I have not done one of these guides on the blog for a very long time. I figured it was a good time to bring it back to the blog. I have been wanting to do a guide on the Cdrama franchise Medical Examiner Dr. Qin for a very long time. Are you a fan of crime dramas? Are you a fan of forensic examiner dramas? Are you a fan of bromance dramas? I would recommend you check out the Medical Examiner Dr. Qin Cdrama franchise.
Now, if you are new to the blog/podcast/YouTube channel, you might not know this, but I am an AVID crime drama watcher. My background is in criminal justice. I have always loved watching crime shows though. I like investigating along with the detectives and trying to solve the case before the characters do. Sometimes I am successful and other times I am not. Needless to say, I LOVE ASIAN DRAMAS THAT ARE ABOUT FORENSIC EXAMINERS – no matter what country.
Now, a little history of my relationship with the Medical Examiner Dr. Qin Franchise. Until last year, I had only watched the first season which in my opinion, is the most famous of the franchise. I watched it a little after it aired back in 2016. I think I watched it in 2017 maybe 2018. I clicked play on Season because as I said I loved forensic examiner dramas/shows. This was my introduction to all three of the main actors/actresses in Season 1 of Medical Examiner Dr. Qin. Season 1 stars Li Xian, Jiao Jun Yan and Zhang Ruo Yun. You can listen to review Season 1 of Medical Examiner Dr. Qin on the Tea and Soju Cdrama Podcast with the host Liliana. I then decided I wanted to do this guide so, I spent all of 2025 and into 2026 watching all the other dramas and movies I could get my hands on in the United States.
A LITTLE BACKGROUND/HISTORY OF MEDICAL EXAMINER DR. QIN SERIES
*Disclaimer – This is just all of the information I have gathered after researching through the internet and google. I have not read the source material at all. So, I apologize in advance if I missed some information or put some wrong facts in this guide. Whatever I put into this guide, I found on at least more than 1 source before I put it into this guide.
Like a lot of other cdramas, Medical Examiner Dr. Qin series is based off of a series of novels. As I said above, I have not read the books. The novels are written by Qin Ming who is a forensic doctor himself. He has conducted many autopsies and participated in many criminal investigations himself as a forensic doctor. He started writing stories online and then transitioned into writing novels. He is the author of the now very famous Forensic Qin Ming series which was the source material for the Forensic Examiner Dr. Qin series, and he also has written other novels all centering around crime. The Forensic Qin Ming novels are EXTREMELY popular in China which is why they were adapted into cdramas eventually.
Just like franchises like The Lost Tomb and Candle in the Tomb, Forensic Examiner Dr. Qin franchise has produced many dramas and movies all with different casts and set ups. It is no surprise these novels were made into dramas/movies because they are so popular. The dramas/movies have tried and adapted all the novels over all of them. Season 1 of the franchise is by far the most popular and the most well-known but there is a reason China keeps making dramas in this franchise. It is a classic of course. They are well received in China just like dramas in The Lost Tomb and Candle in the Tomb series.
Some fun facts about Season 1 (the most famous of the franchise) of Forensic Examiner Dr. Qin (found on this article here)
- Adapted from book 3 “The Eleventh Finger” (第十一根手指) and book 4 “Scavenger” (清道夫) in the novel series “Medical Examiner Dr. Qin” (法医秦明) by Qin Ming (秦明).
- Viewed more than 1.2 billion times on Sohu TV alone, according to ratings released by Sohu TV. This spawned multiple sequel seasons and spin-off shows
- The drama went viral when it premiered
- pioneered the Chinese forensic procedural genre because it had never been done before.
- The leads from Season 1 – Zhang Ruo Yun and Jiao Jun Yan will reunite in an upcoming modern crime drama called Perfect Evidence.
SHORT SYNOPSIS OF MEDICAL EXAMINER DR. QIN FRANCHISE
The series/franchise is pretty straight forward. It is medical police procedural cdrama series. It centers around 3 a trio of characters that make up an investigative team. This team uses investigative science and police work to investigate various cases including homicides and serial murders. Season 1 is believed the best in terms of chemistry between the main trio. Since the franchise is so popular, different networks had adapted the novels into movies and dramas with different stories and casts with varying levels of success.
There are 3 MAIN CHARACTERS you need to know (granted sometimes these characters might not be in a series or be a different gender/name)
Qin Ming – The eccentric but very smart chief forensic examiner that the series is named after.
Lin Tao – Police Detective and grows to be Qin Ming’s trusted friend
Li Da Bao (this is the character that changes the most – in the novel for Season 1, this character as a man, in Season 1, this character is a man) – In Season 1, this character was Qin Ming’s assistant who had an exceptional sense of smell and was quite unconventional herself. In other dramas/movies – she might have changed genders, professions, names or even might not exist.
The Medical Examiner Dr. Qin Franchise always tries to have a trio of crime fighting individuals. Sometimes, there is only 2. Qin Ming and Lin Tao normally are in every adaption, and the third musketeer changes up the most depending on the drama or movie.
DRAMAS/SPIN-OFFS
Just as I said above, Season 1 was very popular which caused the same network to do a season 2 and 3. It also caused other networks to make dramas and movies for the franchise. This has caused many actors to play the titular characters and for screen writers to put their spin on the franchise. The characters are not played by the same actors because the dramas/movies have been made over many years. Here is the list of dramas/movies in the order that they were released (some have been made but not released in the list as well). I will write where you can watch these in the United States but not everyone is available to watch in the United States. You don’t have to watch them in order in my opinion but definitely watch Season 1 first to be introduced to the characters. This order of release is just everything I have found on the internet so, I might have missed something.
