AI is really starting to "take over" the domestic entertainment industry.
Recently, the two AI-themed idol dramas "Beautiful Evil" and "The Accident" have suddenly become popular, prompting many netizens to comment, "Tell the domestic entertainment industry, I'm not coming back from the short drama AI world."
As for why, let's take a look at the following screenshots first.
With several popular male leads, as well as classic elements from Korean and American dramas such as wealthy elites, bullying, parties, and campus stars, "Beautiful Malice" and "The Accident" quickly went viral, becoming one of the most popular AI short dramas currently.
As of press time, "漂亮的恶意" had garnered 3.31 million likes on Douyin after releasing just one episode, with a playback volume exceeding 46.79 million and an increase of over 700,000 followers; "The Accident" had accumulated 54.99 million playback volume on Douyin after releasing four episodes, with an increase of over 530,000 followers.
The explosive popularity of "The Beautiful Malice" and "The Accident" has also sparked a wave of AI idol drama trends on domestic social media, with pairings such as Chongqing Luzi & Korean School Flower, Northeastern Girl & Japanese Academic Genius, and Killer Brother & Millennial Sister. More and more AI bloggers are creating idol dramas centered around themes of campus life, youth, and love, tailored to the tastes of Chinese audiences.
The AI short video industry has already fallen into a vortex of internal volume production. According to the DataEye "2026 First Half AI Drama and Animation Data Report", in the first half of this year, there were over 222,190 new AI short dramas that premiered on Douyin alone.
Most AI short dramas, such as "予你深情侵入余生" and "冰冷重遇", are adapted from online novels, emphasizing plot twists and dialogue conflicts that bring about an extreme sense of excitement, prioritizing plot over visuals. In contrast, AI idol dramas like "漂亮的恶意" focus on upgrading the visual appeal and cinematography, drawing inspiration from Korean, Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese, and American dramas, using handsome male and beautiful female character models, as well as dreamy and beautiful scene settings, to bring netizens' idealized love stories to life.
While some AI short videos have seen their profits plummet in the "entertaining" track, AI idol dramas have carved out a new path by focusing on "beauty" rather than competing on production capacity and cost.
A video gained 700,000 followers,
This generation of netizens has started using AI to create their own idol dramas
On August 28, "Haidi Crab Yellow Burger" released the first episode of its self-produced AI idol drama "Beautiful Malice". Unexpectedly, this 6-minute AI short film sparked a frenzy of screams from netizens: "Han Do-hoon is so handsome, and Kwon Shi-kyun is also so handsome, the red hair is too stunning."
Many netizens have also activated extreme update-pushing mode: "I'm waiting here, update or get out." "I hope you understand, AI doesn't need rest."
"Beautiful Malice" tells the story of Zhang Zhi'an, a girl from Sichuan, who goes to a top Korean conglomerate school as an exchange student and encounters three major male gods, Han Do-hoon, Kwon Si-hyun, and Lee Jae-hyun.
It looks like a familiar Korean drama trope, but the female lead's strong sense of immersion, stunning looks, and the three male leads' distinctive characteristics, as well as the trendy plot that caters to young netizens' demands, have helped "Pretty Villain" gain a large following as soon as it was released.
For instance, unlike the traditional damsel-in-distress narrative, when the male lead Han Do-hoon is surrounded by thugs, the female lead takes them down in a flash. Her clean, decisive moves immediately capture his attention. In this sequence, "Haidixiehuangbao" also delivers multiple visually striking, high-appeal scenes.
The male and female leads' chance encounter over fried chicken.
These sweet and dreamy scenes have attracted a large number of female fans to "The Beautiful Malice". According to Douyin Creator Center data, 81% of fans of "Haidi Crab Yellow Burger" are female.
"Pretty Evil" follows a comic book-like Korean drama style, while "The Accident" almost completely replicates the American high school campus idol drama.
On August 14, "whata-ha" officially launched its first AI short drama "The Accident" after several trial runs, telling the story of a romantic campus love between Lona, a female reporter for a US college newspaper, and Keaton, the captain of the baseball team.
"Whata-ha" candidly admitted to having never attended an American high school, with his understanding of it mainly coming from American TV shows, but perhaps it's this sense of detachment that makes "The Accident" more in line with Chinese viewers' tastes.
