chinese series about time travel

Article: Top 10 Chinese Dramas Featuring Time Travel

A fascinating subgenre of the fantasy genre is time travel. It subverts the world known to the characters and allows them to explore what’s supposed to be beyond their reach. Chinese Dramas have always had a way with the fantasy genre, and it is no surprise that they’ve mastered time travel dramas. These dramas work to fuse the past, the present and the future to create an enthralling sense of the ultimate destiny of our characters. As they face the trials of time, they encounter love, heartbreak, death, struggle and all kinds of problems that come with being the wrong person at the wrong time. Following are 10 Chinese Dramas that are renowned for how well they depict the feature of time travel in their plots. Watching them will leave you enchanted and wishing you too could travel time with the characters!

1. Hello Dear Ancestors

Hello Dear Ancestor is a Chinese drama featuring time travel. The story follows the journey of a General of the Han Dynasty who travels to the future after his death. Chen Zheyuan plays the role of General Zhen Jun. He is an actor who recently starred in the hit drama Hidden Love, which gained much recognition. Brought to life in the future, he falls in love with Zhen Keyi (Played by Dong Qing). She is a beautiful woman resembling Zhen Jun's past life. What's more, is that the two become roommates!

2. See You Again

See You Again is a Chinese drama starring Hu Yi Tian and Chen Yuqi. The story follows a familiar pattern in the time travel subgenre, as evident in death being a prime cause of it. The male lead, Xiang Qinyu, is an actor from the 1930s who gets shot on his set and finds himself in the body of his reincarnation years into the future. In the 21st century, he falls in love with an unknown screenwriter, Jin A Yin and together, they uncover the truth behind his murder all those years ago.

3. Lost Love In Times

If you like romance stories based on historical backgrounds, this one is for you. Lost Love In Times is a story about the love between a sorceress and a Prince. Entrusted with the secret duty of protecting the prince, the sorceress, Feng Qingchen, is set to wed the Prince. However, she is not liked by those at the palace. A revolution takes place during the Prince's marriage with her. Having no choice, Fend Qingchen puts all her efforts into resetting the universe, hoping to prevent the tragedy from escalating.

4. Crazy Queen

No story is as unconventional and exciting as Crazy Queen. The story overturns the usual pattern and shows a woman who travels back when things were not quite what they are in the present. She finds herself in a period where matriarchs reign supreme, and she is a monarch. Furthermore, it is a world where she can impregnate men, and she suddenly has a harem of 30 of them.

5. Love Weaves Through A Millennium

An excellent Chinese remake of the Korean Drama, The Queen and I, Love Through A Millennium, is a drama where two individuals from different periods fall in love with each other by some stroke of fate. The story is of an Imperial scholar, played by Jing Boran, who accidentally travels 2000 years into the present world and falls in love with an actress (played by Zheng Shuang).

6. Till The End Of The  Moon

If destined love stories that cross the boundaries of time and haunt again and again are what you're looking for, then Till The End Of The Moon is the best drama to watch. In the story, Li Susu, a woman from an immortal sect, faces tragedy as her world ends under the damnation of the powerful Devil God. She travels 500 years to turn around the world's fate by killing the Devil God before he achieves godhood. But 500 years ago, the Devil God was a weak mortal, and Li Susu's past reincarnation was his wife.

7. Love Better Than Immortality

Love Better Than Immortality is a drama featuring a time in the future when human beings have become so advanced that they can live forever. The only con remains that they no longer feel human emotions. Under such situations, a woman decides to abandon immortality to travel to a time in the past in search of her true love. That is how she eventually finds herself caught in a love triangle and learns to feel and make decisions based on them.

8. My Assassin Girlfriend

My Assassin Girlfriend is a story that uses an artefact— a mysterious watch— to undertake time travel. It is the story of the King of Sumeru, who has been constantly facing life threats. In one such instance, his royal guard loses his life while trying to save him. At that point, the assassin, a woman named Yu Yan, the King and his guard travel years into the future.

9. The Eternal Love

The Eternal Love is a rather humorous drama which attempts to make two distinct souls— one from the present and one of the future— in the same body. The story is of a woman who commits suicide before her wedding day, but, instead, the soul of a real estate agent from the 21st century gets transferred to her body. Both coexist within the same body, but the moment their words or actions reveal any con, the soul that controls the body switches up. This situation makes the eventual love story plot more interesting.

10. Legally Romance

Legally Romance might give you a break from the usual time travel stories that transport characters centuries forward or backward. This story is about 2nd chances. A woman and her boss have had bad blood between them since their student days. After the woman gets into a tragic accident and enters a coma, she finds herself in a dream world built upon the past. This was the past she shared with the man who is now her boss. However, in this dream, she finds a chance to get to know him in a way she never did in the present time.

Crazy Queen Hello Dear Ancestors Legally Romance Lost Love In Times Love Better Than Immortality Love Weaves Through A Millennium My Assassin Girlfriend See You Again The Eternal Love Till The End Of The Moon

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7 Time Travel C-Dramas That Will Take You On Epic Adventures

Time traveling C-dramas are quite diverse and are one of the most enjoyable genres to watch! If you’re aching for some recommendations, look no further. Here are seven C-dramas with time traveling leads that you should check out!

Go Princess Go

“Go Princess Go” is one of the most hilarious and enjoyable dramas to watch. It never takes itself seriously and works with its low production budget by making fun of itself. Zhang Tian Ai  plays Zhang Peng, a playboy who gets sent to the past as a woman! Zhang Peng attempts multiple times to return back to his world but quickly adapts when he finds out he can flirt with all the women and even Qi Sheng ( Peter Sheng ), the crown prince to whom he is married to. Peng Peng’s stay gets complicated when he finds himself falling for Qi Sheng. If you’re looking for a zany time traveling drama, this is the one for you, but be on the lookout for the alternate endings as well. This drama deals with bisexuality, and because of the nature of Peng Peng and Qi Sheng’s romance, there were some edits to their storyline, which means that there are multiple endings for fans to piece together.

Scarlet Heart (Bu Bu Jing Xin)

“Scarlet Heart” is one of the most heart-wrenching palace dramas and tells the tale of Zhang Xiao ( Liu Shi Shi ) who transports back to the Qing Dynasty as Maertai Ruo Xi. She gets embroiled in the affairs of the numerous princes as they vie for the throne, all while trying her best not to alter history. It’s hard not to fall in love with a drama that showcases the complexity of brotherhood and love through the careful choices of actions and beautiful dialogue. On top of that, the soundtrack heightens the bitterness and heartbreaking moments of the drama. For fans of angst, betrayal, and epic romances, this drama packs it all.

Catch episode 1 of “Scarlet Heart” below:

Palace (Gong)

In “Palace,” Yang Mi travels as Luo Qingchuan to the Qing Dynasty, where she meets the 4th Prince and 8th Prince and falls in love with them. For viewers that have seen “Scarlet Heart,” this drama also has a very similar story as both leads end up in the Qing Dyansty and become torn in their love for the princes. This drama is not as dark as “Scarlet Heart,” so for fans who want to watch a palace drama that is not as bittersweet, this one fits the checklist!

Cinderella Chef

“Cinderella Chef” serves the perfect combination of food, romance, and humor! On the night of a red moon, Yao Yao ( Zhong Dan Ni ) transports to the past and ends up in a marriage with Chun Yu ( Bie Thassapak Hsu ), who has been sent to spy on a group of bandits. Yao Yao and Chun Yu initially butt heads, and while they end up being unable to be apart from each other, their eventual separation is doomed to happen. This drama is a good show for those that want to laugh every episode as Yao Yao adapts to the new environment and cooks up a storm with her innovative ideas and masterful skills as a chef.

Catch episode 1 of “Cinderella Chef”:

Oh! My Emperor

Oh! My Emperor stars Zhao Lu Si as Luo Fei Fei who transports to a fantasy world in which the ruler is rotated among those who are the owners of a constellation. For those that have seen “Cinderella Chef,” Zhao Lu Si is a familiar face; instead of playing a demure character like Yi Yi in that drama, Lu Si takes on a completely different role in “Oh! My Emperor” as a comedic lead. For those that love fantasy historical dramas with a comedic spin, “Oh! My Emperor” fits the bill. Do beware, though, of the second lead syndrome!

Love Weaves Through a Millennium

“Love Weaves Through a Millenium” also offers a different time traveling story. This time the time traveler is the male lead Gong Ming, a scholar from the past who ends up in the present and meets Lin Xiang Xiang, an actress. The chemistry between the leads is really cute, and having a male lead that travels back and forth from the past to the present is a refreshing idea for this genre. For viewers who want to watch an atypical narrative, give this one a go.

The Eternal Love

“The Eternal Love” stands out in terms of time traveling dramas. Instead of a lead that just transmigrates into the body of a person in the past, the two souls actually inhabit one body. Xiao Tan ( Liang Jie ) enters the body of Qu Tan Er, and they basically switch back and forth whenever one of them lies. Because there are two souls in one, it complicates the romance as the male lead Mo Lian Cheng falls for Xiao Tan’s outgoing and loud personality, which greatly contrasts that of Tan Er’s ladylike disposition. Those interested in a different interpretation and twist to the time traveling genre should give this one a try!

Catch episode 1 of “The Eternal Love”:

Soompiers, what is your favorite time traveling drama? Let us know in the comments below!

isms   is a big fan of Asian dramas and loves watching variety shows.

Currently watching : “Meteor Garden 2018” Looking forward to: “The Rise of Phoenixes” and “Pillow Book”

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7 Absolutely Fun Time Travel Asian Dramas You Should Watch

Time travel stories are universally loved around the world! Hollywood is overflowing with them: the famed Back to the Future series, sci-fi films like Star Trek and X-Men , or rom-coms such as Hugh Jackman’s Kate & Leopold . Time travel Asian dramas have also grown popular.

My favorite aspect of these time-bending tales is the fish-out-of-water fun ensuing when a person deals with the inevitable time-shock from visiting the past or the future.

RELATED: The Scribe of Siena – Outlander Fans Will Enjoy this Time Travel Romance

Time travel stories are especially perfect for the romance genre. After all, it brings out the angsty and heart-rending idea that time is literally opposing two people from being together. Over the years I’ve seen many Korean/Chinese variations of time-travel romances – so now I can share seven exciting, crazy and fun time travel Asian dramas!

