Xiao Zhan's Small-Town Doctor Drama Debuts First Trailer at iQIYI Showcase

Xiao Zhan's next drama, a small-town doctor story titled Xiaocheng Liangfang (小城良方), was presented as a key project at iQIYI's annual "悦享会" content showcase on September 23, where it also released its first official trailer. This is the first proper trailer, not the first promotional material overall — the production also released a wrap featurette when filming concluded, in keeping with the standard practice of a retrospective, behind-the-scenes reel timed to the end of shooting, distinct from a plot-revealing trailer. The show is confirmed for a simulcast release on CCTV-8 and iQIYI, produced by Ningmeng Pictures (柠萌影视) in partnership with iQIYI. Neither platform has announced an official premiere date as of publication.

Official poster.

Adapted from the novel Flying Blade (飞刀), the drama follows Liu Zhengliang(刘铮亮), a neurosurgeon whose career setback sends him back to a small clinic in a rural town in China's northeast. Coverage of the trailer describes a comedic tone rather than a dramatic one — Xiao's character riding an electric scooter in a white coat, being chased by a patient's relatives, and navigating small-town dialect and domestic scenes — a notable departure from his more serious past roles.

Note on the title: the English rendering "Flying Blade" is literal, but 飞刀 is also real medical-industry slang — shorthand for a doctor moonlighting at another hospital, usually smaller or more remote, outside their home institution, typically to perform one specific surgery. The novel's title is a direct reference to that practice, not a wuxia-style weapon.

Source: 小城良方 studio's official Weibo account, via Sina Entertainment