July 24 Short Drama Top 10 Watch: The Board Is Stale, the AI Rules Are Not (2026)

The board is stale, but the signal is moving

The latest complete row-by-row Hongguo heat board remains the July 22 afternoon refresh: Wanyao Tulu Zhuan Season 9 leads at 83.31 million heat, while AI/manhua titles occupy seven of the ten rows. 1

A newer July 24, 04:22 article reports only a partial update. It puts Wanyao Season 9 at 118.56 million on a seven-day composite reading, Jianzong Xiaoshimei Season 2 at 73.35 million, and Zhou Yi Ji Ye 2 at 76.87 million after a 95.82 million first-day reading, but it does not publish all ten rows. 2

Those figures are not merged into a new ranking below. The table preserves the last complete board, then adds the fresh launch and platform signals that could change the next one.

The latest complete Hongguo top 10

Rank	Drama	Genre	Format	Platform	Episodes	Hongguo heat
1	Wanyao Tulu Zhuan Season 9 / 「万妖图录传第 9 季」 1	Cultivation fantasy	AI/manhua	Hongguo	107 3	83.31m
2	Jianzong Xiaoshimei Season 2 / 「咱家剑宗团宠小师妹第 2 季」 1	Sect and cultivation fantasy	AI/manhua	Hongguo	486 4	77.14m
3	Reborn, Who Still Pretends to Be a Rich Heir / 「都重生了，谁还装富二代」 1	Rebirth and urban wish fulfillment	AI/manhua	Hongguo	71 5	75.78m
4	Tiger Mom Arrives, the Whole Family Falls in Line / 「虎妈驾到，全家反骨仔乖乖立正」 1	Family conflict comedy	Live action	Hongguo	72 4	69.80m
5	Zhou Yi Ji Ye 2 / 「昼以继夜 2」 1	Urban relationship drama	Live action	Hongguo	89 6	69.22m
6	Fanren Baishi Shu Season 4 / 「凡人百世书第四季」 1	Rebirth cultivation fantasy	AI/manhua	Hongguo	108 7	68.09m
7	Jianran / 「渐染」 1	Contemporary romance and second chance	Live action	Hongguo	71 8	67.28m
8	Deep Love for You, Entering the Rest of My Life Season 4 / 「予你情深，侵入余生第 4 季」 1	Romance serial	AI/manhua	Hongguo	Not verified	65.08m
9	Jianzong Xiaoshimei Season 1 / 「咱家剑宗团宠小师妹」 1	Cultivation fantasy	AI/manhua	Hongguo	Not verified	64.15m
10	Silly Girl Reborn, Building a Fortune After Waking / 「傻女重生记，睁眼后盖楼发家」 1	Period rebirth and family entrepreneurship	AI/manhua	Hongguo	102 4	62.03m

The board's three live-action entries are ranks 4, 5, and 7. The other seven are identified as AI short dramas or manhua in the ranking report. Title variants circulate for some AI entries, especially the eighth and tenth rows; they are kept as single entries here rather than counted twice. 1

Entry notes

1. Wanyao Tulu Zhuan Season 9 — 83.31m

The ninth season continues the series' cultivation engine with a dragon-transformation trial and a five-immortal war. Baidu Baike lists a July 19 Hongguo premiere, 107 episodes, and more than 3.8 million reservations by July 16. 3

The fresh July 24 partial report gives the same title a 118.56 million seven-day composite reading, well above the July 22 row-by-row board's 83.31 million. Because the two public reports do not expose the same table or clearly identical refresh conditions, the safer takeaway is that Wanyao remains the benchmark, not that the two numbers form a clean day-over-day series. 2

2. Jianzong Xiaoshimei Season 2 — 77.14m

Season 2 sits only 6.17 million heat behind Wanyao on the complete board and carries the advantage of a known world, a long episode inventory, and a heroine-centered sect story. The available metadata lists 486 episodes and a half-demon, found-family cultivation setup. 4

The newer partial update places Season 2 at 73.35 million on its own reading. That is lower than the complete-board number, another reason to keep the dated table and the partial update separate rather than force a single trend line. 2

3. Reborn, Who Still Pretends to Be a Rich Heir — 75.78m

This AI/manhua title uses a rebirth setup with a male wish-fulfillment turn: a man returns to youth after losing everything while hiding the scale of his wealth and ability. The metadata page lists 71 episodes. 5

At No. 3, it shows that the current board is not only a cultivation contest. Urban rebirth still has a high slot, giving the format a second route into the male-oriented fantasy audience.

4. Tiger Mom Arrives, the Whole Family Falls in Line — 69.80m

The highest live-action entry is a family-conflict comedy built around a forceful heroine entering a household with three difficult children. The available metadata lists 72 episodes. 4

Its position is meaningful because it does not depend on a returning AI franchise. Direct domestic conflict, fast emotional reversals, and a clear heroine give live action its best non-sequel lane on this board.

