You might’ve seen Bai Lu around — if not in a drama, then perhaps on China’s top variety show Keep Running, where she’s currently one of the few women on a team of men? Or in any one video clip that goes viral, because of her charming and uninhibited laugh?
So if Zhao Lusi is the “It Girl” right now of the ‘95 flowers (we wrote about it here), what does that make Bai Lu? In our eyes, she’s tantalizingly close to being an “It-ish Girl.” She saw an absolute breakout year in 2023: she got first billing in two dramas, secured a first big magazine cover in Madame Figaro China and pulled some completely crazy viewership numbers for three dramas (Till the End of the Moon, Story of Kunning Palace, and Only for Love).
Here’s the asterisk, though — or what makes us reluctantly add the “ish” to “It.” All of that viewership didn’t translate to critical success, and she was panned for a few of the roles she played in the dramas. And she still hasn’t managed to land the much coveted Gucci endorsement yet, despite rumors flying for years that this will be the year. (Although she is the snack queen of our hearts, with endorsements for yogurt, gum, and Golden Crown snacks).
So is that the price of popularity — the more people love you, the more people also pour on the hate? We decided to look at where these 2023 dramas would land among her overall filmography. If you’re new to our site, we use an internal meter to rank dramas specific to the actor or actress, in order to adjust for recency, fan wars, and reach. This helps us take an objective view and rank her dramas using (1) audience viewership, (2) how important her role is in the drama, (3) what type of role she played, and (4) the show’s Douban rating.
This is what we found!
The top 5 Bai Lu TV shows and dramas: a breakdown
We included all the dramas where Bai Lu is credited as a main lead. Out of that list, these are the top five dramas that our meter listed if you’re a fan of Bai Lu:
Based on our internal ranking meter, we put them in a recommended order for viewing below.
1. One and Only / Forever and Ever (2021)
One and Only and its sequel, Forever and Ever — a story so long that it had to be told in two parts — take the first spot on our list. But it’s worth your time (specifically, your 40.5 hours): One and Only in particular is one of Bai Lu’s most well-regarded dramas, with a Douban rating of 7.3 and very solid viewership, even scoring a nomination for Best Digital Fiction Programme at the Asian Television Awards.
Here’s the quick and dirty of it: in One and Only, Bai Lu is Cui Shiyi, betrothed to the crown prince since birth. Ren Jialun, meanwhile, is… not the crown prince, but rather the righteous General Zhousheng Chen, who takes on Cui Shiyi as a disciple. And as the two-part structure suggests: things don’t end well for the pair.
But fast forward a few millennia, and you get Forever and Ever. Set in the modern era, Bai Lu is now successful voice actress Shi Yi who runs into a (surprise) Zhousheng Chen by chance in the airport. In this lifetime, Zhousheng Chen has reincarnated not into an imposing general, but rather into a nerdy little guy who likes chemistry a lot. Thankfully, Shi Yi is also into chemistry in the biblical sense with Zhousheng Chen — though before they make it to their happy ending, they have to, of course, face off against their in-laws, which may be only slightly less scary than palace politics.
If you’re not in the mood for angst, Forever and Ever can be a standalone watch. Just keep in mind that the general sentiment is that of the two, One and Only is the better — and that you might also be forgoing much of the emotional impact.
- 👀 # of episodes: 54 (One and Only: 24; Forever and Ever: 30)
- 🥝 Original network: iQIYI
- 📺 Watch One and Only / Forever and Ever on: Viki, Amazon Prime, iQIYI
2. Ordinary Greatness (2022)
Next up is Ordinary Greatness, which came out second-best after we ran it through our drama meter. This one is a modern-day police drama that carries some pretty great numbers—not only does it boast an impressive 8.5 Douban rating, it also picked up multiple nominations from the prestigious Magnolia Awards. And if you’re wondering whether this was a critical hit with no viewership? Rest assured—Ordinary Greatness pulled in viewers with a peak CCTV-8 share of 1.07% and a 9k+ heat index.
At this point, you might be asking: so why isn’t Ordinary Greatness first?
