24/7 screentime together yesssss plspls 😩🙏🙏🙏 and preferably soon😭
Yeah like mystic nine s2 happened 10 yrs after mystic nine💀 I can't wait even half of that for southern archives 😰😭 Pleeease I hope they can get things fixed & start by next year 😫🙏
I found the sina news article from the end of June about the status of season 2. I'm copy pasting the translation here:
I. Key milestones and current progress of the official announcement
Official announcement time and occasion: June 18, 2026, at the Beijing drama-watching group event for "Southern Archives", the original author and chief screenwriter Nanpai Sanshu (Xu Lei) officially announced verbally that a second part would be produced, saying that "he hopes to start creating the second part as soon as possible".
Current stage: The project is only in the early creative intention stage. The script has not yet been written. iQiyi has completed communication with the production team regarding a sequel, but there is no start date for filming or broadcast.
Further uncertainties: There has been no official written announcement regarding the project's approval, and the specific script progress, creative team, and start date are all undetermined.
II. Calls for the original cast to return and the reality of the situation
1. Core Audience Needs
The most popular choices for returning actors across the internet are: Zhang Xincheng to continue playing Zhang Haiyan (Zhang Hailou), Ding Yuxi to continue playing Zhang Haixia (Zhang Haixia), and Jiang Peiyao to continue playing Zhang Haiqi.
Many netizens have explicitly stated that they "won't watch it without Ding Yuxi" and "it must be the original cast," highly praising the chemistry between the "Seafood Brothers."
2. Official status of the actors' return
As of June 22, 2026, no actor has officially confirmed contract renewal, and no official lineup announcement has been released.
Ding Yuxi and Zhang Xincheng both have solo concert plans in June 2026, and their schedules are tight. However, the second season is still some time away from starting filming, so the scheduling conflict is not yet imminent.
3. Risks and influencing factors of role switching
Recasting for sequels is not uncommon in the film and television industry, with factors such as actor salaries, schedules, and negotiations between agencies potentially influencing the final outcome.
The first season's viewership exceeding 200 million and its top ranking on multiple platforms provided the production company with leverage in negotiations and also increased the actors' confidence in demanding higher returns.
IV. The success of the first season serves as the basis for the sequel
Playback and popularity data: The popularity score on iQiyi exceeded 9,100, the total number of views across the entire network exceeded 200 million, and the effective play rate of the full-length video on Yunhe reached 17.9%.
Rankings and Reputation: Datawin's TV Drama Popularity Index has broken 2 for several consecutive days, ranking first. It received a score of 9.1 on Weibo and had a total of 52 advertisements, breaking the platform's record for 2026.
IP Extension Value: As a prequel to the "Tomb Raiders" universe, it successfully expands the overseas branches of the Zhang family and the suspenseful aesthetics of Southeast Asian folklore, providing plot and worldview support for the sequel.
V. Uncertainties that need attention
Project stage risks: Nanpai Sanshu's previous estimates of the completion time have been delayed multiple times due to unforeseen circumstances, and the actual progress of the second part remains to be seen.
Script and Production: The script has not yet been written, it is unknown whether Zhou Jingtao, the director of the first season, will return, and the start date and broadcast schedule are not yet determined.
Cast changes: Whether the original cast will return depends on multiple factors such as scheduling conflicts, salaries, and negotiations between their agencies. The final cast will be subject to the official announcement from the production team.
Plot completion requirement: The scenes related to the "Nan'an" ship in the first season were cut, and the audience hopes that the second season can fill in the complete storyline.
I read that hailou had gotten overconfident and slipped up on the panhua reef case bc they had a 68 perfect case solving streak prior to that. It'd be great if we saw some of those successful ones 😩
OMGGG WE MIGHT GET A SECOND SEASON, POSSIBLY A THIRD SEASON TOO... STOOOOOP!!!!!! I HOPE IT HAPPENS AAHHHH 😭🙏https://x.com/i/status/2074472103508664345Edit:…
24/7 screentime together yesssss plspls 😩🙏🙏🙏 and preferably soon😭
What did he say about the future series? What do they to do continue this brilliant series? What's the problem?…
Yeah platform needs to approve. I think there were some issues near the end of broadcast. But author says next season is in planning i.e, he wants to write out s2 and possibly s3 too and is pushing to get the core original cast together again.
i just cant watch this drama anymore. its hard for emotional person like me
It's taking me so long to watch the episodes now, it's rough and emotionally draining. And if those two are together I'm replaying the scenes some 20 times. I also gotta watch their expressions closely bc they are so good.
