On the evening of January 10th, the Chinese TV series "Tieu thanh dai su" (The Great Story in a Small Town) officially aired the first 2 episodes on Central Television CCTV-8 and 4 episodes on the Tencent Video platform.
With the participation of a cast of famous actors, including Trieu Le Dinh and Huynh Hieu Minh, "Tieu Thanh Dai Su" is expected to be a resounding success work at the beginning of 2026.
However, the achievements of the first episodes did not explode as expected and caused controversy.
In episode 1, "Tieu thanh dai su" witnessed a rapid rate increase in ratings (viewer rating). According to Khoc van, the film achieved a real-time rating of 2.2% in just 10 minutes, and recorded the highest mark of 2.63%, rising to the top among films shown in the same time frame. Episode 1 ended with an average rating of 2.18%.
But in episode 2, real-time ratings grew quite slowly, although average ratings still increased slightly to 2.28%.
The temperature index of "Tieu thanh dai su" on the Tencent Video platform reached 23,000 points after 2 hours of screening. Compared to the investment and expectations of a large project, this achievement is only average.
Notably, the film's performance on the Datawin media index chart was not very positive, ranking only 8th on the first day with 1.455 points.
There are also opinions that ratings above 2% are still a pretty good start and the film may grow in the later stages. The achievements of the opening episodes cannot accurately reflect the success or failure of the work.
Little City" is adapted from the journalistic work "City of Chinese Farmers", taking the prototype from the story of farmers in Long Cang (Onzhou, Zhejiang) building a city.
The film is set in the early 1980s, in order to accelerate development, Binh Xuyen district decided to establish Nguyet Hai town.
Two cadres with outstanding capacity and personality, Ly Thu Binh (Trieu Le Dinh) and Trinh Duc Thanh (Huynh Hieu Minh), with the philosophy of "city of the people, built by the people", took advantage of the Open-door Reform policy and Document No. 1 of the Central Government to find directions for innovation.
Under their leadership, tens of thousands of farmers have created a miracle: not using the state budget, just with "capital contribution + cooperation" initiatives, they have built a modern city right on the coastal alluvial ground.
Sources revealed that the production cost of the film was up to 200 million CNY. To realistically recreate the face of the 1980s, the film crew invested heavily in the setting, they went to old goods markets to buy hundreds of sets of old clothes, and even received continuous guidance from experts from the Department of Rural Development.
According to QQ, the initial assessment of viewers for the film is quite positive. Most viewers think this is an interesting film, the tempo is fast, and the acting of the cast is all noisy.
The film tells the story of building a city in a light, easy-to-see and pleasant comedy style. The film does not exploit or emphasize tragedy, but follows a slow, cheerful and optimistic narrative rhythm.
The work conveys the positive and upward spirit of the people of the 1980s: not afraid of difficulties, everyone is united, sharing the same goal.
Besides, there are controversies about Trieu Le Dinh, saying that the actress's acting is not good. Some other viewers assess that the film's setting design is still "artificial", not as realistic as advertised.
