IQIYI Hot List

IQIYI Hot List helps you find truly popular shows and avoid bad dramas

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Looking for truly popular shows right now? Don’t let the algorithm trick you anymore?

Official Website: https://www.iqiyi.com/ranks1/home

When I get off work, I want to find a show that doesn’t require much thinking, but the platform’s homepage always shows duplicate content, or shows that have been over-promoted by bloggers. Finding truly popular ones saves me from wasting time on bad picks—this is probably a need many people have, right?

When I first looked for it, I didn’t know the entry point, searched the homepage and personal centre everywhere but couldn’t find it. Later I realised searching for the name directly or using the official link is the fastest way, saving at least ten minutes;
Treating the chart rankings as quality, I watched a suspense drama in the top ten of the overall chart, whose plot logic was ridiculously messy. Later I understood that the Hot List is just a popularity reference, not a third-party rating;
I only looked at the overall chart, wasted a lot of time scrolling through anime mixed in with dramas, and later found there are category-specific charts;
I thought all content on the chart could be watched for free, but when I clicked in, I found many exclusive dramas require a membership—what a letdown.

The most practical part of this is that its data source is real users’ viewing behaviour, not artificially boosted traffic, so it can help avoid many bad dramas promoted by marketing. For example, sometimes a drama is trending on Weibo, but hasn’t entered the top 20 of the Hot List—this is likely bought popularity, not real users watching it. Some dramas are hyped to the skies on the homepage, but rank in the teens on the chart, which also means their popularity is inflated—no need to waste time on them. I once followed a drama that was number one on the trending list, dropped it after two episodes, and later saw its popularity on the Hot List hovered around 15—sure enough, it wasn’t a hit, wasting a whole evening.

Its category-specific functions are more user-friendly than other platforms. Besides the overall popularity chart, there are also a Rising Chart and category-specific charts—for example, if you like variety shows, go directly to the variety show chart; if you watch anime, click the anime category, no need to scroll aimlessly in the overall chart. Moreover, all chart content is displayed for free, non-members can clearly see the popularity changes, no need to avoid membership ads to find data. When I was a non-member before, if I wanted to find popular anime, I’d just click the anime category on the Hot List, no need to search through the ads on the platform homepage, saving a lot of energy.

Compared to other video platforms, this chart is significantly cleaner: some platforms force their own exclusive dramas to the top of the chart, no matter how poor the data is; some charts mix short video data, not the popularity of full episodes; some weekly updated charts can’t keep up with popularity changes, by the time the chart is out, the drama is already unpopular. This chart doesn’t have so many forced contents, the data is real views of full episodes, and updates fast enough to see real-time fluctuations in popularity. Once an anime had just finished updating, it quickly rushed to the top three of the Rising Chart on the Hot List, I clicked in and watched an episode, it really met expectations, and later its popularity stabilised and didn’t drop—meaning it was genuinely popular, not artificially boosted.

There are a few tips to note when using it, which can save a lot of trouble: don’t just look at the overall chart, click the category charts according to your preferences to be accurate—for example, if you like workplace dramas, go directly to the workplace category chart of Chinese dramas, the overall chart is a mix of all types, making it too time-consuming to find. Don’t rush to watch dramas on the Rising Chart, they might have just rushed up after a few episodes, whether they can stay there depends on viewers’ short reviews, don’t get hooked after just two episodes. Don’t take popularity as quality, those at the top of the chart are just what people are watching, not necessarily good—for example, some dramas are trending because of many memes, but the plot is actually terrible. Also, don’t look for the entry point blindly, use the given link directly, which saves time compared to scrolling around the platform, avoiding detours.

This is suitable for people who don’t want to be tied down by algorithms, want to find what people are really watching right now, are afraid of bad dramas, and don’t have time to screen slowly—no need to scroll the homepage for an afternoon, click the link to see truly popular shows, the time saved can be used to enjoy watching dramas. I’ve now made it a habit, every day before getting off work I’ll click into this chart to find a suitable drama to relax, never stepping on those bad dramas hyped by marketing again, saving a lot of energy.

By the way, there’s an easily overlooked point: some dramas on the chart require a membership to watch in full, but the chart itself doesn’t distinguish between paid and free content. Don’t rush to subscribe to a membership when you see a drama on the chart, first search for free clips or find resources on other platforms, otherwise you’ll waste money on a membership for nothing. I made this mistake before: the drama in the top five of the chart required a membership to watch, but later I found the full version for free on another platform, saving a membership fee.