‘The Early Spring’: Why this Chinese drama is taking global audiences by storm

Is 2026 the year of the onscreen workplace romance? East-Asian drama audiences are at present, collectively swooning over two CEOs. Kang Ha-Gi(played by actor Kang Hoon) from the South-Korean romance My Bias, My Boss, and Luan ‘Luke’ Nian(Jing Boran) from the Chinese drama The Early Spring. This comes on the heels of the recently concluded K-Drama, See You At Work Tomorrow, a well-written workplace romance starring Seo In-guk and Park Ji-hyun. The Early Spring, currently streaming on Netflix, has taken the world by storm. Ahead of its release, the show generated buzz for reportedly having an intimacy coordinator on set, considered a rarity for C-Dramas. The show’s source material, a hugely popular novel, came with its own legion of fans, eagerly awaiting its onscreen adaptation. A statement from Netflix indicated that in the week of August 24 to 30, The Early Spring debuted at No. 2 on Netflix’s Global Non-English TV list, garnering 2.4 million views and 21.5 million hours viewed. The series has since broken into the weekly Top 10 ranking in 22 countries.Currently ranked third among Netflix India’s most watched shows, the C-Drama has has spawned multiple reels of viewers dissecting whether the male lead is a green or a red flag, what the lead couple can do to better their communication skills, and if the show lives up to the original novel; all while attempting to sing along with the Mandarin lyrics of its melancholic theme song. What has made the show tick? The show follows rookie Shang ‘Flora’ Zhitao(Sun Qian) who makes her way to big city Beijing from her smaller hometown. She soon lands a job at the glitzy advertising firm Lime, and encounters cold, and largely obnoxious industry veteran Luke(impeccably styled at all times), who wastes no time in telling her she is not fit for the job. Jing Boran in a still from ‘The Early Spring’ | Photo Credit: Netflix It isn’t long before Luke’s aloofness gives way to an almost grudging respect and admiration of Flora’s earnestness and work ethic. A bumpy professional equation (Luke heads the team Flora is on) soon leads to a steamy, secret fling; furtive glances in the workplace, stairway encounters and the likes. Moving away from the vanilla, saccharine-sweet tropes one has come to associate with romances in many East Asian shows, The Early Spring embraces the chaos and messiness of an urban workplace relationship; one that must contend with pride, ego and, most importantly, a power imbalance. In the age of situationships, navigating a spectrum of relationship labels and complexities that plague modern dating, and having to hustle through professional pursuits through all of this makes the show feel especially timely. A section of the internet has been much too eager to draw parallels to the Fifty Shades Of Grey franchise, but the intimacy and build-up to the many passionate scenes in The Early Spring feels far more considered, bolstered by a largely engaging plot. Luke and Flora come from very different worlds and are at markedly different stages of their careers, a difference that Flora is acutely aware of. This self-awareness does not always work in her favour, and to add to this, Luke is always quick to jump in with unsolicited wisdom on her professional decisions and career trajectory. Amidst all the chaos in their personal and professional lives over the course of six years, we follow the couple as they attempt to balance it all in their largely undefined relationship (situationship, maybe?), even as they strive to honour workplace propriety. In Luke and Flora, we get flawed, complex characters, who struggle to communicate as they deal with the pressures of their relationship. As the show has progressed, Luke in particular has emerged as a character who swings between being decidedly unlikable and scrambling to make amends for his actions. In the recent episodes, it has been particularly hard to watch him disrespect Flora, only to hurriedly come up with a temporary fix for issues that are long-simmering. The couple share impeccable chemistry, and yet feel like a ticking time-bomb; the frustrations and push-and-pull of their relationship has made for addictive television. Sun Qian in a still from The Early Spring | Photo Credit: Netflix We have seen other C-Dramas dedicate elaborate storylines to the careers and workplaces of its leads and here as well, Lime, the glitzy advertising firm is at the centre of all the drama. There are important campaigns to covet and work on, promotions to be bagged, and employees being poached from different teams. With Flora having migrated from a smaller town to Beijing for her career, the show thankfully doesn’t lose sight of her professional pursuits once the romance begins. The Early Spring’s biggest victory is that at the helm of things are two competent actors, whose chemistry crackles onscreen. While Sun Qian plays the earnest Flora with ease, Jing Boran is a scene stealer as he inhibits Luke’s self-assured, often smug and brusque persona. It isn’t easy to sell a romance where one of the central characters seems almost entirely incapable of communicating, let alone say nice things. You however can’t help but watch in horrified fascination as Jing Boran’s Luke manages to take his bordering on deplorable communication skills to new heights, with each passing episode.The show so far is on a slippery slope with Luke; it doesn’t quite feel like his behaviour is being romanticised and yet he seems to be progressively getting worse at articulating his feelings for Flora. It however helps that there seems to be an impending break-up looming on the horizon. Nothing sets the stage for a redemption arc quite like a time leap, oodles of angst and grovelling. With new episodes being dropped on Netflix through this week, there is much to anticipate from The Early Spring. Are we ready for Luke finally deciding to think before he speaks; or Flora to stand her ground and demand the respect she deserves? This tumultous relationship sure does make for addictive, bingeworthy television.The Early Spring is currently streaming on Netflix