The answer is because Ordinary Greatness has a large ensemble cast, so we factored in Bai Lu’s reduced screen time into the ranking. She’s also only one of three main leads, which means that she’s not the focal point of every storyline. With all that said, none of that detracts from the quality of this drama, which is very much a realistic slice-of-life: you’ll find no scheming emperor here — just a long-suffering police chief trying to manage the chronically short-staffed Balihe police station, which (for better or worse) finally gets its hands on four rookie officers.
Bai Lu plays one of the newcomers: Xia Jie, daughter of a fallen police officer hero. With Zhang Ruoyun (who you might not recognize at first, by the way, because he rocks a bowl haircut in this drama), Xu Kaicheng, and Cao Lu also joining as the other rookies, they quickly form a found family who bond over their respective indignities as newbies, difficult mentors, and a lot of hot pot.
Full disclosure: this is our personal favorite out of Bai Lu’s filmography. It was so successful that Ordinary Greatness 2 just might be imminent! We are, for one, keeping our fingers crossed for it.
- 👀 # of episodes: 38
- 🥝 Original network: iQIYI
- 📺 Watch Ordinary Greatness on: iQIYI
3. Story of Kunning Palace (2024)
Story of Kunning Palace is third — and not only is it the most recent of all of the dramas on this list, but it’s also the first big hit that Bai Lu headlined as first billing! That’s not hard to see why when we look at the numbers: it clocked in an entirely respectable Douban rating of 6.8 and was the only female-led drama to break 10k on iQIYI’s heat index in 2023.
This is a historical romance, in which Bai Lu plays the power-hungry empress Jiang Xuening, who discovers all good things (aka her regime) must end, and thus chooses to exit stage left — chased not by a bear, but by everyone in her kingdom.
Unfortunately, she promptly wakes up again several years in the past, where she very wisely decides to stay far, far away from palace politics.
Doubly unfortunately, she manages to avoid politics for all of, like, two seconds. On the bright side for her, however, she also acquires an excessively attractive harem in the process: Xie Wei (blood-spattered red flag central), Zhang Zhe (workaholic with unmatched cheekbones), and Yan Lin (friend-zoned golden retriever). And that’s before we even get to the ladies: Princess Leyang (besties for life) and Fang Yin (loyal right-hand). Yep, whatever it is, Jiang Xuening’s got it.
As expected of our ruthless empress, Jiang Xuening likes the crazy, and so she and Xie Wei form the grayest of morally gray teams, accompanied by a fluffy cat and some famously slow-burn toxic (in equal portions) romance. This is a drama where your favorite characters may not make the smartest decisions — but they’ll certainly make sure it’s entertaining.
- 👀 # of episodes: 38
- 🥝 Original network: iQIYI
- 📺 Watch Story of Kunning Palace on: iQIYI
4. Love is Sweet (2020)
Okay, so this is the only rom-com that made it onto our list for Bai Lu. But she made sure to deliver a good one: Love is Sweet, which she stars in with fan-favorite Luo Yunxi, claims fourth with a completely respectable Douban rating of 6.7 with 125k+ ratings.
So why might you want to watch Love is Sweet? Well, for one:
- It features Bai Lu as newbie to investment banking Jiang Jun, who’s a totally tough cookie except for the part where she’s kinda sorta really allergic to tears.
- It also features Luo Yunxi as Yuan Shuai, her childhood frenemy-turned-new-boss who not only has to now give her insane work assignments, but also make sure she never cries.
- You might be able to see where this is going.
If you’re still deciding whether to watch Love is Sweet, here are some more important questions to ask:
- Do you enjoy watching Bai Lu not only get to (literally) drive the relationship but also keep all the brain cells?
- What are your thoughts on a bitchy Luo Yunxi, particularly a bitchy Luo Yunxi in a bathrobe?
- Are you looking for steamy kisses instead of the classic stamp kiss in C-dramas?
And if you’re still on the fence:
- There’s a fat corgi in this show.
Of course, if you watched Love Is Sweet and liked it, then we have some good news for you…
- 👀 # of episodes: 36
- 🥝 Original network: iQIYI
- 📺 Watch Love is Sweet on: iQIYI
5. Till the End of the Moon (2023)
Rounding us out is a reunion for Bai Lu and Luo Yunxi in Till the End of the Moon (which also happens to be one of Bai Lu’s more controversial dramas). Viewership-wise, of course, it was an undeniable hit and broke records left and right. But let’s just say that there was a lot of discourse on whether the show measured up to the hype: people argued about production errors and pointed out acting grievances, so that it ultimately ended up with a less-than-shiny 5.6 Douban rating.