Update: We updated streaming availability in July 2019.

7 Fun and Romantic Time Travel Asian Dramas

(in alphabetical order), 1. bu bu jing xin.

Other Titles: Scarlet Heart, Startling by Each Step

Country: China

Synopsis: Zhang Xiao didn’t ask to be transported back to the Xing Dynasty. But after a terrible accident, she awakens in the body of a girl named Ruo Xi.

Set during the 18 th century of Emperor Kangxi’s reign, Ruo Xi becomes entangled in a battle for the throne amongst Kangxi’s many sons. Will Ruo Xi fall for the kind, quiet 8 th prince destined to die early or the enigmatic, intense 4 th Prince who will take his father’s throne no matter the cost?

Why You Should Check It Out: This extremely popular Chinese time travel drama is gorgeously filmed, subtly acted, and epically dramatic.

Ruo Xi is a likable heroine and her struggles feel relatable as she strives to fit in the harsh royal palace. This is definitely more of an angsty drama with a gray storyline that refuses to define any characters as merely good or bad.

The rain scene with Ruo Xi kneeling outside and 4 th prince covering her with his cloak is one of many striking scenes in the drama and my favorite. What’s not to love in this reverse harem drama?

Where You Can Find It: Viki, DVD.

Other Titles: The Great Doctor

Country: Korea

Synopsis: When Queen Noguk is gravely wounded, King Gongmin sends his best warrior, Choi Young, through a mysterious portal into what they believe is “heaven” in search of a heavenly doctor.

Choi Young finds Dr. Yoo Eun-Soo a plastic surgeon and takes her back to the past. Yoo Eun-Soo becomes trapped in the past until the portal opens again. But with a hunky warrior love interest and deadly political enemies after her, will she be able to return?

Why You Should Check It Out: Faith is a super fun, exciting romp set during the 14 th century of Korea with sword fights, intense political intrigue, poisoning baddies, and more.

I loved both of the romantic love stories with spunky Eun-Soo and stoic Choi Young and between the arranged marriage of Queen Noguk and King Gongmin.

I love the acting choices and feel like each actor suited his/her role. My biggest fault with this drama was the baddies could’ve been more menacing. And a few anticlimactic fight scenes left me wanting more.

However, I love the characters and romance in this drama and have re-watched my favorite scenes more times than I will admit!

Where You Can Find It: Viki. You can also buy on Amazon Video or DVD.

3. Jade Palace Lock Heart

Synopsis: Luo Qingchuan is a sweet, history-loving girl who accidentally gets transported in time to the 18 th century during Emperor Kangxi’s reign. She gets caught in a love triangle between the 4 th and 8 th prince. Will she choose the man with all the power or the prince who won’t survive for long?

Why You Should Check It Out: Okay, so yes this is almost the exact same story as Bu Bu Jing Xin. Only Palace feels like night and day difference as it’s a much zanier, light-hearted fare.

This version, though, is pretty manic and exaggerated. And worse there aren’t as many princes who fall for Quingchan! Honestly, I watched this drama for Feng Shaofeng who is adorable even as he plays the often self-centered 8 th Prince.

This one definitely has more laughs and cheerful moments than Bu Bu Jing Xin . And amazingly enough, it does end happily. Now, how did they pull that off?

Where You Can Find It : Currently Unavailable

4. Queen In-Hyun’s Man

Synopsis: Kim Boong-Do is a young nobleman in the 17th century, protecting the deposed Queen In-Hyun. A friend gives Boong-Do a protection charm and Boong-Do is magically transported to modern Korea anytime he’s in life-threatening danger.

There he meets Choi Hee-Jin, a struggling actress, and a relationship starts to blossom. Can they truly be together, though? Or will fate intervene?

Why You Should Check It Out: Oh my goodness, this is probably my number one choice for an entertaining, romantic time travel drama!!

Queen In-Hyun’s Man is a wonderful blend of intense historical drama and light, breezy rom-com. The story bounces back and forth between the 17 th century with the scholar Kim Boong-Do and in modern times with adorable, spunky actress Choi Hee-Jin, yet never feels unbalanced.

The romantic chemistry is absolutely crackling in this drama and leaves us with a PERFECT couple.

Where You Can Find It: DVD

5. Rooftop Prince

Synopsis: The Crown Prince of Joseon desperately searches for his wife’s killer along with three loyal servants and gets transported into the future. He meets Park Ha and ends up staying at her apartment with his three servants.

Things complicate when the Crown Prince is mistaken for a rich business heir and he finds a girl who may be the reincarnation of his wife. Will he be able to untangle this mystery? And before he falls in love with Park Ha?

Why You Should Check It Out: This is a hilarious, off-beat time travel drama that totally won me over with its cute and crazy fish-out-of-water story.

The Crown Prince and his three buddies are absolutely golden, reacting to modern-day wonders such as zippers on jackets and TV.

Sadly, the show turned more melodramatic in the second half almost transforming into an office drama. The super-cute romance between Park Ha and the Crown Prince kept me around even with all the reincarnations going on which left viewers with some ambiguous moments near the end.

I’ve re-watched Episode Two a handful of times and it doesn’t fail to put a smile on my face.

Where You Can Find It: Viki, DVD

6. Splash Splash Love

Other Titles: Splish Splash Love

Synopsis: Dan Bi has been prepping for her college aptitude test but stress forces her to not show up for the test. She ends up slipping through time to the 15 th century where a young King Sejong rules.

She helps the king who has an unquestionable thirst for science and it’s not long before serious romantic feelings start brewing. But Dan Bi has to return to her home and her mom who’s waiting for her…

Why You Should Check It Out: With only two episodes, Splash Splash Love is more like a delightful 2-hour movie. Hilarious, emotional and unabashedly romantic, this drama blew past my expectations and left me with a lot of happy feels.

Dan Bi and the king bring together a fun if not adorable romance. Everything came together perfectly, including the secondary characters. This is a K-drama at its sweetest and finest.

Where You Can Find It: Viki

7. Time Slip Dr. Jin

Other Titles: Dr. Jin

Synopsis: Jin Hyuk is an extremely skilled doctor with a pretty girlfriend. But life takes a turn when his girlfriend gets in an accident and Jin Hyuk gets transported to the 19 th century.

There he associates with a nobleman who turns out to be the future Royal Prince Regent and an idealist girl who might be the reincarnation of his girlfriend. This doctor has his hands full of plagues, sicknesses, rudimentary medical tools and war brewing in the air.

Why You Should Check It Out: The pros of this time travel drama – a look at a fascinating time during the Joseon dynasty in the late 1800s with the 1871 Battle of Ganghwa with American forces, early persecution of Catholics, and the rise of the Prince Regent Heungseon into power.

However, the drama itself is manic and confusing with really no resolution by the end. The main leads are boring and difficult to empathize with. But the supporting cast fascinates with the clever, multi-layered Prince Regent, the charming lady Gisaeng (similar to a geisha), the angsty, tortured police captain and his best friend who’s secretly a rebellion leader.

Sadly, the ridiculous and unbelievable overshadows much of the good in this drama. But overall, it’s still a fun watch.

Where You Can Find It : Tubi

Do any of these Asian time travel dramas interest you? Have you seen another time travel drama you loved or hated? I’d love to hear about it!

ARE YOU A ROMANCE FAN? FOLLOW THE SILVER PETTICOAT REVIEW:

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Faith has always enjoyed movies and TV shows from swoon-worthy period dramas to heart-stopping action-adventure flicks. Her love of Korean dramas started a few years ago when she binge-watched a 62 episode period K-drama and fell in love. She also has a passion for writing stories. Even as a young teenager she entertained her sisters with episodic superhero adventures. Now she spends her time working, blogging, sewing, juggling several novels, and watching her favorite shows, mainly K-dramas. You can visit her blog at: www.justwaytooboss.blogspot.com

More posts by this author.

12 thoughts on “7 Absolutely Fun Time Travel Asian Dramas You Should Watch”

Thanks for this lovely list! I’m watching Bu Bu Jing Xin, even though I’m not good at handling unhappy endings, because my friend told me it doesn’t end there. Apparently in the sequel, Bu Bu Jing Qing (scarlet heart 2), things look up for our main couple. It’s also cute that the leads are a couple in real life (Nicky Wu and Cecilia Liu)! I plan to watch Queen In-Hyun’s Man soon! And one day, Rooftop Prince too.

You’re welcome! Yes, that’s true – I’d forgotten about that but Scarlet Heart 2 came out in 2014 so there is hope for the main couple! And it is adorable that they became a real life couple after doing two dramas together. 😀 I’m certain you’ll love Queen In-Hyun’s Man and Rooftop Prince is super funny!

The unnecessary unhappy ending of Rooftop Prince spoiled it for me

Can you give me a recommendation about historical drama?

Absolutely! For period dramas, my personal favorite is A Tree With Deep Roots . The story is riveting with assassins of a secret organization trying to stop the king from creating a Korean alphabet (and thus changing society by allowing everyone a chance to read). The main hero is out for revenge against the king as well. This drama is intense and addictive from beginning to the end. It’s only 24 episodes, so not too long.

Queen Seondeok would be my second favorite. This one is 62 episodes, so its extremely long, but its an epic story of a girl becoming a queen without a husband. Plus she’s surrounded by handsome loyal bodyguards (who make up the supporting characters). 😀

Other recommendations: Arang and the Magistrate (fantasy/historical. It really feels like a fairy tale.) The Princess’ Man (fantastic quality, super intense but great acting) Three Musketeers (wonderful balance of drama, humor, adventure and danger) Empress Ki (51 episodes but Ha Ji-Won is a wonderful actress and really sells the story of a young woman who becomes the queen of a foreign country) I’m also currently watching Jackpot (also known as Daebak) which is a beautifully shot drama. I’m loving the bromance between the main hero and the young prince.

These sound fun, especially Splash, Splash Love 🙂

Splash Splash Love is definitely a favorite of mine!

The list is incomplete without the KDrama “Nine: Nine Times Time Travel”. Please do not miss out on it ^^

I was looking for that!