For example, the male lead, Keaton, is portrayed as a kind-hearted and inspirational treasure of a boy: after a party, he takes the intoxicated female lead home, but instead of taking advantage of her, he takes care of her for the night; he works hard to become the captain of the baseball team, not for the vanity of being a campus star, but in the hopes of getting a college scholarship to alleviate his mother's burden.
The male lead, Perrigrin, from an old-money family who is hesitant to rebel against his father's manipulation, has attracted a group of fans with his tough appearance, aloof demeanor, and upper-class aura. A clip of Perrigrin posted by "Bibi King" garnered 200,000 likes on Douyin in just four days. A netizen exclaimed: "Why is the male lead so handsome!!!!"
This archetype of the ethereal male lead has struck a chord with viewers, propelling Keaton and Peregrine to become the hottest short-drama characters of the moment. One netizen commented: "Wait, it's AI? Suddenly I feel a pang of sadness that he doesn't exist in this world."
In addition to using AI to recreate Korean dramas and Chinese dramas, some AI bloggers have also used AI to recreate Chinese dramas, Japanese dramas, and Taiwanese dramas.
The eponymous short drama produced by "Bai Zhao and Qie" tells the story of Bai Zhao, a haughty female lead, and Qie, a sweet and innocent girl, who accidentally cross into a book and become female supporting characters, and then disguise themselves as boys to attend an all-boys school, where they become entangled in a romantic love story with academic genius Song Qian and school bully Wen Zhao.
The ultra-sweet setup of "sisterly love vs shy puppy" and "sweet girl vs aloof and distant type" has helped White Daylight and Egg gain 1.17 million fans in 2 months, attracting a large number of young female fans. According to Douyin Creator Center data, female fans account for as high as 88% of White Daylight and Egg's followers, with 44.86% of users aged 18-23.
"Shallow Production" produced "After Crossing into a Book, I Used Northeastern Dialect to Win Over the High-Cold Academic Tyrant", a light comedy romance story about Lin Dahua, a careless and lively northeastern girl, conquering Shinomiya, a high-cold Japanese financial tycoon. The classic combination of a sunny female lead and a high-cold male lead made this short series gain over 33.57 million views on Douyin in just 6 episodes.
The production team "Mr. Guo's World" has created "Heartbeat Cube", which has a strong Taiwanese idol drama style of pure love, telling the story of the female lead Lin Yuxin being liked by class monitor Chen Xiaoguang, Korean exchange student Park Zhenhe, and Japanese transfer student Sato Rin at the same time. In the drama, the shyness and sincerity of the young boys and girls are accurately and vividly portrayed by AI, and the first episode has received 33,000 likes on Douyin.
These days, using AI to create idol dramas has become another popular AI short video theme, in addition to science fiction and post-apocalyptic genres.
Behind the Explosive Popularity of AI-Generated Idol Dramas,
Netizens have been lacking idol dramas for a long time
The sudden surge of AI-generated idol dramas is actually the result of a combination of factors, including user demand, platform promotion, technological advancements, and the efforts of creators.
On one hand, whether it's the once-popular "It Started with a Kiss" and "The Prince Who Turns into a Frog", or the recent hit US drama "Crash Landing on You" that has been popular at home and abroad, they all prove that netizens always have a strong demand for idol dramas - there will always be young boys and girls who yearn for pure and innocent love, and there will always be tired adults who want to relive the excitement of their youth.
However, factors such as the downturn in the film and television industry have led to a shortage of idol dramas with pure themes and high visual appeal in recent years.
Netizens have been lacking idol dramas for a long time.
The popularity of AI-generated idol dramas is largely due to filling the current market gap for such content. "Hai Di Xie Huang Bao" revealed in the comments section that they are themselves a fan of Korean dramas, and "Piao Liang De E Yi" has drawn inspiration from multiple Korean dramas, including "Cheongdam International High School" and "Learning Group".
On the other hand, the platform's demand for diverse themes is limitless, but previously popular AI short dramas were mostly science fiction or doomsday-themed. The emergence of AI idol dramas is timely and can more easily gain traffic support from platforms.
Previously, Juzi Engine announced at the Manhua Shengtai Conference that it would provide a special premium incentive plan for plot-based simulated human dramas. Among them, content rated as super-head can receive a guaranteed incentive of 10,000 to 30,000 yuan per minute, with a single-episode guaranteed amount of up to 900,000 to 3.6 million yuan.
