The Early Spring has become one of 2026’s breakout Chinese romance dramas by doing more than pairing an inexperienced employee with an intimidating boss. Its real appeal lies in the mixture of workplace pressure, a relationship that cannot remain uncomplicated, Shang Zhitao’s growth beyond romance, and the sense that Luan Nian and Zhitao have to become different people before they can truly meet as equals.
That combination has found an international audience. The Jing Boran and Sun Qian drama premiered on August 26 and debuted at No. 2 on Netflix’s global Non-English TV chart, recording 2.4 million views and 21.5 million viewing hours in its first partial week. Netflix itself describes the series through labels including workplace romance, bittersweet drama and lovers’ reunion.
So rather than recommending six random office romances, these picks match different parts of what makes The Early Spring work: adult chemistry, professional ambition, separation, yearning and relationships where work actually matters.
1. Never-Ending Summer (2026)
If the separation and reunion side of The Early Spring hit hardest, Never-Ending Summer should probably be your next stop.
Bao Shang’en and Daniel Zhou play Zhou Wan and Lu Xixiao, whose complicated youthful relationship is broken apart by circumstances and misunderstandings. The bigger connection appears later: 10 years after their separation, they encounter each other again in the workplace, with plenty of unresolved hurt still sitting between them. iQIYI lists the 2026 romance at 29 episodes.
It is less focused on corporate life than The Early Spring, but it arguably comes closest to its mixture of long-term emotional baggage, yearning and two people meeting again after they have changed.
Watch this if you liked: the breakup, longing and reunion.
2. Fake It Till You Make It (2023)
For viewers who liked The Early Spring because the romance felt like it belonged to an actual adult city rather than a fantasy version of office life, Fake It Till You Make It is an especially strong match.
Cai Wenjing plays junior lawyer Tang Ying, while Elvis Han plays investment banking executive Xu Ziquan. MangoTV describes both characters as urban professionals who maintain carefully constructed versions of themselves before gradually dropping those masks.
There is no need for the exact boss-employee setup here. What makes the comparison work is the mature attraction, career pressure, social performance and restrained romantic tension. At only 14 main episodes according to MangoTV, it is also considerably more compact than many modern C-dramas.
Watch this if you liked: mature chemistry and realistic urban romance.
3. Rising With the Wind (2023)
Rising With the Wind is the choice for anyone who thought Shang Zhitao’s career story was just as important as whom she ended up loving.
Zhong Chuxi plays Jiang Hu, who has to rebuild herself after her father’s company collapses, while Gong Jun’s Xu Si is an investment professional whose business ambitions repeatedly put him into conflict with her. Their relationship develops while they fight over the future of a struggling Chinese shoe brand.
The similarity is less about a secret office romance and more about two ambitious adults whose professional decisions continuously affect how they see each other. Jiang Hu also gets the kind of independent career arc that makes the romance feel like part of her development rather than her entire purpose.
Watch this if you liked: career growth mixed directly into the romance.
4. As Beautiful as You (2024)
There is an obvious Early Spring connection here: a capable woman trying to find her place professionally while becoming emotionally involved with a powerful man inside the same business world.
Tan Songyun’s Ji Xing begins as an employee frustrated by the reality of corporate life before leaving to build her own company. Xu Kai plays Han Ting, the investor and mentor who becomes increasingly important to both her professional and personal journey. Tencent’s official synopsis specifically follows Ji Xing from workplace disappointment into entrepreneurship and her evolving relationship with Han Ting.
It is glossier and more conventionally romantic than The Early Spring, but it shares an important idea: the heroine has to build something for herself before the love story can feel complete.
Watch this if you liked: Shang Zhitao’s professional transformation.
5. The Rational Life (2021)
If your favorite part of The Early Spring was seeing a woman deal with office politics without the drama reducing her career to background decoration, try The Rational Life.
Qin Lan stars as a career-driven woman in her 30s dealing with a competitive workplace, family pressure and an unexpected romance with a younger colleague played by Dylan Wang. Netflix categorizes the show around workplace conflict, rivalry and emotional drama.
The romantic dynamic is very different from Luan Nian and Zhitao, but the two shows share a respect for the heroine’s professional identity, difficult choices and gradual confidence. It is a useful recommendation for viewers who want the “workplace” part of workplace romance to mean something.
Watch this if you liked: an ambitious heroine with a life beyond romance.
6. Love at Night (2021)
For the boss romance and stronger push-pull chemistry, Love at Night is an easy recommendation.
Zhang Yuxi plays Xu Qingyou, whose carefully ordered life falls apart after she discovers her fiancé has been unfaithful. She encounters Liu Xueyi’s Mo Lingze under unusual circumstances before discovering that he is her new boss. Viki describes the series as a romance drama built around exactly that complication, while iQIYI identifies Mo Lingze as a decisive investment banker who challenges Qingyou’s existing ideas about relationships.
It leans further into romantic melodrama than The Early Spring, but the adult setting, workplace connection and initially difficult male lead make the comparison easy to understand.
Watch this if you liked: the boss-employee tension and complicated attraction.
Which one should you watch first?
There is no perfect duplicate of The Early Spring, and that is probably a good thing. For its adult urban atmosphere, start with Fake It Till You Make It. If what you really want is another relationship filled with separation and unresolved longing, Never-Ending Summer is the closer match. For the career side of Shang Zhitao’s story, Rising With the Wind and The Rational Life are stronger choices.
And if Luan Nian being both professionally intimidating and romantically complicated was the main attraction, Love at Night brings that boss-romance energy back fastest.
