iQiyi says short-form drama "Dead of Winter", which kicked off the new Undercurrent Theatre suspense brand, has hit a record engagement metric of 6,638 – the highest since 2024 –  triggering significant revenue-sharing for production partners. The Chinese streamer did not break down revenue share details.  

The series premiered on 4 August. Within five days of release, it generated over RMB5 million (approx US$740,000) in revenue-sharing earnings, with iQiyi projecting total revenue-sharing earnings to exceed RMB10 million (approx US$1,480,000) within nine days of release.

The show has topped multiple industry rankings across Chinese entertainment data providers Enlightent, Maoyan and DataWin. 

Enlightent data shows daily market share peaked at 60.9%, making it the second horizontal short-form drama this year to surpass 60%, following iQiyi's "The Ferry Man 10th Anniversary", a 10th-anniversary return of the classic IP "The Ferry Man".

Set in a small northeastern Chinese city in the late 1990s, "Dead of Winter" is a gritty crime suspense drama rooted in social realism. 

The series follows two former friends – a community police officer and a criminal investigator – who reunite to solve a series of major cases, unravelling an eight-year family tragedy. 

iQiyi said today that the debut "validates both the premium content model and the revenue-sharing approach underpinning Undercurrent Theatre, with more titles already in the pipeline". 

These include "The VI Group of Fatal Case" (Sixth Criminal Investigation Unit), a prequel to the 2001 crime procedural; and "The Murder Truth", adapted from an original work.