Thank you :))

This list seriously needs the drama Go Princess Go I recommend it to everyone who <3 comedy romance time travel period dramas

I saw a Chinese tv series but only what could catch in episodes. female thief tries on empress dress and female bounty hunter shows tries capture her and they fight over a jade headrest go back in time . thief disguises herself as guy and bounty is mistaken for some rebels dead wife. I do not the name of the show.. but odd dramedy. spoiler alert , thief and her male lover return present time , he on top tourist bus and she at forbidden city . bounty hunter remains back in time with her love .

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Neuroscientist Shan Yu discovers the sudden death of his first love, Min Ying. Before she died, she clutched a birthday candle in her final moments. Lighting the candle, Shan Yu miraculously travels back ten years, and attempts to alter their fate. However, each journey he takes inadvertently triggers unforeseen consequences, and a decade-long hidden love story is gradually unveiled…

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Before Squid Game rocketed to No. 1 in 94 countries, with 142 million viewers and over 3 billion minutes watched , Story of Yanxi Palace was in 70 countries with 700 million viewers in a single day, reaching more than 15 billion views and becoming Google's most searched show in 2018 , even though Google isn’t available in China.

Yet most Americans have never heard of it.

Propelled by Netflix’s push for global dominance, Americans are discovering a taste for international content. A whopping 97 percent of US Netflix subscribers watched non-English content last year. Interest in Korean dramas has doubled in the past two years , while anime increased 50 percent from 2019 to 2020 .  With Asia accounting for more than half of Netflix’s new subscriber base, expect more hits from South Korea and Japan.

But what about the second-largest entertainment creator from a market where Netflix doesn’t operate?

Kuek Yu-Chuang, VP of International Business at iQiyi , China’s largest streaming platform, believes so. “Global demand signals became clear in 2018 with Yanxi , and sampling continues to grow.” In the last two years, more than half of US respondents tried Chinese shows per iQiyi’s recent survey. Monthly active users, viewing time, and Chinese content video views doubled in North America this year, according to statistics that iQiyi shared with WIRED.

“Chinese shows haven’t gotten the awareness or recommendation from Netflix’s 214 million members globally, which is why we haven’t seen the same breakout as with Korean or Japanese content,” says Julia Alexander, senior strategy analyst at Parrot Analytics.

Larry Namer, founder of E! Entertainment TV Networks and president of Metan Global Entertainment, expects China to have more global hits. “In some ways, there’s more room to take risks in China than in the US, despite the government. You’re restricted in some shows, but it’s wide open in others.”

For this list, WIRED drew from US and Chinese reviews and input from Chinese television creators and marketers: Ting Chen, screenwriter; Zijin Chen, author and screenwriter; Frank Jiang, CEO of Shanghai Yingyuan Culture & Technology; Jun Ni, screenwriter and associate professor of Film and Television, The Central Academy of Drama ; Rui Ma, CMO of New Studios Media Co; and Dai Ying, SVP and GM of Original Drama Division at iQiyi.

Recommendations are split: 60 percent modern, 15 percent period (1900-1990), and 25 percent historical dramas, based on the 2020 breakdown of 415 scripted web and TV C-dramas [LT3]. Our recommendations cover each genre and include individual, family, and societal stories, and we focused on shows that are available to audiences in the United States and Europe.

Without further ado, here is a C-drama Watch List of the most recommended shows from the past nine years.

Nirvana in Fire 琅琊榜

This is a must-see. Subversive wuxia (ancient martial arts story) with a physically frail lead who has lost his martial arts ability. It's set in sixth-century China, and Mei Chang Su, a brilliant strategist, secretly helps Prince Jing, the unlikeliest son, battle for the throne to clear his family’s name. This is based on a novel by Hai Yan—one of China’s most popular authors—that isn’t widely available in English, like many of the source novels on this list. “The quintessential C-drama about honor, courage, and sacrifice,” says iQiyi’s Dai Ying, “that remains the second-highest-rated C-drama.” “Visually beautiful. Epic yet personal story about how we live, how we die, and what’s important,” says Liv Fowler, a writer and fan of the series.

The Longest Day in Chang’an 长安二四时辰

A political action thriller set in Chang’an, the Tang dynasty capital, and based on a book by China’s top modern novelist, Boyong Ma. Zhang Xiaojing and Li Bi work to prevent a terrorist attack on Chang’an in 24 hours. You can expect movie-level production values. “The story has James Bond-like plot twists and double-dealings combined with a morality play that appeals to Trekkies,” says Michael Martinez, a super moderator of the SF-Fandom Forums .

Joy of Life 庆余年

This is a clever one. Joy of Life is a sci-fi, historical martial arts drama that explores technology’s two-sided impact on society. It starts out funny (but not over the top) and shifts into drama after episode 13. It's based on Mao Ni’s novel. Zhang Qin, a current college student, is reborn as Fan Xian in Southern Chin, retaining his knowledge and modern outlook of living for today. As the Minister of Revenue’s adopted son, Fan Xian must survive consistent assassination attempts as he avoids taking over the family business: Overseer of the Royal Treasury.

In the Name of the People 人民的名义

Interested in politics or the inner workings of Chinese politics, in particular? Sometimes called China’s House of Cards minus the production values and budget, this series is based on Meisen Zhou’s web novel. In it, Liangping Hou hunts down corrupt government officials as internal party factions struggle for power. The series was so popular it broke 10-year domestic drama records .

The Long Night 沉默的真相 and The Bad Kids 隐秘的角落

If psychological crime focused on current issues is your cup of tea, check out two of the highest-rated suspense dramas by China’s top crime suspense writer, Zijin Chen.

A body dumped at a busy subway station leads to an old case and a seven-year search for justice in The Long Night . After accidentally filming a murder, three troubled teens blackmail the murderer for cash in The Bad Kids . The latter highlights the issue of children left to raise themselves.

A Little Reunion 小欢喜

A charmer that’ll make you laugh and cry. This one is based on Yin Gong Lu’s work, and we follow three families with high schoolers preparing to take the gaokao, China’s grueling college entrance exams. This series explores education, parental expectations, and mental health and features a well-rounded cast with nuanced performances. “This story’s for anyone who’s a parent or been a teen,” says Frank Jiang. “[It] covers the love, conflicts, anxieties, and joys between parents and teens.”

With You 最好的我们

With You is a sweet, funny coming-of-age drama adapted from Ba Yue Chang An’s book. Watch flawed leads Geng Geng, an awkward student, her seatmate, Yu Huai, a top student, and their crew grow in high school and beyond. Well-rounded characters deal with realistic issues, and the drama is a critical and audience favorite, despite its rushed ending. “At heart, this is a story about how we gradually, inch by inch, find the best of who we are, no matter our challenges,” says Frank Jiang.

Tientsin Mystic 河神

This series has it all: a river god/mystic detective, a shaman, a forensic scientist, and zombies. It’s an unusual historical-mystery-horror-fantasy show with Chinese folklore set in 1920s Tianjin. It's based on best-selling author Bachang Tianxia’s work. Guo Deyou, who recovers corpses from the local river, teams up with friends to solve a murder case, leading to both another case that’s 20 years old and a cult. For fans, the episode recaps are in traditional Chinese story-telling style 说书, and the series features great special effects and has earned directing awards, despite its web drama budget.

All Is Well 都挺好

Love-hate your family? All Is Well is based on the novel by Ah Nai. The Su family struggles to cope with their father and deal with each other after their mother’s death. The series explores gender discrimination, parental caretaking, and what it means to be a family. It has also sparked heated discussions about female expectations and familial abuse. “This set a new bar for all future family dramas in every aspect. And it highlights real social issues, creating ongoing discussions,” says Jun Ni.

The Untamed 陈情令

The Untamed is a Xianxia (immortal hero Chinese fantasy) romance-mystery that’s a global phenomenon. Based on Mo Xiang Tong Xiu’s novel , the series features well-rounded characters and a nonlinear plot with lots of subtext. “Romantic with a capital R that’s rare to find in other media,” says Natasha Simonova, a fan of the series and teaching fellow at Oxford. Fans are so enthusiastic about recommending the show that it’s been called “The Untamed Pyramid Scheme.” Wei Wu Xian is resurrected 16 years after his death. He and his soulmate cultivator, Lan Wang Ji, solve different mysteries, including who’s responsible for Wu Xian’s original demise. Justice, loyalty, sacrifice, and most of all a slow burn, this love story has women and men squealing.

Someday or One Day 想见你

This Taiwanese series blends time travel, romance, and mystery and manages to be smart, whimsical, and poignant. Twenty-seven-year-old Huang Yu-Hsuan still misses her boyfriend Wang Quan-Sheng, who disappeared two years ago. One day, she wakes up in the hospital with Quan-Sheng but is trapped in 17-year-old Yun-Ru’s body. And it turns out Quan-Sheng isn’t her boyfriend but is instead Zi-Wei, Yun-Ru’s classmate. Can she save Yun-Ru? Will love endure? “A simple story that engages viewers’ minds,” says Rui Ma. “Strikes just the right balance between realism and fantasy, which is hard.”

Minning Town 山海情

An unflinching story about impoverished villagers in Xihaigu (one of the poorest and driest areas in China) and their fight for survival. We follow Ma Defu as he tries to convince the village to grow mushrooms, find a market, develop a water solution, secure investment, and find other employment for the villagers. The series features a tight story and a well-rounded cast. “Creative storytelling using a web novel, RPG (role-playing game) structure for serious, historical content,” says Rui Ma, “creates an unexpected, runaway hit for young, urban audiences.”

Nothing But Thirty 三十而已

This series is a female-focused drama set in Shanghai that looks at who we are and who we want to become as we transition from our twenties to our thirties. Wang Manni is single and about to become “leftover” (a Chinese term used for unmarried women after 28-30.) Zhong Xiaoqin’s “perfect” marriage gets destroyed, and Gu Jia’s upper-middle-class life as a stay-at-home mom is no fairy tale. “The show’s success significantly increased the number of female-driven stories being made,” says Jun Ni.

Story of Yanxi Palace 延禧攻略

This incredible series is a modern Cinderella rags-to-riches story set in the Qing era, with a strong female lead who’s not waiting on her prince. Wei Yingluo enters the palace as a maid to avenge her sister’s death. Through her scheming and ruthlessness, she rises to the level of imperial concubine. Yingluo’s struggle to survive in the palace resonated with viewers navigating today’s cut-throat, male-dominated workplace. Luscious and authentic visuals.

