number of dark horse shows have surprised people thanks to providing strong interactive elements such as danmu (bullet curtains),  comment system in which viewers can post comments that appear on top of online videos.

In January, two low-budget online shows grabbed the attention of netizens in China. The first, LeTV's 50-episode series Guaige Huangdi Hui Xiandai (lit. Kidnap an emperor back to modern times) may not come across as a high-quality drama at the first sight. The story focuses on a modern girl who goes back in time and then brings an emperor back with her to modern times.

On one of Chinese largest online communities tianya.cn, netizens used screenshots to poke fun at the show's poor production, simple visual effects, cheap costumes and perfunctory props. However, this light-hearted mocking soon led a huge rise in viewership. In just two short months, the series gained over 300 million views and over 35,000 comments.

The other hot online series, the second season of iQiyi's Baiyi Xiaohua Yu Dachangtui (The campus belle in white and the big long legs), is a typical "Mary Sue" style story. A love story about a girl dressed in white and her aggressive royal-blooded boyfriend, the so-bad-it's-good quality of the show has earned it a legion of fans.

After the first season, said to have been filmed in 10 days, released last year, the show's second season has received over 160 million views online since it launched in January.