ORDER OF RELEASE
Medical Examiner Dr. Qin (Drama) – The famous classic that started it all (VIKI)
Medical Examiner Dr. Qin 2: The Scavenger (Drama) (not available to watch in the USA)
Medical Examiner Dr. Qin: The Survivor (Drama) (YouTube)
Medical Examiner Dr. Qin: Zhi Che Wei You Hun (Movie) (not available to watch in the USA)
Whispers of Silent Body (Movie) (YouTube)
Medical Examiner Dr. Qin: Fatal Novel (Movie) (YouTube)
Medical Examiner Dr. Qin: Death Redemption (Movie) (YouTube)
Medical Examiner Dr. Qin: Blood Red Wedding (Movie) (YouTube)
Medical Examiner Dr. Qin: Silent Evidence (Drama) (YouTube)
Medical Examiner Dr. Qin: The Mind Reader (Drama) (VIKI)
Medical Examiner Dr. Qin: Concerto in the Rain (Movie) (Not available to watch in the USA)
Medical Examiner Dr. Qin: Corpse Whisperer (Drama) (Not released yet)
Fa Yi Qin Ming Zhi Wan Ou (Drama) (Not released yet)
PERSONAL RANKINGS OF THE DRAMAS/MOVIES
*Disclaimer – I only watched and ranked everything I had access to here in the United States so, my rankings do not include every cdrama/movie that has ever been made for the Medical Examiner Dr. Qin franchise, just everything I could watch here in the United States
NUMBER 1: Medical Examiner Dr. Qin (8/10)
This is a Solid, classic crime cdrama. It is a little dated now. The cases are interesting. I forgot how episodic this cdrama was because I rewatched this in 2026. I still loved the trio. It is not a perfect drama but fun. The drama didn’t address the big bad/case that was mentioned many times. I would advise to not watch & eat.
NUMBER 2: Medical Examiner Dr. Qin: The Mind Reader (8/10)
This is a solid entry for the Medical Examiner Dr Qin series. I loved that it was prequel. I loved the bromance. I liked the found family, but it could have been better. None of the attempted romances in the drama worked for me. Some of the acting was stiff TW: Gore
NUMBER 3: Medical Examiner Dr. Qin: Silent Evidence (7.5/10)
This drama was ok. I loved how quirky Dr. Qin was. I didn’t like the comedy. I disliked female cop at first. IT DID NOT NEED ROMANCE! I figured out the main bad guy somewhat early. I missed the bromance in this drama because there was none. It could have been worse but nothing special.
NUMBER 4: Whispers of Silent Body (7/10)
An ok movie. It wasn’t bad but wasn’t great. The best part was the acting. They had some great actors in this. The writing fell apart. The writing had plot that did not make sense. I didn’t buy into the romance either. It could have been worse though.
NUMBER 5: Medical Examiner Dr. Qin: The Survivor (5/10)
You can skip this cdrama. The only reason I rated it a 5 is because the cases were interesting. The famous trio fought the entire drama. It tried to put in romance which did not work. Actors were stiff & had no chemistry. It was just bad.
You can skip all these movies below:
NUMBER 6: Medical Examiner Dr. Qin: Death Redemption (4/10)
This was a little better than the other 2 movies I watched. It had an interesting twist. The movie gave little background to the characters/story. The lead actor was ok in this special but not great. You can skip this one.
NUMBER 7: Medical Examiner Dr. Qin: Fatal Novel (3/10)
DON’T WATCH! It had a movie made for tv feel, not in a good way. Only reason rated a 3 is the case was mildly interesting. No chemistry with leads. Was not a trio team. Just Bad
NUMBER 8: Medical Examiner Dr. Qin: Blood Red Wedding (3/10)
DON’T WATCH! It had a movie made for tv feel, not in a good way. Only reason rated a 3 is the case was mildly interesting. No chemistry with leads. Was not a trio team. Just Bad
WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THIS SERIES
The Main Trio – This franchise is known for the trio. I don’t think it has a nickname like The Lost Tomb series trio but I might just not know that. The crime fighting trio of Season 1 and then the crime fighting team in following seasons/movies is EVERYTHING about this franchise. There is something special about the Season 1 trio. Dr. Qin is not the most pleasant person to work with. So, the fact that the other 2 characters in the trio put up with him, actually grow to care about him and become friends with him says a lot about the trio’s relationship and chemistry. If the drama doesn’t have trio – if Dr. Qin and Lin Tao are around in the drama, you still get a good bromance in the drama/movie which is still great in my opinion. Season 1 is a little cheesy and campy, but it is still good in my opinion.
Forensic Science – You can tell that Season 1 of Medical Examiner Dr. Qin and the franchise wanted to do this right. You can tell they put in a lot of effort to show the career in a good light but also realistic as well. This franchise was the first of its kind to give the audience a look into the profession of a Forensic Medical Examiner. The franchise puts a lot of effort into investigative tools and techniques that a Forensic Medical Examiner uses in their career. In my opinion, the franchise manages to put this front and center without it being boring. I found it fascinating to watch what the team would use to uncover clues and solve crimes, but again, I do have a background in criminal justice, and I love learning about forensic science. If I could be a forensic examiner in another life, I would.
Spawned a Genre – As I said, this franchise spawned a genre. It was the first of its kind. Since 2016, we have gotten more modern forensic examiner dramas from China like The Listener and Talking Bones. Historical forensic examiner/coroner cdramas existed but we had never seen a modern forensic medical examiner drama before this franchise. Especially one that gave its audience into the career of a forensic medical examiner.
Hopefully this blogpost has given you more context into the cdrama franchise of Medical Examiner Dr. Qin. I hope this can convince you to check out at least Season 1 of this wonderful series.
Have you watched any of the dramas in Medical Examiner Dr. Qin?
Do you have a favorite drama in this franchise?
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