For more series and movies you might like, check out iQiyi , Tencent , Youku , and Viki . If you want reviews of Chinese TV shows and movies, look at AvenueX , Cdramawiki , Douban , and MyDramaList . For award-winning shorts and films, try Chinese in Entertainment .

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How Chinese and Korean Dramas invented a new time-travel approach

Transmigration dramas put a new spin on time travel.

Americans are deeply familiar with the classic time-travel trope.

Someone travels backward or forwards in time, often with the aid of technology , messes with the history as it was (or is to be) written, and then has to deal with the consequences. (Meanwhile, viewers struggle to navigate the myriad plot holes that tend to emerge.)

But most Chinese and Korean dramas approach time travel completely differently. Instead of having protagonists travel bodily back and forth in time, these works use a concept known as transmigration, which combines soul migration with time travel.

"When the general public talks about these concepts in [Korean] film and television, they typically speak of specific tropes like time travel, reincarnation, or a second chance at life, rather than using one word that encompasses all the meanings that ‘transmigration’ includes,” Sarah Chung, founder of Dramabeans.com , a K-drama fansite, tells Inverse .

Transmigration simply means the movement of a soul between worlds and time. In Korean and Chinese dramas that use it, the protagonist's soul suddenly migrates between realms and takes up residence in an existing person's body (think: Quantum Leap only without the technological component and generally in a more distant time period). It differs from reincarnation or rebirth stories common in Chinese and Korean pop culture, in that the “time traveler” is not reborn in the same world.

"Many transmigration storylines are a form of shuang wen (爽文), where the protagonist goes on a journey as they conquer obstacles and grow as individuals,” E and J, editors of dramapotatoe , a Chinese entertainment site, tell Inverse . "It's a satisfying journey for the audience who relate deeply to those challenges."

The concept has many variations, but the core aspect of a transmigration drama is the transcendence of time and space — but for both cultural and political reasons, the variations can be quite specific.

THE RULES OF TIME TRAVEL is an Inverse special issue exploring the evolution of science fiction's most imaginative sub-genre. From Marty McFly to Avengers: Endgame

What is transmigration?

A screenwriter transmigrates into her own story in The Romance of Tiger and Rose .

In Chinese media, transmigration is broadly known as chuānyuè (穿越) — though there are distinct subgroups within the genres — while in Korean media, it’s known as hoegwi (회귀) or bing-ui (빙의), or a combination of the two.

"Transmigration — as we see it in books and dramas today — isn't connected to traditional literature; it's very contemporary," AvenueX , a Chinese drama reviewer on YouTube, tells Inverse . "It didn't begin until the 1980s or ‘90s, and it first appeared in novels."

Xún Qín Jì (寻秦记) was a 1997 time travel novel in which a 21st-century secret agent uses a time machine to transport himself to the Qin dynasty and uses his knowledge to shape historical events. Although it's not exactly a transmigration story, Xún Qín Jì was instrumental in the development of the genre, and its 2001 drama adaptation, A Step into the Past , became the prototype for modern transmigration dramas.

Xiran Jay Zhao, the New York Times bestselling author of the Iron Widow trilogy and a Chinese history/culture YouTuber, notes that since the inception of the trope, many distinct subgenres of transmigration have developed.

“Chuān shū (穿书) translates to ‘transmigrate into a book,’” they tell Inverse . “For example, in The Romance of Tiger and Rose , screenwriter Chen Xiaoqian (Zhao Lusi), transmigrates into her own historical screenplay."

They add, “Chuān jīn (穿今) refers to when a person from the past transmigrates to the present, while chuān chéng (穿成) refers to when you transmigrate into a specific person.”

A Step into the Past is a 2001 drama adaptation of Xún Qín Jì.

In Korea, the rise of transmigration stories follows a long-standing interest in reincarnation in Korean media.

"I've observed reincarnation as a popular topic in Korean dramas, more than transmigration," Sara Bechtol, editor for the Netflix Korean entertainment channel The Swoon , tells Inverse . "They usually depict poor, hardworking characters who are reborn as wealthy, accomplished people, or in some circumstances, humans who are reincarnated as animals or nature.”

"Hwansaeng (환생) means 'reincarnation,' and it refers to characters who may or may not remember their previous lives,” Dramabeans’ Chung explains. “Furthermore, some stories may contain elements of more than one trope. A combination of these tropes is referred to as hoe-bing-hwan (회-빙-환)."

Its origins can also be traced back to early 21st-century time-travel novels.

“The first hoegwi novel published in print in the domestic genre novel market was Lee Sang-Hyun's 2004 martial arts novel, Baekdo (백도)," says Chung. "However, hoegwi novels didn't gain popularity until the 2010s, likely coinciding with the growth of the webtoon and web novel formats."

Fantasy Fulfillment & Nostalgia

Hae-Soo gets caught up in an imperial palace struggle 1000 years in the past in Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo .

For Zhao, to understand the success of transmigration dramas in China, you have to recognize the popularity of historical costume dramas in general. Chinese people enjoy period dramas — and consequently, most transmigration dramas — Zhao explains, because they are nostalgic for the precolonial period.

They add, "China was the dominating nation in the area at the time, in contrast to all the humiliation and misery of the 19th and 20th centuries. This, paired with the stunning aesthetics of pre-colonial fashion in C-dramas, means that there's always a large number of transmigration dramas releasing at any moment.”

Coca Xie, TV host, producer, and founder of China Entertainment Group , tells Inverse that Chinese audiences love stories about men who write poetry and fall in love with beautiful women, or swordsmen who travel around to save the world.

“Audiences enjoy the anticipation of what the protagonist will do...”

“Many of these dramas are based on stories we grew up with, such as Journey to the West (1986) and Romance of the Three Kingdoms (1994) , and they remind us of video games we used to play as kids. As a result, there is a strong nostalgic impact," Xie says.

“Because Chinese people know our history so well,” Zhao says, “We love imagining what we’d do if we were thrown back in time with all the knowledge in our minds, especially at crucial historical junctions where one change can have huge historical ripple effects.”

Zhao gives A Step into the Past as an example. The story follows a protagonist who transmigrated to the end of the Warring States era of China when the boy meant to become the first emperor of China dies.

“So now, he has to place another boy in his place and ensure that the right sequence of events still ends up happening, or there’s literally gonna be no China in the future to return to,” Zhao explains.

"Likewise, Scarlet Heart takes place during a turbulent period in which the Kangxi Emperor's numerous sons vie for the throne, but the transmigrated protagonist already knows who will triumph,” they add. “Audiences enjoy the anticipation of what the protagonist will do with their knowledge of how things should proceed and if their actions would affect events."

Different Tropes for Different Folks

Thousand Years of Love is a Korean time travel drama that follows Princess Buyeo Ju of the Baekje Dynasty.

Korean pop culture, as in America, was deeply invested in the standard time travel tropes — one person, moving bodily into new periods until the adaptations of Chinese transmigration dramas became so popular.

Thousand Years of Love (천년지애) (2003) was the first Korean time travel drama, which focused on Princess Buyeo Ju (Sung Yu-ri) of the Baekje Dynasty (18 B.C. - 600 A.D.) who travels to 2003 while trying to avoid the advances of her Kingdom's conqueror, Silla General, Kim Yu-Seok (Kim Nam-jin).

The drama was a pioneer at the time, and over the next two decades, it inspired dozens of period-era time travel dramas, including Rooftop Prince (2012), Faith (2012), Splash Splash Love (2015), and more.

“...a pleasant form of escapism”

However, it wasn’t until the release of Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo (달의 연인 - 보보경심 려) in 2016 — based on the Chinese novel-turned-series Startling by Each Step (步步惊心) which aired in 2011 — that transmigration became more popular among K-drama fans.

" Scarlet Heart Ryeo and Mr. Queen are the few K-dramas in which one soul travels across time to a different body," The Swoon’s Bechtol says; each was adapted from the Chinese original. "In dramas, the majority of soul-swapping takes place in the same timeline, and standard time travel dramas usually involve a character physically entering the past or future."

"The dramas may also include ludicrous shenanigans whether it's a high schooler in an adult body or a modern-day chef in a Joseon Queen's body," she adds. "This content is a pleasant form of escapism, but the lessons the characters acquire may also be relevant."

It also allows Korean storytellers to distinguish their work while remaining true to concepts viewers love.

"In a congested drama landscape saturated with familiar themes, writers are constantly seeking new ways to tell stories,” says Dramabreans’ Chung. “These tropes provide extra tools with which to build inventive and speculative narratives."

“Frivolous content”

The popular Chinese web series, Go Princess Go! (太子妃升职记) — the story of a modern playboy who transmigrates 1,000 years back in time and into the body of the Crown Princess (Zhang Tianai) — was abruptly removed from the website of its production company, LeTV, in 2015. A week later, it was re-released , after a third of its original content had been edited out.

It was assumed that the drama was pulled down because of its LGBT-positive content — which was verified in 2016 when the Chinese State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television (SARFT) issued a new set of guidelines to regulate web dramas stating that feudal beliefs — including soul possession, reincarnation, witchcraft practice as well as, homosexuality and extramarital affairs — would be prohibited in future web dramas.

It was not the first time that Chinese authorities got involved in the content of Chinese-produced time travel dramas.

Go Princess, Go! captured the hearts of its audience with its campy, over-the-top narrative.

In 2011, the SARFT released a report criticizing time-travel dramas for their "bizarre plots, absurd techniques, and feudal superstition," and then expressed disapproval of these shows at a conference the following month, citing their “inaccurate history, exaggerated performance, and frivolous content.”

The SARFT then issued six guidelines in 2012 for the development of TV dramas, including one which stated that "historical dramas in ancient costumes should not create comedy." (Many shows had to be canceled since many transmigration dramas at the time were set in the historical past and were intended to be funny.)

Still, despite the new rules, new transmigration shows such as Joy of Life (2019) and The Romance of Tiger and Rose (2020) have passed the censors by adopting novel writing or dream setups, or by setting the story in fictional dynasties.

The unimaginable happens when a modern person is forced into a historical setting in Mr. Queen .

In South Korea, transmigration dramas are less regulated — but if one distorts Korean history, it too may be canceled or "pulled back."

