Next Season of Joy of Life: Is Season 4 Renewed, and When Will It Be Released?
Renewal probability
52%Joy of Life is a popular Chinese period drama on CCTV-8 that returned after a five-year hiatus for its second season in 2024, suggesting the franchise has long-term value. However, with no recent news confirming a fourth season and a gap of over a year since the last airing, the outlook is genuinely uncertain. The show sits on the bubble pending any official announcement.
Updated 2026-05-15 · AI-generated analysis
- Network
- CCTV-8
- Seasons aired
- 3
- Total episodes
- 83
- First aired
- 2019-11-26
- Last aired
- 2024-05-30
- Runtime
- 45 min
- TMDB rating
- 8.1 / 10 · 115 votes
Joy of Life (庆余年) is one of the most high-profile Chinese drama franchises of its era, having originally aired in 2019 and then returning with a heavily anticipated second season in 2024 after a five-year wait. The sheer duration of that gap — and the fact that the production eventually came back — demonstrates that the IP retains meaningful commercial and cultural capital. CCTV-8, as a state broadcaster, tends to be conservative about greenlighting productions but also deeply committed to proven franchises, particularly those adapted from popular web novels with dedicated fan bases. The source novel by Mao Ni still has unadapted material, which provides a narrative argument for continuation.
That said, the absence of any news coverage is a meaningful negative signal at this stage. Season 2 concluded in May 2024, and by now — over a year later — a major production of this scale would typically have generated some official announcement, casting news, or trade reporting if a fourth season were firmly in development. Chinese mega-productions like this often have lengthy pre-production cycles, so silence is not necessarily fatal, but it does introduce real uncertainty. The show's renewal prospects likely hinge on the commercial performance of Season 2 (viewership ratings and streaming numbers on Tencent Video), the availability of lead actor Zhang Ruoyun, and whether the production team has resolved any logistical or creative challenges that contributed to the original five-year gap.
What is Joy of Life about?
Zhang Qing, a present-day college student in culture and history major wants to study in professor Ye's postgraduate class, so he decides to write a historical fiction to elaborate his perspective of analyzing ancient literature history with modern concept. In the fiction, Zhang himself acts as a young man Fan Xian with mysterious life who lives in a remote seaside town of Kingdom Qing in his childhood, under the help of a mysterious mentor and a blindfolded watchman. Fan goes to the capital when he grows up, where he experiences plenty of ordeal and temper. Fan persists in adhering the rule of justice and goodness and lives his own glorious life.
Is Joy of Life renewed or cancelled?
Joy of Life Season 4 Release Date
If a fourth season is greenlit, the production timeline for a show of this scale — elaborate period costumes, large ensemble cast, and high production values — would almost certainly push any release to late 2025 at the very earliest, with 2026 or beyond being far more realistic given how long Season 2 took to materialize. The precedent set by the five-year gap between Seasons 1 and 2 suggests that even a confirmed renewal should not be expected to translate into a quick turnaround. Until an official announcement is made, any projected release date remains speculative.
Where to watch Joy of Life
Rakuten Vikistream
Amazon VideobuyJoy of Life cast
Zhang Ruoyun
Fan Xian
Li Qin
Lin Wan'er
Joy of Life trailer
Joy of Life seasons
- Season 12019 · 46 ep
- Season 22024 · 36 ep
- Season 3TBA · 1 ep
Joy of Life latest news
Not enough news data yet.
Shows like Joy of Life
Frequently asked
- Is Joy of Life renewed or cancelled?
- Joy of Life is a popular Chinese period drama on CCTV-8 that returned after a five-year hiatus for its second season in 2024, suggesting the franchise has long-term value. However, with no recent news confirming a fourth season and a gap of over a year since the last airing, the outlook is genuinely uncertain. The show sits on the bubble pending any official announcement.
- When will Joy of Life Season 4 be released?
- If a fourth season is greenlit, the production timeline for a show of this scale — elaborate period costumes, large ensemble cast, and high production values — would almost certainly push any release to late 2025 at the very earliest, with 2026 or beyond being far more realistic given how long Season 2 took to materialize. The precedent set by the five-year gap between Seasons 1 and 2 suggests that even a confirmed renewal should not be expected to translate into a quick turnaround. Until an official announcement is made, any projected release date remains speculative.
- How many seasons of Joy of Life are there?
- Joy of Life has aired 3 seasons so far.