Mr. Plankton's writer shares what she wanted to convey through the K-drama
Among all the dramas currently airing in China, there is one series that has been creating huge buzz. It's the latest spy thriller led by Cheng Yi titled Deep Lurk.
Filmed on a low budget, shelved for five years, given almost no pre-release promotion, and aired in the 4:30 p.m. CST time slot (not a peak viewing time for dramas), Deep Lurk managed to surpass expectations despite such a challenging start.
The Chinese drama managed to boost its ratings from 0.4 to 1.67. Its premiere exceeded 6,000 views on the platform, topping the entire network's viewership rankings.
On November 13 (the C-drama's premiere day), Maoyan reported the show received over 1.266 million views. On iQIYI's trending ranking, it claimed the top spot with a peak popularity index of 6056. Meanwhile, its real-time viewership rating on CCTV-8 reached 0.966%, with a peak of 1.673% and a market share of 9.37%.
One notable aspect of Deep Lurk is its relatively low-key promotional strategy, which has not overly relied on the hype surrounding the "buzz stars" — particularly Cheng Yi, whose acting skills have been criticized by Chinese netizens, many of whom believe he is valued solely for his looks.
This approach has won the show some goodwill, with many seeing it as a sign of the production team's confidence in the show's quality.
Deep Lurk is a historical spy drama set during the Second Sino-Japanese War, before the Battle of Changsha, and tells the story of patriotic youngsters who unveil the Japanese spy "black butler" within the Nationalist Army.
During the Second Sino-Japanese War, in an effort to successfully occupy Changsha, the Japanese army used their strategic agent, the "black butler", who had been settled in China for 15 years to execute a long-planned deception strategy. Yun Mu Zhi, a member of the underground party of the Communist Party of China, was killed while investigating the "black butler." Yun Hong Shen (Cheng Yi), unaware of his father's true identity, returned to his hometown of Changsha to track down his father's killer, only to be entangled in a trap laid long ago by "black butler".
Amid his confusion and helplessness, he received significant support and protection from Yang Zi Ming, a close friend of his late father and also a member of the underground party of the Communist Party of China. He also joined forces with patriotic woman Wen Ye Ming (Ying Er). Setting aside his personal vendetta for the greater national good, Yun Hong Shen risks his life to earn his countrymen a chance to win the war.
Deep Lurk does not employ a straightforward plot and adopts a multi-layered storytelling approach. Multiple factions — such as the Military Bureau, the Japanese Gendarmerie, and the Wang Puppet Regime's No. 76 Bureau — engage in overt and covert struggles. The battle of wits and courage between the Yun family father-and-son duo and the Japanese spy Viscount weaves together numerous plotlines, creating a story that is layered, suspenseful, and full of twists.
Yun Hong Shen also proves to be a man with a keen intellect. Although he's just starting out as a spy, his observational skills, logical thinking, and knowledge make him well-suited for the job.
Viewers praise the C-drama for its fast-paced plot, with events unfolding one after another, and numerous unexpected developments that keep them immersed. Every situation that seems resolved is soon disrupted by an unforeseen development. From the characters' true identities to the truth behind events, continuous twists keep the audience on edge.
Watch Deep Lurk on iQIYI.
Source: Baidu