This was the case with Mr. Queen ( 철인왕후), a 2020 Korean drama following a modern chef who finds himself in the body of Queen Cheorin (Shin Hye-sun) during the Joseon era. He struggles to adjust to his new body, navigate palace rules and maintain his relationship with King Cheol Jong (Kim Jung Hyun). It garnered over 4,000 complaints from viewers dissatisfied with the show's historical inaccuracy (as well as the derogatory remarks made about Koreans by the original Chinese novel author, Xiancheng).

As a result of the complaints, the subcommittee of the Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) announced that the drama would receive " administrative guidance " for its controversial scenes.

What’s next?

Three friends connected across time and space in Someday or One Day .

For AvenueX, who has been reviewing Chinese dramas for nearly five years, transmigration has become clichéd and overused.

"I think chuānyuè dramas are a little out of fashion these days," she says. "There are just too many works in this genre that have been thoroughly exploited and overwritten."

While AvenueX acknowledges that transmigration is a good plot device for creating interesting scenarios, she is concerned about the genre's future in the drama landscape that has become increasingly concerned with making more money rather than delivering great, original content.

As for movie creators in South Korea and overseas, transmigration may be exactly the thing needed to spice up a boring time-travel story.

The most popular transmigration K-dramas have been adaptations of Chinese works. However, as the trope becomes more prevalent in the media, we should expect additional dramas based on original works, which may provide something truly unique and unexpected.

This article was originally published on May 13, 2022

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TV / Movies

K-drama premiere: a joseon acupuncturist time-travels to the future in “deserving of the name”, it’s going to be a fusion of traditional and modern medicine in tvn’s new time-slip drama – “deserving of the name”..

Kim Nam Gil (Shark) plays a famed Joseon era oriental doctor, Heo Im, alongside a feisty surgeon Choi Yun Kyung (Kim Ah Joong), who lives in the modern times for the new fantasy-medical-rom-com drama Deserving of the Name.

Well-known to the lowly people of Joseon, Heo Im takes a post as a skilled acupuncturist for the poor people of the country by day, and a secret doctor to the noble people by night.  His excellent knowledge in the needle based alternative medicine has acquired him a hefty amount of fortune. Despite all the successes and riches he has, he is still unhappy for not being able to get a formal doctor title, which is given only to people of noble lineage.

When the King is throwing a fiasco due to the extreme headaches he has been suffering from, the Royal doctor Heo Jun pays Heo Im a visit to discuss the treatment offer that he can do for the King. If he takes away the King’s pain, he is promised to be rewarded with any position he wants, but a failure would mean death for him. Off he goes to the palace, but they are interrupted by a persistent father, who has been bringing his weak daughter for medical care. Not knowing that his daughter has made a deal to Heo Im to just let her die so her father will not suffer anymore, he heads to meet his important patient, armed with mysterious needles which magically showed up beside his needle sets.

Positioned to stick the needle to the ailing King, his hand surprisingly trembles, and he ends up being chased by the army for not rendering the service to the King properly. Two shots of arrows hit him, making him fall to the nearby river. When he wakes up, he is transported to a place he is unfamiliar of.  He tries to look for Haeminso, but a memorial tablet is what is left of the old traditional medicine place. He walks without any direction, and bumps into Surgeon Choi Yun Kyung, who has been looking for her stubborn VIP female patient.

When a man suddenly fainted, Heo Im cannot resist the call to save his life. He checks his pulse to diagnose the body’s energy flow. Just when he is about to place the needle, Yun Kyung grabs his arm to stop him, and does an excellent first aid treatment before the ambulance came.  Bewildered on the things he has been encountering, Heo Im walks nonchalantly along the big road when a bus almost hit him.  Yun Kyung who witnessed the near accident faints after remembering a traumatic memory.

When Yun Kyung wakes up, she is surprised to learn that she has earned an instant guardian and boyfriend through the weird guy she met last night.  When her patient ran away again before her procedure, she finds him with Heo Im eating food together in the hospital’s cafeteria.

Yun Kyung orders her patient to go back to her room.  Heo Im pleads innocence of the situation, and tries to appeal on how he has checked the pulse of the patient whom he knows to be having a bad heart condition.  The hardheaded patient goes to another rebellion by forcing her wheelchair on a steep staircase but Heo Im cushions his body to hers.

Yun Kyung sutures a big cut on his arm as they converse about the healing they give in Joseon period.  They head for a psychiatric consultation as she thinks he is deranged, and also to discuss the recent resurfacing traumatic memories. But the patient appears again, and lures Heo Im with his needle set which is in her possession.  The patient runs against her weak heart making her faint.  With no one to rescue her, Heo Im pulls out his needles to revive her heart. Yun Kyung arrives and slaps Heo Im for meddling with her patient.

Deserving of the Name starts time wrinkling right away after the introduction of the main characters.  As noticed, there is a cryptic needle set that was inserted but not yet elaborated though. I’m guessing if the real function is actually the time travel catalyst.  Given the time-bending pretext, we are off to discover plot links, and maybe character connections of the past and present timelines.  I’m thinking of reincarnation, karmic justice, and constant bickering for the lead characters, who have different views on healthcare as story seasonings.

As medical dramas tend to be thriving on conversations, the acupuncture lessons, and comparisons of old age healing techniques versus contemporary medical treatment are what viewers would most likely gain and learn from this drama.

Although not faring well in the ratings game at the beginning stage, I have enjoyed and trusted all weekend dramas of TVN so far.  With actors of excellent calibre tasked to spin the story, the ingenious plot premise would be enough to give it a try. I have slight issues with time-slip dramas as it is starting to lose its magic showing the same clueless character in a whole new world which he is thrown in. Let’s wait and see if this drama will live up to its name, well since it’s saying that it is Deserving of the Name .

Deserving of the Name airs on TVN’s weekend slot at 9PM.

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19 Time-Travel Dramas You Really Should Be Watching

A detective from 2000 and a cold case criminal profiler from 2015 solve old cases, as well as prevent new ones, by communicating through a mysterious walkie-talkie.

A man finds 9 magical incense sticks that allow him to travel 20 years back in time. He attempts to change the current world by saving his family from dangers 20 years ago, but the consequences are bigger than he can handle.

A detective accidentally travels to the future while chasing a serial killer through a mysterious tunnel. He discovers that the serial killer was never caught and continues to kill. With the help of the detectives in the future, he sets out to catch him once and for all.

4. Moon Lovers

An ordinary 21st-century woman gets transported back in time to year 941. She encounters royal princes of the Goryeo Dynasty and falls in love with the 8th prince.

5. Tomorrow, With You

A time traveling man foresees into the future to find himself living a miserable life. In order to change his fate, he marries a woman who ultimately teaches him how to love.

6. Saimdang, Light’s Diary

A Korean art history lecturer finds the mysterious diary of a historical figure named Saimdang. Through the diary, he tries to discover the truth behind her history.

7. Confession Couple

A divorced couple in their late-30s gets sent back in time to their college days. They try to change their life around by meeting new people, but destiny has its own plans.

8. Hit The Top

A famous idol travels to the future and meets his son, who is training to be an idol.

9. Live Up To Your Name

An oriental doctor from the past travels to the future and meets a doctor who firmly believes in modern medicine.

10. Splash Splash Love

A high school girl who has the ability to transport anywhere on a rainy day travels back to the Joseon dynasty, where she meets the young king.

11. Queen In Hyun’s Man

A noble-born scholar, who is the last remaining member of his family after a massacre, travels to the future and falls in love with an actress who stars in the drama about the massacre.

12. Rooftop Prince

A prince from the Joseon dynasty is sent to the future after he loses his lover. In the 21st century Seoul, he finds the reincarnation of his lost love who tries to help him back home.

13. Dr. Jin

A successful doctor travels back in time to the Joseon dynasty and meets a girl who looks exactly like his lover.

14. Somehow 18

A man travels back in time to try to save his first love who died when she was 18.

15. God’s Gift: 14 Days

A child gets kidnapped and is found dead. The mother of the child child travels back in time to save her child and catch the kidnapper.

16. Run Toward Tomorrow

A troublemaking high school student accidentally travels to the future, where he learns that his father was severely injured while looking for him. He tries to go back in time to change the future.

17. Manhole

A man travels between present and past in order to stop his ideal girlfriend from getting married.

18. Marry Him, If You Dare

A woman who regrets the choices she made in life travels back to her 32-year-old self, and tries to guide her away from making the same mistakes. One of the main mistakes being that she married the wrong person!

19. Bing Goo

A man from 1979 travels to the year 2016 and falls in love with a girl from the future.

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20 Best Time-Travel Shows Ranked

If you could travel back and forth through time, where would you go? What would you do? Who would you talk to? Even better, if you were writing a book, making a movie, or working on a television show about time travel, what would you include? The best TV shows about time travel all feature characters who visit other eras for various compelling (or even life-threatening) reasons. Maybe it's to prevent a coming apocalypse, maybe it's just to save one person's life — but as many of these shows teach, small changes can have big effects, and many of these characters learn that their time-traveling can change the world.  

Now, there are some great time travel-adjacent shows that don't quite fit this list. A fun romp like "Early Edition," for example, utilizes a time-traveling newspaper and potentially a time-traveling cat, but doesn't in and of itself feature a lot of time travel. Likewise, something like "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" is rooted in a time travel premise, but stays mostly in one time. With all that said, here's a look at our choices for the 20 best time travel shows on TV.

Save the cheerleader, save the world. That's what future Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka) tells present-day Hiro when he appears to him from the future, and that's what establishes "Heroes" as way more than just a superhero show.

The NBC series follows a group of regular people who develop special powers, not unlike mutants in the "X-Men" series, after a mysterious worldwide eclipse. Each character gains their own individual abilities. Claire Bennet (Hayden Panettiere) develops the ability to heal from any injury. Senator Nathan Petrelli (Adrian Pasdar) gains the ability to fly, while his brother Peter (Milo Ventimiglia) can temporarily absorb others' powers. Still, few of these characters have cooler abilities than Hiro, who can influence the space-time continuum. This means he can teleport, slow down time — and, of course, time travel.   