Advances in AI technology have provided AI bloggers with powerful creative tools. "White Day and Eggplant" revealed that the entire film "White Day and Eggplant" was produced using Seedance 2.5.
Upon closer inspection, it can be seen that most AI idol dramas have chosen a realistic approach, with not only main characters like Keaton, Han Daoxun, and Song Xian, but also supporting characters with their own unique characteristics.
In "The Love Story of Dongbeiren and Shimokitazawa's Gyaru", the tomboyish female lead, Fujihara Mao, has gained praise for being "more suitable as the female lead" due to her cute appearance and personality, and her personal Douyin account has gained 31,000 followers. A minor female character in "After Crossing Into a Book, I Used Northeastern Dialect to Win Over the Cold and Distant Academic Achiever" also has a face that is not inferior to that of the female lead or second female lead.
User demand, platform promotion, and technological upgrades are the prerequisites for the explosion of AI idol dramas, while the efforts of AI bloggers have brought this into reality.
In terms of plot design, AI-generated idol dramas that go viral often do not simply follow traditional idol drama formulas, but instead have some new forms of expression.
Traditional Korean and Japanese dramas typically feature protagonists from their respective countries, but in AI idol dramas, the leads have been replaced with characters like Henan's Liu Zi and Sichuan sisters, with occasional dialect-based humor that not only adds freshness to the plot but also increases the sense of identification among Chinese netizens.
When netizens saw that Sichuan native Zhang Zhian was about to win over three leading men in "Beautiful Malice," they couldn't help commenting: "This is a proper domestic Korean drama."
Traditional idol dramas mostly target female users, but AI idol dramas have tapped into niche markets such as idol dramas for males.
"Luozhanchen"'s "My Sister is Not Cute" was able to achieve over 69.12 million views on Douyin in just 4 episodes, largely because it accurately tapped into the male-oriented idol drama genre, portraying a story of "a beautiful and simple-minded sister falling in love with an ordinary me". According to Douyin Creator Center data, 80% of "Luozhanchen"'s fans are male.
Overall, compared with conventional AI short dramas, AI idol dramas may lack the cathartic appeal of a "domineering prince falling for me," but they feel closer to real life and give viewers a stronger sense of immersion. Compared with traditional long-form idol dramas, meanwhile, AI idol dramas leverage the flexible creative model enabled by AI to mass-produce works that better align with audience preferences.
with views often reaching tens of millions,
How can creators seize the new trend of AI-powered idol dramas?
There is no doubt that AI idol dramas with millions of views are becoming the new traffic code for the AIGC track, so how can creators seize this opportunity?
First and foremost, appearance is the foundation, but the soul is what matters. The emergence of AI has enabled creators to produce any face they want, but the faces that are truly recognized by netizens often have a unique aura and character setting.
The female lead, Fang Taozi, in "The Girl Who Got Laid Off" is not a traditional beauty, but her portrayal as a strong and independent woman who is gentle on the outside and firm on the inside has resonated with urban independent women, making her the most popular AI short drama character at the moment.
The female lead, Feng Nanshu, from "Who Falls in Love Again" has satisfied most men's fantasies about their ideal girlfriend, and despite the short drama being taken down due to copyright issues, she continues to thrive on social media. As of press time, the cumulative views of the Douyin topic #FengNanshu exceeded 12.2 million.
To create characters with soul, creators cannot fall into the trap of homogenization and produce a batch of hollow main characters.
A look at AI-produced idol dramas with poor performance metrics reveals that most are essentially permutations of familiar tropes: those drawing from Korean dramas feature plot points like an accidental kiss after a bus collision or the male lead carrying an injured female lead to the school infirmary; those modeled on Japanese dramas open with the female lead cycling into an oblivious male lead to create misunderstanding, then resolve the romance at a school festival.
Compared to classic idol dramas, many current AI idol dramas are still in the imitation stage, resembling a mishmash of classic idol drama elements, and still have room for improvement in terms of plot themes and character development.
Secondly, drawing on traditional idol dramas is the foundation for the popularity of AI idol dramas, but modernizing and localizing idol dramas is the key to their further development.
