Chinese Actress Yang Mi, who was once hailed as the “queen of TV dramas” in Mainland China, has recently been named the “most disappointing actress of the year” at the “2024 Douban TV Series Year-end Awards”. Additionally, the drama series she starred in, “The Legend of Xiao Hongsao: Moon Red”, was selected as the “worst production of the year”. It seems that her influence has significantly declined, with her popularity plummeting.
From the list of winners announced at the “2024 Douban TV Series Year-end Awards”, the popular drama series “Joy of Life 2” not only won the first prize for “best drama of the year”, but also saw the male lead Zhang Ruoyun, who played the role of “Fan Xian”, being awarded “character of the year”. He himself was awarded “actor of the year” and the series currently holds a rating of 7.3 on Douban.
In addition to the buzz surrounding “Joy of Life 2”, the drama series “Ink Rain in the Clouds” starring Wu Jinyan has also become a hotly discussed show. Despite not being highly anticipated before its airing, the revenge storyline of the series has garnered a lot of love from Chinese drama fans, propelling Wu Jinyan to fame once again. Furthermore, the series also brought newfound fame to the male lead Wang Xingyue and was selected as the “dark horse of the year” drama series.
Interestingly, “Ink Rain in the Clouds” and Yang Mi’s “The Legend of Xiao Hongsao: Moon Red” were aired almost simultaneously. Before the airing, audiences had higher expectations for the latter, but unfortunately, it failed to deliver in terms of viewership and reception. Audience feedback criticized the series for having too many plot holes, stiff acting performances, and excessive use of filters, resulting in a low rating of 5.3 on Douban and being chosen as the “worst production of the year”.
In 2024, Yang Mi also released two other works, including the drama series “Harbin 1944” and the film “There’s Nothing a Hotpot Can’t Solve”, both of which fell short of expectations in terms of box office performance and critical reception. Particularly, the box office for “There’s Nothing a Hotpot Can’t Solve” continuously dropped after its release, leading to its withdrawal from theaters on the fifth day. Consequently, Yang Mi was crowned as the “most disappointing actress of the year” and lost her top-tier status in the entertainment industry.
Yang Mi has appeared in several blockbuster dramas such as “Tiny Times” and “Eternal Love”. She was regarded as a guarantee of viewer engagement in the market. Despite facing setbacks with three consecutive film and television productions in the past year, with netizens criticizing her as “losing her queen of ratings status”, Yang Mi responded on the comedy variety show “Clock Off 2024”: “Regardless of right or wrong, it’s all part of the journey. Grow freely and ignore judgments.” Many netizens have also shown their support and encouragement, expressing their anticipation for Yang Mi in 2025.