In Asia, Christmas belonged to My Love From the Stars. The drama didn't just perform well in South Korea, it sent ripples through the entire continent.
It was like tossing Mount Wuzhi into a small pond. The ripple effect had been building for months. With both Netflix and SBS launching a massive half-year promotional campaign, coupled with Chu Zhi's popularity at its peak, everything aligned for a record-breaking premiere.
Here's one example that better illustrates the scale of this wildfire: though Christmas is a Western holiday, cultural globalization and capital-driven hype have given Christmas and Christmas Eve strong market potential across Asia.
Yet yesterday, on social media platforms like Twitter, Weibo, and Instagram, the keywords "Chu Zhi," "Professor Baek," and My Love From the Stars nearly overtook "Christmas" in total mentions.
"The first drama to be simultaneously launched in twelve countries, My Love From the Stars broke viewership and trending records in eleven of them on its first day." — Asia News
"The annual drama of 2021 is finally here. It only took one day to take Asia by storm." — Straits News
"After Teng Jingmu, Professor Baek [The Heart's Arsonist] has returned." — Global Times
"What allows a drama to air in over ten countries simultaneously? Netflix, Chu Zhi, and South Korea's mature production system." — Netflix Trends
"South Korea found its winning formula [Chu Zhi]. My Love From the Stars, a sci-fi romance, becomes the season's breakout hit." — Yomiuri Shimbun
Media coverage spread like wildfire. On just the second day after its premiere, the drama was topping the charts in most Asian countries.
Viewership data poured in:
In Vietnam, the premiere on ZingTV surpassed 15 million views.
In Thailand, Channel 7 reported a 6.8% rating, remarkable given that last year's top-rated shows barely hit 7%.
Even Japan recorded an 18.6% premiere rating.
There's a pattern in all this: people love to mythologize success.
A drama is the result of collaborative effort. You can argue over who contributed most, but you cannot attribute the entire success to one person.
Yet from the media's perspective, especially in places like Singapore's Straits News, who would they mention—lead actress Song Minghee or director Gong Ji? Neither name would resonate. They'd talk about the one name everyone knows.
Chu Zhi.
Out of twelve countries, eleven reported record-breaking viewership. The only outlier was Russia. Despite Chu Zhi's past popularity with Katyusha, ratings there remained modest.
Even so—
"That's enough. More than enough," said Sofia, the Asia-Pacific regional director of Netflix, beaming with satisfaction.
The second episode aired today, and ratings across Asia continued to climb.
Though Western viewership on Netflix lagged behind on day one, Asia's overwhelming response blinded Sofia to that setback.
Internal reports from Netflix showed that within thirty hours, their subscriber base in Asia grew by 570,000. An outrageous surge.
Why tie subscription numbers to the drama? Because in countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Japan, where My Love From the Stars aired on traditional TV, rebroadcast rights were not granted. The only official way to rewatch was on Netflix's website.
As a streaming platform, Netflix collaborates on international productions. On the surface, the goal is cultivating subscribers. Beneath that, the real strategy is expanding global content distribution channels.
"Chu Zhi works too well in Asia. It's just a shame he's not as well known in the West." Sofia suddenly frowned.
Chu Zhi's fee was based on revenue sharing. At this rate, My Love From the Stars would earn over a billion yuan, and a large slice of that pie had to go to Chu Zhi.
Letting a Chinese actor make that much money made Sofia's liver hurt. What hurt even more was that, beyond contractual bonuses, Netflix had to offer Chu Zhi an additional "red envelope" gift.
After all, he was needed for the ongoing promotional campaign across Asia.
There was no time to waste. Once the PR team finalized the Asia tour plans, Sofia called Niu Jiangxue. From her friendly tone, an outsider might assume they were close friends.
"It's been a pleasure working together. I hope we get the chance to collaborate again," Sofia said before hanging up.
If you're spending that much money, you better maintain the relationship. Sofia understood that much.
"I never imagined Asia could produce a star like this," she murmured as she reviewed Chu Zhi's resume. It felt more like reading a fairy tale.
My Love From the Stars had 21 episodes. As a weekend drama, it aired one episode each on Saturday and Sunday, meaning the entire series would finish in roughly two months. There was still plenty of room for growth in ratings and buzz.
Chu Zhi had become an international commuter, flying across countries like a man with wings.
In just two weeks, four episodes had aired. Each episode was tightly packed: the first meeting, the misunderstandings, tentative interactions, the female lead's lowest moment, and Professor Baek swooping in to save her. Then came the past-life connections and fate.
Some lower-quality dramas could stretch this content into forty episodes.
Online discussion kept escalating. In today's age of diversified entertainment, for an entire continent to rally around one drama was nothing short of astonishing.
Japanese viewers posted:
"Time freeze, hehehe…"
"I came for the Ragdoll. Professor Baek is so handsome, and the plot is decent too."
"I love Professor Baek's house. I love Professor Baek. I love when Professor Baek isn't wearing
clothes. Professor, you don't want your alien identity exposed, right?"
"Can we be more restrained? We're starting to look like fans only obsessed with the Ragdoll's looks."
Japan produces many great dramas every year. While Korean dramas occasionally break through, Japanese series usually maintain the lead in domestic ratings.
Yet after just four episodes, My Love From the Stars broke Japan's record ratings for three consecutive years: 2019, 2020, and 2021.
The Ragdoll fanbase in Japan was only growing.
Meanwhile, in China:
"Jiu-yé is just a walking suit rack. That cold, abstinent aura is too good to be true."
"Ahhh Jiu-yé, please update faster. I can't survive without new episodes."
"Penguin Video hit the jackpot. I tried to buy a premium membership and it lagged. Chu Zhi and Song Minghee are a dream screen couple."
"I never liked Teng Jingmu, but Professor Baek? I'm sold. Especially that refined-beast look with the glasses. I screamed like a groundhog."
"I don't even like Korean dramas, but this is Chu Zhi we're talking about."
Even lead actress Song Minghee gained massive popularity in China. Multiple brands approached her for endorsements.
Now think about how many deals Chu Zhi must have been offered. His ad manager, Qi Qiu, was drowning in work.
"Sister Da Wang, look what you've done. Our studio's about to collapse from the workload," Qi Qiu complained.
It was Wang Yuan who had pushed hard to take this project. Old Qian couldn't understand at the time. Why accept a sci-fi romance in disguise?
"Not working out?" Wang Yuan had asked.
Work out? It was working miracles.
Qi Qiu rubbed his eyes. He would have to work even harder. There were too many ad opportunities pouring in from across Asia. Even with two assistants helping, it wasn't enough.
In countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and others, by the third week of airing, the six-episode arc in South Korea had already reached a 30% rating.
In the fourth week, episodes seven and eight aired… If Chu Zhi was merely an Asian superstar before, then the cumulative buzz, plus the rising momentum of My Love From the Stars, had pushed him to the pinnacle.
No other artist in Asia could compete with his popularity. Even Hollywood A-listers couldn't beat him here. In the realm of Asian stardom, Chu Zhi stood alone at the top.
Then came the now-iconic ending of episode eight. To prove her charm, the female lead asked Professor Baek for fifteen seconds.
A fifteen-second stare. At the final moment, Professor Baek kissed her.
That one kiss was all it took. Actress Song Minghee instantly became the most hated female celebrity across Asia.
If you were a casual viewer, you might just think the couple looked good together and felt sweet to watch.
But Chu Zhi's wife-fans were everywhere in Asia.
By the end of episode eight, they were in complete uproar...