The Monkey King drama usually refers to adaptations of the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West (16th century), centering on Sun Wukong (the Monkey King), one of the most iconic characters in Chinese literature and mythology. Journey to the West is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of China.
The Monkey King 3 is however only loosely inspired by the Daughter Country arc. It uses the all-women kingdom as the setting and includes some Journey to the West elements, but it’s mostly an original fantasy-romance story with new main characters and plots.
Bai Lu plays Wu Shuang — a completely original character: a strong, overbearing martial artist / demon hunter. She does not exist in the original Journey to the West novel. Hou Minghao plays Jiang Liu Er (also called Yang Liu Er / Tang Seng in some descriptions) — a kind-hearted young man who can shape-shift. He is presented as a version or former life related to Tang Sanzang (the monk), but he is not the classic Tang Sanzang from the novel. The classic Monkey King (Sun Wukong), Pigsy, and Sandy do appear, but they are supporting characters with their own purposes for entering the kingdom. The main focus is on the romance and adventures between Bai Lu and Hou Minghao’s characters.
The poster looks AI-generated. Xu Kai’s hands are the biggest giveaway. He has large hands in real life, but with long, elegant, and slender fingers. The AI struggled with them, so after heavy inpainting they ended up puffy, wrinkled, and grandpa-like.
Very likely AI-generated or at least heavily AI-assisted because it’s fast and cheap.
"Dragon TV's younger and urban audience matches the show's style perfectly and helped boost its popularity and ratings. It's a light, absurd, funny, fast-paced 'stupid criminal + lucky detective' black comedy — not heavy brain-burning suspense. Younger viewers (Dragon TV’s strength) love this entertaining, down-to-earth vibe and tend to rate it generously (Douban 8), while Douban’s more mixed audience, combined with the show’s deliberate 'dumb fun' style, naturally brings out some negative takes. Overall, the combination of Dragon TV’s broadcast and iQIYI’s platform created strong cross-channel momentum, as shown by its iQIYI 10K+ heat and nearly 100k Douban ratings (99,456). This drove solid commercial heat and positive word-of-mouth among its core fans, while the distinctive tone explains the range of opinions."
Its ok. Tian xi wei actually took paycut for tbis role, she wanted this opportunity and im glad we can see txw…
Douban has a margin of error of around 0.5 points too. A 6.5 vs 7 (or 7 vs 7.5) doesn't really tell you which is better — it's just a flawed number. A bigger gap, like 5.5 vs 7, can give some directional indication, but you still can't rely on ratings alone. There are dramas sitting at 3.3 on Douban that are genuinely very good and remain super popular globally years later.
How Generous! 7.3 to 7.4. What does it take to move the needle when there are over 20% 1 star ratings.
Until 800, I thought SAF6 was Xu Kai’s most underrated drama. The ending was quite polarizing, the Möbius time-travel storytelling was very niche, and many viewers disliked the FL’s voice. Still, the overall quality of the acting was very good, and Xu Kai’s dual performance as Yue Jin Zhao / Bian Luo Huan was genuinely strong. But 800 is on another level. It’s a grounded, well-crafted modern crime/suspense/family drama with excellent writing, solid directing, atmospheric tension, moral complexity, and a strong veteran cast (Imo, Hu Ke gave a more refreshing, lively, or surprising performance than Ding Yongdai in this drama). The acting is excellent by the entire cast and Xu Kai’s portrayal of Chen Hui — a layered, flawed, and intense character, far from the usual idol or xianxia pretty-boy roles. This drama relies entirely on word of mouth.
https://www.chinanews.com.cn/cul/2026/05-13/8746398.shtmlThe article praises Xu Kai's success in his body of work.Yu…
It’s a genuine mainstream media pickup based on the drama’s real performance and buzz, not a paid advertisement — something Xu Kai doesn’t engage in, and something his agency doesn’t do for him either.
Reputable journalist & outlet: Written by 罗攀 (Luo Pan), a professional reporter affiliated with 北青网 (Beijing Youth Daily's platform). The piece was carried by Chinanews.com.cn. Both are established mainstream media, not obscure promo sites. Luo Pan has a track record writing for these outlets on various topics.
If he is not renewing his contract then he likely won’t be filming anything until that’s all cleared up. He…
An actor’s commitment is a lot more than just the three months they spend filming. There’s all the prep work before shooting, the actual filming, and then post‑production things like ADR, dubbing their own lines, fixing scenes, or doing reshoots. And after all that, they still have promotions to take care of.
The Monkey King 3 is however only loosely inspired by the Daughter Country arc. It uses the all-women kingdom as the setting and includes some Journey to the West elements, but it’s mostly an original fantasy-romance story with new main characters and plots.
Bai Lu plays Wu Shuang — a completely original character: a strong, overbearing martial artist / demon hunter. She does not exist in the original Journey to the West novel.
Hou Minghao plays Jiang Liu Er (also called Yang Liu Er / Tang Seng in some descriptions) — a kind-hearted young man who can shape-shift. He is presented as a version or former life related to Tang Sanzang (the monk), but he is not the classic Tang Sanzang from the novel.
The classic Monkey King (Sun Wukong), Pigsy, and Sandy do appear, but they are supporting characters with their own purposes for entering the kingdom. The main focus is on the romance and adventures between Bai Lu and Hou Minghao’s characters.
Very likely AI-generated or at least heavily AI-assisted because it’s fast and cheap.
Until 800, I thought SAF6 was Xu Kai’s most underrated drama. The ending was quite polarizing, the Möbius time-travel storytelling was very niche, and many viewers disliked the FL’s voice. Still, the overall quality of the acting was very good, and Xu Kai’s dual performance as Yue Jin Zhao / Bian Luo Huan was genuinely strong.
But 800 is on another level. It’s a grounded, well-crafted modern crime/suspense/family drama with excellent writing, solid directing, atmospheric tension, moral complexity, and a strong veteran cast (Imo, Hu Ke gave a more refreshing, lively, or surprising performance than Ding Yongdai in this drama). The acting is excellent by the entire cast and Xu Kai’s portrayal of Chen Hui — a layered, flawed, and intense character, far from the usual idol or xianxia pretty-boy roles. This drama relies entirely on word of mouth.
Reputable journalist & outlet: Written by 罗攀 (Luo Pan), a professional reporter affiliated with 北青网 (Beijing Youth Daily's platform). The piece was carried by Chinanews.com.cn. Both are established mainstream media, not obscure promo sites. Luo Pan has a track record writing for these outlets on various topics.
all the points he makes is spot on