Ep22 I feel SO bad for hailou. He's surrounded by people with a death fetish who'd rather die than try to live with him I'm gonna scream. I can't imagine being him right now. This poor guy loved only 2 people in the world and both keep tryna walk out of his life more or less at the same time and doesn't tell him anything useful and only tells the most pointless one i.e, move tf on, like WHO are they kidding omg, who's gonna move on? Not him and certainly not me🤬. What you mean obsessed😭, man just wants to fix the issue and go home alive together 👨👩👧 , not alone as a traumatised single depressed pringle gosh, is that a crime now? Why is everyone being like this to him😭😠 What is their problem OMG SHUT UP AND SIT DOWN BOTH OF YOU 🤬😭
Yesssss omg I couldn't stop crying for Haixia but also tho it was so stressful I was lowkey very invested to see…
Heixia can go be evil and hot independently outside haixia pls😭🙏who came up with this sadistic idea😡 Ding Yuxi's expressions are truly TOP tier, he just feels so underrated to me now. He's giving me trauma with everything his cute innocent face is doing whenever haixia is on.
And ikr no one ever tells hailou anything and then mentor calls him a snake😑 like c'mon, help the guy out here to not be a snake. How will he be prepapred or act properly with incomplete information? He and haixia are so codependent that whatever happens to one will massively affect other too so why is he not saying anything😭
I have a few eps left and the way i'm crying watching im so scared .Every ep i'm on the edge of my seat like my…
Bruh don't scare me anymore ima die😭😭😭 icb how anxiety inducing this is and yet I'm so obsessed like, I NEED them to be themselves and alive and happy okay? I would love a prequel but there sure as hell must be a sequel or else I'm throwing hands and myself while at it😑 Author made it sound like he's planning a sequel already but I can't tell what will happen. Not a single drama captured me the way archives did in recent times. I'm so attached to them already I fear for my sanity when it ends.
I. Key milestones and current progress of the official announcement
Official announcement time and occasion: June 18, 2026, at the Beijing drama-watching group event for "Southern Archives", the original author and chief screenwriter Nanpai Sanshu (Xu Lei) officially announced verbally that a second part would be produced, saying that "he hopes to start creating the second part as soon as possible".
Current stage: The project is only in the early creative intention stage. The script has not yet been written. iQiyi has completed communication with the production team regarding a sequel, but there is no start date for filming or broadcast.
Further uncertainties: There has been no official written announcement regarding the project's approval, and the specific script progress, creative team, and start date are all undetermined.
II. Calls for the original cast to return and the reality of the situation
1. Core Audience Needs
The most popular choices for returning actors across the internet are: Zhang Xincheng to continue playing Zhang Haiyan (Zhang Hailou), Ding Yuxi to continue playing Zhang Haixia (Zhang Haixia), and Jiang Peiyao to continue playing Zhang Haiqi.
Many netizens have explicitly stated that they "won't watch it without Ding Yuxi" and "it must be the original cast," highly praising the chemistry between the "Seafood Brothers."
2. Official status of the actors' return
As of June 22, 2026, no actor has officially confirmed contract renewal, and no official lineup announcement has been released.
Ding Yuxi and Zhang Xincheng both have solo concert plans in June 2026, and their schedules are tight. However, the second season is still some time away from starting filming, so the scheduling conflict is not yet imminent.
3. Risks and influencing factors of role switching
Recasting for sequels is not uncommon in the film and television industry, with factors such as actor salaries, schedules, and negotiations between agencies potentially influencing the final outcome.
The first season's viewership exceeding 200 million and its top ranking on multiple platforms provided the production company with leverage in negotiations and also increased the actors' confidence in demanding higher returns.
IV. The success of the first season serves as the basis for the sequel
Playback and popularity data: The popularity score on iQiyi exceeded 9,100, the total number of views across the entire network exceeded 200 million, and the effective play rate of the full-length video on Yunhe reached 17.9%.
Rankings and Reputation: Datawin's TV Drama Popularity Index has broken 2 for several consecutive days, ranking first. It received a score of 9.1 on Weibo and had a total of 52 advertisements, breaking the platform's record for 2026.
IP Extension Value: As a prequel to the "Tomb Raiders" universe, it successfully expands the overseas branches of the Zhang family and the suspenseful aesthetics of Southeast Asian folklore, providing plot and worldview support for the sequel.
V. Uncertainties that need attention
Project stage risks: Nanpai Sanshu's previous estimates of the completion time have been delayed multiple times due to unforeseen circumstances, and the actual progress of the second part remains to be seen.
Script and Production: The script has not yet been written, it is unknown whether Zhou Jingtao, the director of the first season, will return, and the start date and broadcast schedule are not yet determined.
Cast changes: Whether the original cast will return depends on multiple factors such as scheduling conflicts, salaries, and negotiations between their agencies. The final cast will be subject to the official announcement from the production team.
Plot completion requirement: The scenes related to the "Nan'an" ship in the first season were cut, and the audience hopes that the second season can fill in the complete storyline.
https://youtu.be/7zrc8hgar_I?si=v_L6JxE9Vacc2aU9
Zhang Hailou wasn't even acting atp it was so real😭🙏🧂
And ikr no one ever tells hailou anything and then mentor calls him a snake😑 like c'mon, help the guy out here to not be a snake. How will he be prepapred or act properly with incomplete information? He and haixia are so codependent that whatever happens to one will massively affect other too so why is he not saying anything😭