Understandably, Hiro's power set becomes a serious asset throughout the series, and his path to perfect his abilities is one of "Heroes'" strongest story arcs. The first few times he travels through time don't go as planned, and throughout the series, things can get in the way of him ending up where he wants to go or when he wants to be. While Hiro's time-traveling is just one part of the larger story, it's definitely one of the show's highlights – especially since Oka is so darn charming as the character.

19. 11.22.63

One of the best Stephen King TV series out there, the eight-episode "11.22.63" follows a man named Jake Epping (James Franco). He's a relatively normal guy who receives a chance to change history when his friend Al (Chris Cooper) tells him he's found a way to travel back in time. Al tells Jake that the portal he's discovered goes back to the year 1960 and that he's been working on a plan to stop the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Al's age and advancing cancer diagnosis prevent him from following through on the plan, however, and he asks Jake to take over for him. Jake agrees, but soon his quest is met with pushback from a mysterious source. As it turns out, the past doesn't want to be changed, and every step Jake takes toward preventing JFK's assassination leads to more cracks in the timeline. 

A charming and exciting time travel drama, "11.22.63" is a well-executed, twisty tale that only ranks so low on this list because it's in such great company. If you're looking for a quick, self-contained time travel miniseries that revolves around one of modern America's most notable events, this show is well worth a watch. 

When Oceanic Airlines Flight 815 crash lands on a deserted island, wacky and scary things start happening to the survivors. ABC's "Lost" deals with flashbacks, flash-forwards, mysterious groups that already have a presence on the island, a black smoke monster — and, as it turns out, an ancient battle between good and evil. One of the great appointment television shows before streaming broke through, "Lost" had fans talking about it and theorizing about its mysteries on a weekly basis.

The sci-fi drama captivated viewers for six seasons, and though time travel is referenced throughout the entire series run, it plays the biggest role in Season 4. As the island itself leaps from place to place and from time to time, the main group of characters jumps with it, encountering previous versions of themselves and island events that occurred in the past, and suffering from the effects of temporal displacement. The most beloved episode dealing with time travel is undoubtedly "The Constant," in which fan-favorite Desmond Hume (Henry Ian Cusick) figures out a way to stop his consciousness from jumping through time by finding his constant — his true love, Penny (Sonya Walger).

Of course, "Lost" is not just a time travel show, and famously covers such a wide variety of mysteries and sci-fi concepts that viewers might find it hard to keep up. As such, it ends up with this relatively low ranking. 

Like "Lost", "Fringe" is considered one of the most binge-worthy sci-fi shows of all time  but the fact that it isn't exclusively about time travel means it lands near the tail end of this particular list. The ABC show revolves around a science-fiction conglomerate that dabbles with interdimensional travel, wormholes, and alternate realities. Anna Torv stars as FBI Agent Olivia Dunham, who heads up the bureau's Fringe Division. With the help of "mad scientist" Dr. Walter Bishop (John Noble), his estranged son Peter (Joshua Jackson), and their lab assistant Astrid Farnsworth (Jakisa Nicole), Dunham explores cases involving fringe science — be they about time travel, mind control, experiments gone wrong or any other strange and obscure criminal activity.

Time travel is more of a looming presence early in "Fringe," particularly present in the character of the Observer (Michael Cerveris), a bald, pale, genetically advanced human from the future. While Season 1 and Season 2 deal with the battle between two dimensions and realities, time travel really becomes an element in Season 3. Seasons 4 and 5 then deal with alternate timelines and the Observers that infiltrate the world from the future, intent on wiping out humanity. As you might expect, things can get a bit confusing, but the show sure is fun.

16. The Umbrella Academy

You have to respect a show that's so high-concept that time travel doesn't even get top billing. "The Umbrella Academy" boasts mysterious events, family drama, dance numbers, a talking chimpanzee, some of the cleverest superpowers in superhero shows, and a robot mom — and that's just scratching the surface. Based on "The Umbrella Academy" comics created by Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance fame, the Netflix show is a saga that exploits everything from the butterfly effect to the grandfather paradox for emotional and comedic impact.

The central Hargreeves family consists of a group of kids all born on the same day, adopted by the same eccentric billionaire (Colm Feore). He has trained them to protect the world with their various superpowers, but they aren't particularly great at it, and their strict upbringing has left them with a wide array of issues and deep rifts between them. The dysfunctional bunch starts out fairly estranged, but slowly bonds to save humanity from an apocalyptic event ... only to cause another potential apocalyptic event by sprinkling themselves across time.

In between the tears in the space-time continuum, "The Umbrella Academy" is ultimately an ensemble story about found (and re-found) family, as well as a truly unique superhero show where personal failure and the side-effects of costumed crimefighter life play a huge role. However, since Season 1 largely approaches time travel through Number Five (Aidan Gallagher) and the Temps Aeternalis agency, and much of Season 3 focuses on a present-day alternate reality, only the 1960s-themed Season 2 goes truly all in on the concept of sending all main characters to a different era. 

15. Sliders

"Sliders" is a 1990s sci-fi adventure series that features Jerry O'Connell and friends getting lost across the multiverse. O'Connell ("Stand By Me") plays boy genius Quinn Mallory, inventor of the Timer — a device that lets him and his friends "slide" through a wormhole vortex into different versions of Earth. The thing about wormhole vortexes, though, is that they like to misbehave, meaning Quinn and his buds never know where they're headed next on their adventures. This makes their quest to get back home to their own Earth a tricky one.

"Sliders" starts off fun and strong, and is at its best when having bonkers fun — like when Rembrandt (Cleavant Derricks) discovers a world where he could have been Elvis-level famous — and when it's exploring real-world issues in a high-concept dimension, like when the crew visits an Earth that treats men worse than women. Even if you've seen it before, it's definitely worth a re-watch, because "Sliders" is one  TV show that's better than you remember.

14. Continuum

On "Continuum," Kiera Cameron (Rachel Nichols) is a Protector – think futuristic government agent from even more futuristic equipment — from the year 2077. She gets transported to the year 2012 along with a group of murderous terrorists, forcing Kiera to remain in the past as she chases them down. Fortunately, her gadgets and knowledge of the past soon come in handy and she finds loyal allies. Unfortunately, her enemies also know their history and plan on altering it for their own gain. 

"Continuum" milks the premise for all it's worth, while avoiding the pitfall of becoming a run-in-the-mill procedural with an unchanging status quo. While Kiera does handle her share of case-of-the-week story arcs, they're often connected to the group she pursues, and she never lets go of her primary target of stopping the terrorists. In order to avoid disrupting the timeline, she also has to go to great lengths to avoid revealing that either she or her targets are time travelers — and when their actions inevitably end up changing the future, she has to deal with the consequences. 

13. Timeless

If ever there was a time travel show that was canceled too soon, it's Eric Kripke and Shawn Ryan's "Timeless." The NBC sci-fi series stars Abigail Spencer as the historian Lucy, Matt Lanter as the soldier Wyatt, and Malcolm Barrett as Rufus, a scientist who makes up a team trying to prevent a mysterious organization from altering the courses of history through time travel. They're up againsts Garcia Flynn (Goran Višnjić), who travels throughout history intending to influence major events like the Hindenburg disaster. However, the team soon realizes that the villain they thought they were fighting is much larger and infiltrates the historical timeline in ways they never imagined. 

Instead of focusing on the usual historical suspects, "Timeless" often highlights forgotten people of color, women, and lesser-known historical figures, giving them their due and celebrating their contributions to society. This element of the show can be seen in the way Rufus, for instance, is reluctant to join the team because he knows how Black people are treated in the eras they visit. 

Despite its intriguing concept, the show was canceled after Season 1, but fans caused such an uproar that NBC reversed the decision of canceling "Timeless"  and renewed it for another season. After Season 2, NBC pulled the plug once more, and again, the fans cried foul. In a kind of compromise, NBC greenlit a special two-hour series finale that ties up loose ends and gives much-needed closure to the story. 

12. 12 Monkeys

The "12 Monkeys" SyFy series is based on the 1995 film of the same name that stars Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt — though the series makes a fair few changes to stretch the plot into a four-season sci-fi drama. The series stars Aaron Sanford as James Cole, a scavenger from the year 2024 who's tasked with traveling to 2015 in order to stop the release of a biological weapon. In the movie, James is helped by a psychologist named Kathryn Railly played by Madeleine Stowe, but here, he befriends a virologist named Dr. Cassandra "Cassie" Railly (Amanda Schull). Pitt's character, Jeffrey Goines, is also gender-swapped here, with Emily Hampshire playing Jennifer Goines.

Like the movie, the series deals with the Cassandra Complex, the idea that we have a hard time believing concerns about the future, no matter how likely and provable they are. It also deals with circular time and the idea that past events can be affected by future ones. If those aspects of the film lift your time travel antennae, the four-season show dives even deeper.

11. Paper Girls

"Paper Girls" is a brilliant time travel show that was canceled way ahead of its time. Based on the comics by Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang, this Amazon series tells the story of a group of 1990s tween girls who get attacked by futuristic invaders. They manage to escape into the future, where one of the girls, Erin (Riley Lai Nelet ), meets her adult self (Ali Wong).

The show dispenses with grandfather paradox hand-wringing and instead uses the concept of the girls confronting their past and future selves, to brutally honest and hilarious effect. Young Erin is horrified to find out how much of herself she's abandoned by the time she turns into Old Erin, and refuses to let life work out that way. It motivates Erin to want to return to her home time even more — this kid has a clock to beat. However, there are two sides to the coin, and Old Erin is also able to care for her young self in ways she never felt able to when she was younger. It's a beautiful and potent visual metaphor that other characters also make good on. 

All in all, "Paper Girls" is a feast for the eyes as much as its ensemble cast is a feast for the soul. Plus, Jason Mantzoukas playfully chewing scenery as the ominous Grand Father? This show could have lasted until the end of time — or at least until Season 2.

10. Timewasters

"Timewasters" is a time travel comedy about a Black British jazz band that accidentally time-slips back to 1920s London, among other timelines. The quartet stumbles into an earlier time perod via a disgusting elevator that, yes, doubles as a time machine. Once the crew shows up in the past, they're treated like freaks, but they gain some measure of success as musicians. While the crew eventually tries to return to the present, they also have a "Back to the Future" moment when they seemingly get stuck in the 1950s.

