C-Dramas: Male Leads are always the same

I've been thinking about something for a while and thought about posting because y'all may have a different pov. [I posted this first on feeds, but I think it's more suitable to forums]

I watch mostly Chinese dramas and 90% of the time there's a cold rich male lead. I'm not complaining, I particularly love this narrative, but I was thinking about how EASY and somewhat frustrating it is to be a prestigious actor in China.

Like Zhou Yiran for example, he was a supporting character in Falling Into Your Smile and he portrayed a funny, quirky, and energetic boy. But since his career took off and he got lead roles, like in When I Fly Towards You and You Are My Desire, he plays the same character: a cold cool guy who gets soft around the female lead (at some point).

It must be so frustrating for actors not to be able to prove themselves because, eventually, when they reach a level of success, they don't need to do anything other than an unexpressive face and some hidden smiles when around the FL. That's such a poor use of talented actors. Maybe that's why most of them focus on historical or medical dramas; they are taken more seriously.

And even though it is "easy" (not undervaluing the actors, just pointing out that it gets easier since it's the same execution over and over again) and repetitive, male leads are often praised by the audience (women mostly), while the female leads are DESTROYED by the netizens. I'm not stating this as a fact, but my personal experience as someone who actively consumes Chinese content.

Turning on Timed comments on Viki is absurd. The amount of hate female leads get is ridiculous, mainly because they are the ones who are challenged (even tho the leads are normally funny and positive, they often are wronged or assaulted, demanding good acting skills), while the handsome male leads get praise for what they always do: look fierce. "Oh, but the FL was annoying", "Oh, but she was stupid", "Oh, she is strong but she didn't have to be rude to ML". IT'S ALWAYS SOMETHING.

I don't wanna get too deep on this subject and I'm not blaming the actors, especially Zhou Yiran, I love his work and I know he is very talented, this is more towards writers and the audience.

Maybe I'm overreacting, but I think about this every time I turn on Viki's timed comments and when I see a known actor portraying the same character over and over again. Feels boring.

SORRY, I DIDN'T MEAN FOR THIS TO BE SO LONG, I WAS JUST VENTING!!!aaaa

What do you think about it?

I'm watching You Are Desire right now and I've actually been impressed with the ML, having never seen him in anything before. I feel like he's a different kind of actor than others, and I've loved watching his expressions and body movements. He's pretty young yet and I think he's got a bright future ahead of him.

I've really loved You Are Desire so far (on ep. 24) because it's seemed more realistic than most (other than the horrible, atrocious mother and stupid father.) A general lack of tropes has made it pretty enjoyable for me. I've been on a C-drama binge lately and this has been one of my favorites. It feels like it's happening in a regular ordinary city, and not in some glitzy glittery overly-rich setting somewhere. Just goes to show that we all have different tastes and preferences.

Luo Yun Xi, in my opinion, is among the A-list of multifaceted actors who can take on a range of roles, as well as Leo Wu and Jing Bo Ran. I have more favorites but these actors feel like they have something extra on their peers. 

We are always in need of well-written dramas where characters are fleshed-out humans. 

As to your comments about the comments on Viki about female characters but not the men, I have one word that describes this phenomenon: misogyny (and in this case it's internalized misogyny.)

a cold cool guy who gets soft around the female lead (at some point).

Yeah, I totally agree with you. that’s why I love the drama joy of life so much.  the  male lead treated women equally, shameless, funny and smart  as well. You should check it out, the 9.0 rating isnt joking 

I just finished My Marvellous Fable, with Miles Wei, and it's different than most other dramas I've watched lately.  The writing was interesting and quirky and the characters went against stereotypes and tropes. I loved it.