5. Zhou Yi Ji Ye 2 — 69.22m

The sequel arrived with the strongest visible promotion among the live-action titles. A launch report lists 89 episodes, a large ensemble, and a first-day Hongguo heat reading of 95.82 million before the title settled at No. 5 on the complete July 22 board. 6

The newer partial report gives a 76.87 million reading after that 95.82 million opening. The gap is a reminder that launch heat and retention are different tests, even when a sequel has strong cast recognition. 2

6. Fanren Baishi Shu Season 4 — 68.09m

Season 4 entered the board with a reincarnation system in which the protagonist carries knowledge and ability across lives. Baidu Baike lists 108 episodes, making it another long-run AI/manhua serial rather than a one-week novelty. 7

Its No. 6 position adds depth to the AI side of the chart. The evidence supports a strong arrival, but not yet a claim about whether the title will hold after its first burst.

7. Jianran — 67.28m

Jianran is the board's clearest contemporary-romance counterweight to the fantasy-heavy AI rows. It launched with 71 episodes, more than 2.6 million reservations, and an opening heat of 77.82 million; the story follows a divorced financial director who meets a younger former lover after he has become her chairman. 8

The title's July 22 position shows a visible drop from launch without a full disappearance from the board. That makes it a better retention test for live action than a title known only for a first-day spike.

8. Deep Love for You, Entering the Rest of My Life Season 4 — 65.08m

This returning romance serial is placed in the AI/manhua seven by the board report, but the readable public material did not independently confirm an episode count for this exact entry. The safer observation is about placement: a romance franchise remains inside a chart otherwise dominated by cultivation and rebirth.

There is not enough evidence here to claim comparable Douyin or Kuaishou momentum. Its rank is clear in the Hongguo snapshot; its cross-platform reach is not.

9. Jianzong Xiaoshimei Season 1 — 64.15m

The original season is the board's second Jianzong row, alongside Season 2 at No. 2. The pair gives one AI property two positions and suggests that sequel attention can send viewers back to an older season rather than simply replacing it. 1

The original's episode count was not independently confirmed in a readable source during this pass. The chart supports a franchise effect, but it does not show whether both seasons are being watched for the same reason.

10. Silly Girl Reborn, Building a Fortune After Waking — 62.03m

The cutoff title uses a heroine-led rebirth and family-entrepreneurship hook. The available metadata lists 102 episodes and a July 10 launch, placing it in the broader AI/manhua lane without relying on cultivation alone. 4

At No. 10, it sits close enough to the board's lower edge to show how widely the current AI wave has spread: fantasy, romance, family repair, and wealth-building are all competing in the same recommendation pool.

The next-chart challengers

Two live-action launches arrived as this stale benchmark was still circulating.

Nameless Light / 「无名者之光」 launched on July 23 on Hongguo and Douyin, with later distribution planned for Yangshipin and Migu Yuekan. It is a Republican-era revolutionary spy drama set around the Shanghai French Concession, led by Liu Xiaoxu and Lan Lan with Tang Guoqiang, Xu Wenguang, Hou Tianlai, and Feng Lei among the credited performers. The report did not provide an episode count or a comparable heat score. 9
The South Ting Mountain We Will Reach / 「终将抵达的南亭山」 is scheduled for a July 24 Hongguo-exclusive release. The reported premise places a young woman in 1996 Guangzhou, where a forced-marriage escape collides with the hidden identity of a group vice chairman; the report lists Wang Xiaoyi, Wang Daotie, and Chen Sitong, but no episode count. 10

These are watchlist signals, not new ranked entries. A release date, cast conversation, or platform placement can create a launch burst; it cannot replace a dated heat value.

What this board says now

1. Serial depth is doing the heavy lifting

Seven of the ten rows are AI/manhua, and the list includes Wanyao Season 9, Fanren Season 4, Yu Ni Season 4, and both Jianzong seasons. The format is winning recommendation space with repeatable worlds and large episode inventories, not only with isolated premieres.

2. Rednote is starting to police the supply it helped scale

A July 23 New Beijing News report said Hongguo had issued standards for AI character creation covering character differentiation and copyright compliance. The reported focus is on repeated high-frequency AI faces, look-alike character design, and unauthorized use of distinctive characters, costumes, props, photography, or artwork; it is a secondary report rather than the platform's original announcement. 11

That policy signal matters alongside the chart. AI/manhua has the volume advantage, but the next phase will be judged more harshly on whether viewers can tell one title from another and whether the visual assets are cleared.

3. Live action still has a narrow route back

Live action holds three upper-middle rows on the complete board. The next test is whether a new spy drama and a 1990s Guangzhou workplace-romance title can convert launch attention into a second-day reading, while established hits such as Zhou Yi Ji Ye 2 and Jianran defend their positions.

The latest partial numbers make the comparison harder, not easier. Wanyao's reported 118.56 million, Zhou Yi Ji Ye 2's 76.87 million, and Jianzong Season 2's 73.35 million indicate movement, but the absence of a full same-format table means the next reliable ranking will need a fresh row-by-row snapshot.

Data note: the table uses the latest complete public Hongguo row-by-row board available in this run, dated July 22. Heat values are converted from the board's ten-thousand-unit display into millions. A July 24 article provides only partial newer readings, so they are shown as a separate signal rather than merged into the ranking. No comparable new Douyin play-count snapshot or Kuaishou title-level score was verified for all ten entries; the cross-platform comparison remains incomplete.

July 24 Short Drama Top 10 Watch: The Board Is Stale, the AI Rules Are Not