Netflix on Thursday unveiled its full Chinese-language content slate for 2026, outlining seven new original series that further cement the streamer’s long-term bet on Taiwan as its primary hub for Mandarin-language production amid mainland China’s ongoing ban on foreign streaming services.
The lineup spans psychological thrillers, medical dramas, genre hybrids and supernatural action, and brings together some of the region’s most bankable stars, including Wallace Huo, Ethan Ruan and Gigi Leung. Executives described the slate as deliberately darker, more genre-forward and creatively ambitious than earlier offerings, as Netflix looks to deepen engagement with Chinese-speaking audiences across Asia and the global diaspora.
“Chinese-language storytelling is singular in its vibrancy, emotional depth, and willingness to explore complex, darker human truths,” said Maya Huang, Netflix’s head of Chinese-language content. “We’re especially excited by stories that take creative risks and immerse audiences in extraordinary worlds and experiences.”
Leading the slate is Miracles of the ER, a grounded medical drama set inside a major Taipei hospital, headlined by Wallace Huo as an emergency department associate director overseeing a team grappling with relentless crises, ethical dilemmas and internal power struggles. The series pairs Huo with rising star Kent Tsai and is slated to launch in the fourth quarter of 2026.
On the darker end of the spectrum, Confessions marks Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Ching-po’s first long-form series, reuniting the creative team behind the 2023 black-comedy box office hit The Pig, The Snake and The Pigeon. Starring Ethan Ruan and Gingle Wang, the psychological thriller traces how a violent crime in Taipei binds three families across generations, excavating buried resentment and prompting a moral reckoning.
Genre experimentation features prominently elsewhere in the slate. Bloody Smart unfolds in a tightly regulated school town destabilized by the emergence of a mythical “Bloodfruit Tree,” while action-comedy The Fixers centers on a down-on-his-luck gangster pulled into a clandestine problem-solving network tied to a century-old temple. Musical drama Dogman charts the rise and psychological collapse of a former rock star now adrift in middle age.
Two additional series — How to Survive Med School and supernatural sci-fi thriller Pacify — have already wrapped principal photography and will premiere later this year. How to Survive Med School, a coming-of-age campus drama about a young man who rebels after being tricked into enrolling in Taiwan’s top medical school, is written and directed by Giddens Ko and co-directed by Kai Ko and Tsai Jia-yin. Pacify, a supernatural action thriller centered on a cynical young woman drawn into a secret exorcism group after her sister becomes possessed, is helmed by Hong Kong filmmakers Derek Kwok, Anthony Yan and Henri Wong.
Beyond the titles themselves, Netflix used the announcement to reaffirm its broader investment in Taiwan’s creative infrastructure. Since 2020, the company has launched multiple training and development initiatives with local partners, including writers’ room workshops, production training programs and script development schemes aimed at strengthening the local talent pipeline.
“As the industry evolves, our focus remains consistent: long-term commitment, creative excellence, and a platform where Chinese-language stories can flourish locally and reach audiences worldwide,” Huang said. “Our ambition is to be the destination for Chinese-language entertainment that takes audiences into unexpected worlds.”
The new slate builds on Chinese-language projects Netflix has already unveiled for early 2026, led by Left-Handed Girl, which opens Jan. 30. Directed and co-written by Shih-Ching Tsou, the visually immersive drama follows a single mother and her two daughters who return to Taipei to run a night market stall, only to see long-buried family tensions surface. Sean Baker serves as editor, co-writer and producer. The film was selected as Taiwan’s submission for the 98th Academy Awards and advanced to the December shortlist.
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