AS Chinese viewers spend more time on video streaming websites, network dramas are evolving both in quantity and in quality. The year looks like the golden time for domestic crime shows. Audience tastes have shifted from time-traveling heroines with embroidered garments to rigorously thinking detectives tracking serial killers. Well-made Internet series sprang up like mushrooms after the screening of summer blockbusters. “Day and Night,” “Burning Ice” and “Line Walker II” are three of the most popular online series recently released on video sites Youku, iQiyi, and QQ Live respectively. Audience-oriented scripts, broad online exposure, and handpicked cast members are helping network crime shows gain a strong viewership. “Day and Night,” widely reckoned as the best crime drama of the year, got a total of 3.13 billion hits online by Thursday. “I watched the whole thing during the National Day holiday,” Jia Xiaotao, a media analyst said. “I had to stay up late every night, but it was totally worth it.” It also set an impressive rating record of 9.1 out of 10 on Douban, a major Chinese film and TV rating platform, graded by over 100,000 users. Unlike most online hit dramas which are adapted from best-selling novels, “Day and Night” has no franchise to rely on. But it has made its own name. Audiences are fascinated by the complicated yet watertight storylines weaved by playwright Zhiwen, a former litigator with years of law practice. “My habit is to confirm every single detail in the script,” Zhiwen said in an interview. “If I can test to verify, I don’t just look at the appearances. If I can actually see it, I don’t stop at hearsay.” “We want to present a sophisticated story to Internet viewers. Crimes are solved based on hard evidence, not psychological speculations,” Wang Ping, associate producer of “Day and Night,” said. The show has been well-received by audiences of both genders. “According to our viewership survey, a substantial part of our fan base is female,” Wang added. “Besides good and evil, the show discusses the struggle of humanity,” Wang said. “Not stereotyping any character is the key to emotionally link the audience with the story.” Yuan Yumei, producer of the show, previously worked in traditional film business and has been in the Internet industry for six years. “We created ‘Day and Night’ to echo the features of American TV series. The fast-paced narrative and carefully designed visual language attracted many fans that are into U.S. TV dramas.” Yuan shows optimism and confidence in the future of online TV shows. “The status of online drama is rising in the entire industry. I have witnessed its development and transformation from a grassroots level.” “‘Day and Night’ is not perfect. But it stands for innovation and bold experiment. We hope to contribute to the future of domestic network dramas and set the bar a little bit higher,” Wang Ping said. China’s online video streaming industry is highly fragmented, with five major players and numerous other competitors locked in a desperate scramble for viewer attention. Much like their counterparts in the West such as Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu, Chinese video sites like iqiyi.com and Youku Tudou.com, have been directing more of their resources toward original programming, often with a more risqué flavor than what is found on traditional TV. Some Chinese Web dramas have made the leap from online to the silver screen as local studios bet that their built-in fan base will translate into box office success. Last year Internet “micro-movie” “Old Boys” made over US$322.3 million at the box office after Youku Tudou took it to cinemas. But the transition from online to cinema screens is not always supported by fans. When low-budget comedy “Surprise” made it to the big screen in December 2015, it was hit with a barrage of negative ratings on popular film and culture website Douban. Online dramas and comedies are also a reliable proving ground for acting talent, with many up and coming stars first cutting their teeth online before making the leap to film. Lu Zhengyu, a post-1980 actor and director who made his name directing and starring in the offbeat online comedy on Youku Tudou, starred in veteran actor and producer Stephen Chow’s “The Mermaid.” (SD-Agencies) | 