On the one hand, AI-generated idol dramas cannot completely replicate traditional idol dramas, especially the somewhat outdated values they contain. For example, in "TheAccident", the creators did not portray the cheerleading captain Maxine as a stereotypical blonde, big-breasted, and shallow beauty, but instead had her say lines like "I decide how many people I like", a bold statement from a female lead. The counterintuitive plot design has also increased netizens' favorability towards "TheAccident".
On the other hand, AI-generated idol dramas need to be more in line with the preferences of Chinese audiences, incorporating more Chinese protagonists, Chinese style, and Chinese core elements. For example, in "After Crossing into a Book, I Used My Northeastern Dialect to Win Over the High-Cold Academic Tyrant," the female lead Lin Dahuahua from Northeast China shows no awe of high society, and when faced with the provocations of the wealthy female second lead, she does not conform to the other's rules, instead directly turning the tables. This strong sense of subjectivity is extremely in line with the tastes of Chinese netizens.
Notably, although "TheAccident" has a strong American TV flavor, Chinese elements are scarce, with only two Asian roles appearing: the female lead's scumbag ex-boyfriend and a weak extra who is bullied by a school bully. While this conforms to traditional American TV stereotypes, it may not be friendly to domestic netizens, potentially affecting the ceiling of "TheAccident".
Ultimately, copyright and monetization are the foundation for AI-generated idol dramas to continue updating and growing into a genuine IP.
In terms of copyright, as the industry becomes more standardized, copyright is becoming a growing concern for many. Duan Yan is embroiled in a public opinion whirlpool due to suspected unauthorized use of facial and voice fusion; after the AI short drama "Nie Xiaoqian" was found to be highly similar to the voices of some voice actors, AI blogger "AIGC Sun Chenxi" proactively took down the work and invited human voice actors to complete the entire voice-over process.
AIGC Sun Chenxi released a record of communications
However, due to issues such as the lack of transparency in AI tool data and incomplete relevant laws, the copyright issue of AI short dramas has always had a large gray area. For example, if the creator does not fuse faces, but the AI tool illegally fuses faces, how should the creator's responsibility be divided? If the creator is fully compliant, but the generated image and voice happen to be similar to those of a real person, how can they legally protect their rights?
Stable and compliant creation is a lesson that AI creators urgently need to learn in the context of an immature industry.
In terms of monetization, AI short dramas like "予你深情侵入余生" mainly rely on platform revenue sharing and user payments, similar to long-drama creators on platforms like iQIYI, Youku, and Tencent. In contrast, AI idol dramas like "TheAccident" are more similar to short video creators, who first gain popularity through their content and then monetize through commercial sponsorships and IP licensing.
Currently, AI idol dramas are still in their early stages, with few attempts at commercialization, aside from the inclusion of brand information such as Mala Wang in "The Love Story of Dongbei Liuzi and Shibuya Spicy Girl". Even the pioneering "The Girl Who Got Laid Off" once encountered a setback due to advertising violations.
Whether AI-powered idol dramas can successfully convert their popularity into revenue remains an unknown.
It's worth noting that the popularity of AI idol dramas once again verifies the "use AI to remake everything" traffic code. This also means that AI idol dramas are likely just the beginning, as AI short drama creators can not only remake idol dramas, but also remake martial arts dramas, youth dramas, and vampire dramas.
In fact, some creators have already taken action.
"Jieke Wei" produced the domestic youth short drama "My Brother's Name is Zhang Wei", which tells the story of Dafei and Zhang Wei's youth, with the 3-episode short drama receiving over 17.97 million views on Douyin.
The production team "Feng Yun Zai Zai Qi" has created "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer 4: Rong Jian Dong Ying", a continuation of the classic martial arts film "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer". The 13-episode short drama has garnered over 13.14 million views on Douyin.
"Angel" has produced a vampire-themed AI short drama called "Blood Oath", which tells a story of redemption about love and betrayal between humans and vampires, and has currently updated 9 episodes, with over 12.31 million plays on Douyin.
Makers skilled at producing idol dramas can continue to delve deeper into this proven path, creating the next "Pretty Revenge"; those uninterested in idol dramas can blaze a new trail and produce new blockbusters.
In the future, when AI creates characters that are more moving than real people and produces stories that are more thoughtful than domestic entertainment, a new era will unfold.