"Timewasters" is full of funny jokes and great music, and it's a groundbreaking show in a number of ways. "People like us never get to time travel — it's what white people do, like skiing or brunch," creator Daniel Lawrence Taylor told the Royal Television Society . "For me, race is so important." Taylor also stars in "Timewasters," along with Kadiff Kirwan ("Slow Horses"), Adelayo Adedayo ("Some Girls"), and Samson Kayo ("Our Flag Means Death"). The show is also an excellent destination if you're into spotting a variety of British actors and comedians ... including Joseph Quinn, who went on to rise to fame as Eddie Munson on "Stranger Things."

9. Outlander

Based on the series of novels by Diana Gabaldon, Starz's "Outlander" follows the story of a World War II nurse named Claire (Caitriona Balfe) who finds herself thrown back in time after visiting a circle of mysterious Druid stones. She arrives in 18th Century Scotland and, after being taken in by a band of gruff Scots, she marries the dashing young Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) in order to avoid being taken prisoner by her real husband's (Tobias Menzies) apparent evil ancestor, Black Jack Randall (Menzies). Claire lives through a time of great upheaval in Scotland when tensions with British control are rising and history-making battles loom in the near future. Despite being initially reluctant to stay, she and Jamie fall deeply in love, and their romance remains the backbone of the series.

The entire "Outlander" timeline  takes some time to explain, what with several 20th-century characters taking the trip to the 18th century and the show covering versions of notable real-world historical events. Without further spoilers, all there is to say is that if you enjoy time travel shows that lean heavily toward historical drama, "Outlander" is where it's at. Also, if you view Tobias Menzies as an incorrigible dweeb due to his performance as Edmure Tully on "Game of Thrones," his monstrous "Outlander" villain is guaranteed to erase that image.

8. Quantum Leap

"Quantum Leap" stars Scott Bakula as Dr. Sam Beckett, a physicist who invents a way to travel through time. When the corporation funding his project threatens to shut it down, Sam uses himself as a guinea pig to test out the method. He finds himself thrown back in time, but in another person's body. The only other entity aware of his 'leap" is a hologram of his colleague and best friend, Admiral Al Calavicci (Dean Stockwell). Al tells Sam that he must correct things that went wrong in the past before being allowed to leap back to his own time and body, and can only use the resources of the project's supercomputer, Ziggy.

With Sam leaping back and forth into different bodies at different times, the show uses a variant of the traditional procedural set up. New characters turn up to guest star and Sam gets to save the day, have a fling, and learn something new before leaping to the next destination, which just might be home one of these days.  

The series ran on NBC from 1989 to 1993, but its combination of time travel and case-of-the-week antics has proved enduring enough that "Quantum Leap" even gets a shout-out in "Avengers: Endgame." Despite being over three decades old, it remains a cool time travel series worth checking out.

7. The 4400

In the opening scenes of "The 4400," an enormous ball of light drops 4,400 people at the foot of Mount Rainier in Washington. They soon realize that they were all taken from some other point in time and deposited into the year 2004, unaged and without any memories of where they'd been. At first, everyone assumes that these people have been abducted by aliens. However, it soon turns out that the truth is far more time travel-related.

The returned people soon start developing "Heroes"-style powers that range from telekinesis to telepathy and super-strength, which people from the future have entrusted with to prevent various catastrophic events that they want to avoid in their timeline. Unfortunately, the 2004 government considers the powered folks a threat, and inhibits their powers with a neurological drug. 

The stories that unfold from this setup are exactly as complex and entertaining as you'd imagine, with various members of the titular group treating their powers in different ways and society having a hard time dealing with them. Unfortunately, "The 4400" ended abruptly after four seasons on a somewhat ambiguous note, but even so, it's a fun show to revisit.

6. Travelers

In Netflix's "Travelers," time-traveling operatives from a post-apocalyptic future are tasked with preventing certain events that have led to the downfall of society in their own present day of 2018. The travelers' consciousness takes over a person in the desired time who's just about to die, and the operative then lives out the rest of that person's days though with the mission in mind ... and a strict set of rules they must follow. Apart from a list of ways they're not allowed to interact with the past, they're also strictly forbidden from communicating with other known travelers outside their team, save for special circumstances dictated by the Director, who communicates by temporarily taking over children. 

It's a unique and complex premise, and the way the travelers scope out potential targets for takeover and learn to live as them is as timely as it comes — they use social media, GPS locations, and other readily available online information for their time-travel tricks. This adds a layer of present-day dread to the show's fascinating take on time travel. 

Loki Laufeyson (Tom Hiddleston) meets his match when he comes up against the Time Variance Authority in one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's most ambitious Disney+ shows, "Loki." The TVA is so dedicated to maintaining a particular sacred timeline that they purge all alternate realities where someone made a choice they deem wrong, which might not always make sense, but precision isn't the point here. It's the idea of playfulness versus control. 

The Loki we see here is an alternate-timeline variant of the one the audiences are familiar with, and thus starts the show in full "The Avengers" villain mode before life — and time — starts grinding him down. Working with TVA agent Mobius M. Mobius (Owen Wilson), he starts redeeming himself by tracking down an apparently evil version of himself, Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) ... and ultimately tackling the biggest challenges time can offer.  

The God of Mischief's surprisingly human path of reckoning is the heart of a show that's deliciously stylish, silly, and sometimes scary. "Loki" takes a cops-and-robbers crime caper into time travel territory and explores hefty themes with a light touch, from mindless compliance to self-serving overseers to criminalizing anyone deemed different. "Loki" isn't just a time travel show — it's a show about everything time can offer and more, with characters dancing between eras as you might step from room to room. Also, it has Alligator Loki, who's objectively the best Loki of all. 

If "Loki" is too light-hearted for you, Netflix's "Dark" might be your jam ... provided you can make sense of its incredibly convoluted time travel storyline. Four families weave a tangled web of time travel in this German-language psychological thriller about missing kids, a rotten town, and how almost all of our secrets come out in time. In other words, it's a good time travel show, but it's definitely not a feel-good time travel show. 

"Dark" follows its many characters over the course of their lifetimes and, at one point, has three timelines going at once. Part of the intrigue and challenge of watching the show is trying to understand how (and when) each timeline threads into the other. If you decide to watch it, it's best to have an evidence board and plenty of red yarn ready to chart the relationships and betrayals the town of Winden sees over the years.

While "Dark" is as much a show about human connection and how frayed it can become as it is about time travel, it's also the MVP of using as many time travel paradoxes as possible during its three-season run. "Dark" is also an innovator in the field of wormhole placement. Wormholes are already not to be trusted, but a wormhole underneath a nuclear power plant? No, thank you.

3. Beforeigners

What happens when a bunch of Viking-era warriors, 19th-century figures, and Stone Age people pop up in modern-day Oslo? "Beforeigners" attempts to answer that question while navigating twisty murder mysteries with such efficiency that the Norwegian series may be best described as "crime travel." Adding to the intrigue is the way it focuses more on the present-day relationship between the time refugees and their modern counterparts than on how they showed up in the first place.

"Beforeigners" centers around the odd-couple partnership between hardened police detective Lars Haaland (Nicolai Cleve Broch) and eager new Viking police recruit Alfhildr Enginnsdóttir (Krista Kosonen), who investigate things like the murder of a Stone Age victim and even look into crimes with possible ties to Jack the Ripper.

The metaphor of time migration is an apt one for immigration, and this sci-fi show explores tricky real-life issues with plenty of scope. Creators Anne Bjørnstad and Eilif Skodvin got their start in comedy writing, and their commitment to the bit is evident in the show, including the language used. "Early on, I contacted researchers, professors who helped us. We also constructed the language that Stone Age people spoke, and even with the language from the 19th century: We worked on it to make it sound right," Bjørnstad told Variety . "Why not invest in language, which is such a big part of a person's identity?"

2. Russian Doll

"Russian Doll" could be pitched as "Natasha Lyonne's 'Groundhog Day,'" but that still wouldn't hint at half of the show's charm and emotion. This Netflix offering is a mind-bending time loop dramedy that's a stylish and surreal exploration of life, death, and all the trauma in between. Season 1 of "Russian Doll" features Nadia (Lyonne) stuck reliving her 36th birthday until she inevitably dies and resets back to her friend's bathroom. Later in the season, she discovers a fellow time traveler (Charlie Barnett). They quickly realize that the way out of their dead ends and into a new life is through helping each other.

Season 2 takes some departures from the recursive reality set up in the first season, bending viewers' minds even more thoroughly. "Russian Doll" goes deep, but keeps a sense of humor even as it twists the knife in its characters' hearts — and their timelines. The show keeps audiences just oriented enough by linking its time loops to recognizable spaces and sound cues. You will never look at the subway the same way again, and you will probably never get Harry Nilsson's "Gotta Get Up" out of your head.

1. Doctor Who

Really, could any other show top a list like this?  The untold history of "Doctor Who"  goes all the way back to 1963, when the show premiered on the BBC. The series follows the adventures of a Time Lord who calls themselves the Doctor — an alien being from the planet Gallifrey who travels through space and time on a craft called the TARDIS, which is charmingly disguised as an old-fashioned British police call box and is famously bigger on the inside.  Every Doctor has their own companions  – humans who follow the Doctor throughout space and time, helping people, battling new and recurring villains, and dealing with the assorted wibbly-wobbly stuff on the Doctor's timeline .

The original series ran from 1963 through 1989 and established the neat trick of recasting the Doctor every few years or so, thanks to the premise that the character has multiple lives and can reincarnate himself into different physical bodies. The modern series was revived in 2005 with Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor, and talented actors like David Tennant (twice), Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi, Jodie Whitaker, and Ncuti Gatwa have followed in his footsteps. Even without the fact that no other show has time travel quite as integrated into its very premise as "Doctor Who," the show's sheer longevity and cultural impact are more than enough to make it the king of the time travel hill. 

The 10 best Chinese and South Korean period dramas you can watch on Netflix and Amazon Prime

Netflix and Amazon Prime have invested in distributing a wide variety of international content. Fans of "The Crown" and "Game of Thrones" will find plenty of palace intrigue and sweeping battles in these historical TV shows made in China and South Korea.

From the high-flying martial arts of "The Untamed" to the political drama of "My Country: The New Age," these shows meld star-crossed romance, fierce family rivalries, and epic legends to expand the range of historical narratives we see on screen.