First things first, Till the End of the Moon breaks the xianxia mold in a few ways: (1) it’s a male-centric drama in a genre that usually features women, and (2) our male lead (Tantai Jin, played by Luo Yunxi) is a complex anti-hero starting from zero.
Our female lead (Li Susu, played by Bai Lu) is a strong-willed Girl On A Mission. That mission is at first simple: Li Susu must travel back in time to find the person who will become the Devil God in the future — and kill him long before he, in a classic Devil God move, destroys the entire universe. Of course, that’s before she finds out that that person is Tantai Jin, who, before one day turning into the most evil figure in the world, is really only a sad little guy who gets bullied a lot. Ergo, the solution that Li Susu naturally comes to is: I can save this bad boy.”
Good plan? Not really. What occurs next is a dramatic enemies-to-lovers arc that plays out on top of a series of miscommunications and unfortunate events, which means you’ll get epic action sequences, many yearning glances, and an honestly unnatural amount of Mao Buyi-approved blood-spitting scenes. But what remains completely dependable is Bai Lu and Luo Yunxi’s chemistry, which very satisfyingly spills over here from Love Is Sweet. That said, this is a darker take on xianxia, so if you’re in the mood for lighter fare, this might not be the drama for you.
- 👀 # of episodes: 40
- 👖 Original network: Youku
- 📺 Watch Till the End of the Moon on: YouTube, Viki, Youku
Honorable Mention: Arsenal Military Academy (2019)
In a testament to the strength of Bai Lu’s filmography, we actually had some trouble keeping the list to only five dramas when Bai Lu also has fan favorite Arsenal Military Academy, which we’re including as a bonus. This one is one of her earliest, and while it was quite well-received (Douban rating of 6.6), it was eventually knocked off the top five due to our drama meter’s evaluation of its comparatively smaller audience.
So here it is as an honorable mention. If you’re ever in the mood for a cross-dressing military Republican drama, Arsenal Military Academy is right here for you.
You might even call this the closest we’ll get thus far to China’s equivalent of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. Bai Lu plays Xie Xiang, who decides to disguise herself as her recently deceased brother, Xie Liangchen, and enter the Arsenal Military Academy in his stead. She gets stuck with a very attractive and very obnoxious roommate (Gu Yanzhen, played by a snarky Xu Kai), and as expected, hijinks ensue as she tries to keep her identity hidden.
The verdict
Finally, we plotted Bai Lu’s best TV shows and dramas out onto a scatterplot to see where they fall against each other on purely a Douban rating vs. # of Douban users basis:
A few quick observations:
- At first glance, historical costume dramas dominate Bai Lu’s filmography to date by a lot. But she’s quite versatile, with a bunch of successes in modern-day and xianxia dramas as well.
- Bai Lu loves iQIYI and iQIYI loves her. The top four dramas on our list are all iQIYI dramas — no wonder Bai Lu became iQIYI International Global Ambassador in 2024, this girl earned it. Sadly for international fans, this also means that we’re less likely to find her dramas available on Netflix or YouTube, seeing as iQiYI is notoriously bad about it.
- Her average Douban rating across all her dramas is a 6.0, with some very big hits (One and Only, Ordinary Greatness) balanced out by some lower troughs (Only for Love).
- She keeps very busy — besides being a regular on Keep Running, she’s averaged about two dramas a year since her debut.
And here’s a fun fact before you go that we discovered: Bai Lu and Zhao Lusi partnered up many years ago in Untouchable Lovers, where they were both supporting roles. They’ve gone on to bigger and better things since then — you can read our take on Zhao Lusi’s dramas here.
As for the future, Bai Lu is firmly in the first-billing seat now and expanding her genres quite a bit with that newfound leverage. First up is modern realism drama Northward, likely dropping at the end of 2024. And soon after that will be two xianxia dramas, Moonlight Mystique and Lin Jiang Xian.