Epic battles, beautiful costumes, and plots melding myth and magic – historical dramas made in China and South Korea have gained a huge online following in recent years as Netflix and Amazon Prime invest in distributing international content.

From the political intrigue and forbidden romance of "The Rise of Phoenixes" to "Kingdom" — a darkly comic zombie thriller — there's a story to entertain everyone. Fan favorite "The Untamed" deftly dodges anti-LGBTQ censorship with its subtle portrayal of the bond between two demon-fighting warriors. At the same time, "Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung" delves into the lives of Joseon-era women fighting for the right to pursue a career in academia.

From Seoul to Shanghai, whether you're looking to watch a high-stakes thriller or a light romantic comedy, these are the 10 best historical dramas made in China and South Korea to stream online now, listed in no particular order.

Note: Numerous Netflix titles drop off the service monthly, so the availability of titles below may change.

Every series commits to painting a vivid picture of the time in which each story is set. From the Tang dynasty in ancient China to Korea's Joseon kingdom, history fans can enjoy the gorgeous costumes and stunning set designs that give each show an extra layer of authenticity.

These are the 10 best historical dramas made in China and South Korea, available to stream now on Netflix and Amazon Prime.

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Horror and dark comedy combine in 'Kingdom,' a political satire with teeth

In 15th century Joseon Korea, the king has fallen ill. At least, that's the official story – but when crown prince Lee Chang (Ju Ji-hoon), sneaks past the guards to visit his father, he spots the shadow of a vicious monster prowling the palace halls.

The prince, determined to uncover the truth, travels to the impoverished village of Dongnae. There, the starving populace rises up as an undead army ready to annihilate their negligent rulers.

"Kingdom" invites viewers to watch with nail-biting dread as the prince attempts to outrun the zombies, while painting the horror as an inevitable by-product of the systematic corruption that pervades the nation.

A dark thread of satire connects the scares: we know those peasants aren't eating venison soup, and the feckless aristocracy is dooming themselves to extinction as the hungry hordes close in.

"Kingdom" is available to watch on Netflix.

'Handsome Siblings' is an epic martial arts fantasy about two brothers destined to be bitter rivals

Think Thor and Loki, but with gravity-defying martial arts instead of magic hammers.

Hua Wuque (Hu Yitian) and Jiang Xiaoyu (Chen Zheyuan) are twins, separated at birth, and raised to hate each other. When Hua Wuque comes of age, he sets out to kill his brother – but he's unprepared for Jiang Xiaoyu's mastery of tricks and treachery. Jiang Xiaoyu's love of mischief is the perfect foil for Hua Wuque's cold resolve, and half the fun is watching the two squabble and spar, each unable to best the other. The brothers run rings around each other until a greater threat compels them to combine their skills and work together.

Across 44 episodes, they battle demons and deadly enemies, fighting back to back – and forever looking over their shoulder, just in case.

"Handsome Siblings" combines stunning fight sequences and aerial acrobatics with an epic bromance you'll love to root for.

"Handsome Siblings" is available to watch on Netflix.

'Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung' follows an ambitious young scholar determined to make her mark on history

This rare period drama puts a young woman and her career at the center of the story.

Set in 19th century Korea, the series follows Goo Hae-ryung (Shin Se-kyung) as she succeeds in becoming one of the first four female historians to compile the Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty. Goo Hae-ryung is intelligent and meticulous, but finds her work consistently undermined by the male historians, who refuse to acknowledge her skill.

As she strives to prove herself, she meets Yi Rim (Cha Eun-woo), a lonely prince who prefers to write romance novels rather than engage in court politics. While Goo Hae-ryung is judged for her ambition, Yi Rim is shunned for entertaining his romantic ideals.

Part love story, part workplace drama, "Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung" explores the challenges of ensuring the truth is upheld when recording history, while giving viewers a fascinating insight into the gender politics of the time.

"Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung" is available to watch on Netflix.

'The Longest Day in Chang'an' is a gripping historical thriller set in Tang dynasty China

"The Longest Day in Chang'an" transports viewers to the vibrant capital city of Tang dynasty China.

It's 744 AD and people from across the nation are heading to Chang'an to celebrate the annual lantern festival. But young intelligence officer Li Bi (Jackson Yee) receives information that terrorists have infiltrated the city, and plan to use the festival as cover to threaten the court. Li Bi enlists former soldier Zhang Xiaojing (Lei Jiayin) from prison and grants him a 24 hour-amnesty to foil the plot before the festival begins. If he succeeds, he'll be granted freedom. If he fails, execution awaits.

This high-stakes thriller is beautifully shot and tightly plotted, interweaving efficient, deadly action sequences with sweeping shots of the city preparing for the festival.

"The Longest Day in Chang'an" is a high-budget production, and no expense is spared ensuring the costumes, set design, and props mirror life in the ancient Chinese capital.

"The Longest Day in Chang'an" is available to watch on Amazon Prime.

'The Untamed' is an ambitious saga of sword-fighting, sorcery and soulmates

"The Untamed" is a sweeping fantasy that draws on ancient Chinese mythology to weave a spellbinding story of two warriors fated to fight side by side.

Wei Wuxian (Xiao Zhan) and Lan Wangji (Wang Yibo) are skilled sorcerers who battle undead armies using a fierce combination of magic, martial arts, and musical instruments that draw out evil spirits.

"The Untamed" is based on "Mo Dao Zu Shi", a novel by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu. The original is an epic love story, but in 2015, the China Television Drama Production Industry Association prohibited LGBTQ relationships from being shown on TV. It means that Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji's relationship in "The Untamed" is chaste. Still, the two consider themselves to be soulmates, and the subtle spark between them ignites a legendary partnership.

"The Untamed" is available to watch on Netflix.

A princess in disguise, feuding families, and political scheming make 'The Rise of Phoenixes' a captivating period piece

"The Rise of Phoenixes" spins a complex tale of forbidden love and warring dynastic clans. Set in the fictional Tiansheng kingdom, the series introduces Ning Yi (Chen Kun), sixth in line to the throne and recently released from prison after daring to oppose his brother's execution.

Meanwhile Feng Zhiwei (Ni Ni), the sole surviving royal of the previous dynasty, disguises herself as a male scholar and makes her move to infiltrate the palace. The two meet and secretly fall in love, but Ning Yi's family has plans to use his marriage prospects for political gain, while Feng Zhiwei can't afford to lose sight of her goal.

This is "Romeo and Juliet" if Romeo were less naïve and gunning for revenge, and Juliet was willing to trade in her happily-ever-after to claim her lost crown. Expect dizzying plot twists, bloody battles, and an epic romance between two people who definitely weren't fated to be together.

"The Rise of Phoenixes" is available to watch on Netflix.

Power, politics, and priceless jewels dictate life as an imperial concubine in 'Empresses in the Palace'

Zhen Huan (Sun Li) is a young woman coming of age in Qing dynasty China. She secretly prays to find true love, but fate has other plans for her future.

It's 1722, and the Yongzheng Emperor is seeking new additions to join the imperial harem. Zhen Huan is among those chosen, and finds herself initiated into the ritualized world of the intimidating court, vying for status to secure her survival.

"Empresses in the Palace" plots an elaborate web of schemes between the imperial concubines. Educated in music and the arts, the women are expected to entertain the emperor, and vie for position to win his favor.

The show is renowned for its elaborate costumes, which imitate the Manchu court fashions of the time. The jeweled headdresses and embroidered gowns are as colorful and intricate as the ruthless political machinations that rule life inside the palace.

"Empresses in the Palace" is available to watch on Amazon Prime .

Loyalty and ambition collide in 'My Country: The New Age'

Korea's Joseon dynasty began with a battle.

Veteran soldier Seo-hwi (Yang Se-jong) and aristocratic military officer Seon-ho (Woo Do-hwan) face each other down at the heart of a conflict set to change the course of history.

As the battle begins, the narrative takes viewers back 10 years, to when the boys first met. Despite the class hierarchy that divides them, the pair find solidarity in their shared determination to prove themselves. Seo-hwi is a blacksmith, disgraced after his father was executed for embezzlement, while Seon-ho is aristocratic by birth, but despised because his mother was a concubine.

When both boys take the state military exam together, Seon-ho turns on Seo-hwi in an unforgivable act of betrayal.

"My Country: The New Age" is an epic story of broken brotherhood, set against a backdrop of seismic change as one dynasty crumbles and a new era begins.

"My Country: The New Age" is available to watch on Netflix.

'The Princess Weiyoung' is a romantic palace drama with a sting in its tail

When the king of the Northern Liang dynasty is framed for committing treason and his palace and forces attack his palace from the opposing Wei kingdom, Princess Xin Er (Tiffany Tang) is the only member of the royal family to survive.

Vowing revenge, she assumes the identity of Weiyoung, the estranged illegitimate daughter of the Prime Minister of the Northern Wei, and takes her place in his household. There she meets Tuoba Jun (Luo Jin), the emperor's favorite grandson. Kind and intelligent, he alone welcomes her into the palace.

"The Princess Weiyoung" melds romance with political intrigue as Xin Er struggles to reconcile her feelings for Tuoba Jun with her goal to avenge the loss of her family. 

"The Princess Weiyoung" is available to watch on Netflix.

'Hwarang' follows the lives of an elite warrior brotherhood in ancient Korea

In the kingdom of Silla, the Hwarang were a group of young noblemen educated in the fine and martial arts. While most were the sons of aristocratic families, this series introduces two unexpected additions to the crew: peasant Moo-myung (Park Seo-joon) and crown prince-in-hiding Jin-heung (Park Hyung-sik).

Both join the Hwarang under assumed identities and soon become friends. But Moo-myung has come to the court seeking vengeance on the prince his new role demands he protect.

Palace politics aside, "Hwarang" is a compelling coming-of-age story that follows the friendships and rivalries of the first class of Hwarang warriors. From playboy Soo-ho (Choi Min-ho) to bubbly prankster Han-sung (Kim Tae-hyung), this is a light comedy packed with a well-rounded cast of loveable characters.

"Hwarang" is available to watch on Amazon Prime.

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The 10 best South Korean movies you can stream on Netflix and Amazon Prime after watching 'Parasite'

Disclosure: Mathias Döpfner, CEO of Business Insider's parent company, Axel Springer, is a Netflix board member.

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