Uh… even if Korean historicals are licensed, getting them fully subtitled is a gargantuan effort. Not many subtitlers can do historicals and even if they can… not too many are willing.
As for cdrama same thing. They are also mostly solo subtitled… to make things worse.
native speakers.
After Viki got rid of their fan channels it is harder to find subs for certain dramas and a lot of historical dramas that were subbed by Viki teams got taken down. Historical cdramas are really good, but for some reason Viki prefers getting modern cdramas which are not as good imo. Probably bc more people like watching modern dramas.
Well, if you will help us by filling in license forms, I have several good historical dramas trying to get licenses. I’ll write details on mine because I know more about them than the rest, but we have a good many historical now pending as fan channels without videos - if we have any trailers, you will need to scroll down in comments, that’s where they are now. 
IMHO the best one = we have a shot at The Advisors Alliance. Anyone who has seen the trailer from last October is aware that 11 months of filming and a truly great cast is possibly going to yield the best since Nirvana in Fire - and maybe even better. That…would be awesome. Watch the trailer - it’s in the comments section because we aren’t allowed to officially put up any videos now. Liu Tao of NIF is also a major star in this one and she’s one amazing actress. The air date was pushed back to continue the post-production work - it had originally bumped another drama for June 1st and then it also was extended from 50 to 60 episodes! If you agree, please follow and put in your forms.
Love Lost in Times is Liu Shi Shi’s historical coming up - that has a July 7 air date set. We are pretty excited at the idea of getting this one too! 45 episodes. Beautiful pictures and all can be seen at the channel that is waiting for a license there.
Rule the World - early Qing Dynasty - August air date! and we’re waiting on a trailer for this one. Some nice stills and it looks promising too.
Win the World - this one is the mystery box but it’s coming from both the star and the director/team of Empress of China…and the costumes are amazing so far. We don’t even know how many episodes on this one.
Phoenix Warriors - is a xianxia that now looks to be 70 episodes - it was listed for 60. There is a very interesting trailer with English subs on it in the comments section if you are curious about this one.
We have one more that has already aired but the Team still wants to get it and put the subs on - The Glory of Tang Dynasty. 60 episodes, we have a trailer and it’s been aired in January - but we still have a lot of folks asking for it and sometimes we get a license AFTER it has aired - (Drinking Solo - K Drama - got one after the airing too, so it can happen.).
I do not have all of them listed - I believe a search of 2017 Chinese will show you the rest of the channels we have pending - all hope to get licenses.
I can tell you one may not ever get aired, White Deer Plains, it was taken down for some political reasons and April Star (modern) then got the air date.
Sparrow is a pretty good drama now being subbed that made the jump from a videoed fan channel to license and that one is after it’s aired - but still very worth a watch.
Tribes is still out there too and it’s said to go September this year possibly. Ruyi - the Huo Wallace 90 eps is said to air sometime end of year - Dec? So we still hope to get a license there too.
Princess Agents also is coming up - like I said, a look at 2017 China shows a lot of historical pending.
We can only ask, then wait and see what gets licenses.
Crouching Dieter, Hidden Donut
While there are plenty of upcoming cdramas I’d love to see licensed, there are also dozens of completed cdramas (fan channels) that need to be licensed:
I would love to see Princess Wei Young with Tiffany Tang. It is the best historical C-drama I have ever seen. I would love to see this Viki license this.
It’s not bad. there is a pending channel for it, but no, it so far has not got a license. T, Tang and Luo Jin - they did pick up Diamond Lovers (modern) with the same leading pair. (No Vanness Wu though… and that’s the other thing PWY has definitely got going for it.)
Have you seen Chang Ge Xing? (Singing all along)? That one is pretty good, Yuan Hong and Ruby Lin - it’s here and translated if you need English already by the way. A good one to watch while you put in license forms for everything else
The Scarlet Pimpernel
I’ll definitely go check that one out. Thanks for the suggestion, Linda!
Viki cannot know which will or will not be subtitled, or when.
More importantly, viki is not only for English language fans, it also caters to people who already know the language: in this case they could either be Chinese (the ones who couldn’t watch the show when it was airing on TV), or expat Chinese, Chinese-American, or Chinese-speakers from other Asian countries (or even Westerners who have learned Chinese).
And one reason that Chinese historicals don’t get subtitled - one of the several - is that they are usually much longer. And some Chinese dramas air daily. One episode per day is a huge commitment for a team, not many are willing to take it on. I know I wouldn’t, no matter how good the show.
Right from their mission statement: “Viki, a play on the words video and wiki, is the global TV site where millions of people discover, watch and subtitle global primetime shows and movies in more than 200 languages. Together with its fans, Viki removes the language and cultural barriers that stand between great entertainment and fans everywhere.”
Seems pretty clear to me what the site is about. I don’t see how giving dramas to fans in their native language and never having the subtitles get completed works with their mission statement and goals.
Someone expressed concern about Chinese dramas not getting subtitled. I pointed out one that seems to have been licensed for 4 years now (and I’m assuming as a license they pay annually) and barely has any subtitles. What’s the point of it? To be the exact opposite of what Viki attempts to be apparently…
Sorry of this comes across as accusatory or rough and mean but you two are making pretty concrete claims about the nature of Viki. I think I know what this site is and should continue to be about if it wants to keep its subscriber base (of which I am a part) which is one of the critical components that allows for licensing to happen.
And like I said - it’s not end of the world stuff, I picked the worst example off the top of my head but it’s a theme running through a lot of licensed Chinese dramas on this site. There were also a lot of dedicated Chinese subtitlers who worked on fan channels who had their work destroyed. Maybe licensing those ones would have been an option (and saving the subtitles?).
In any case - it’s a very frustrating situation if you’re a fan of Chinese historical/fantasy stuff, especially if it aired 3-4+ years ago. Can you imagine if there were lots of subs missing from many of the older licensed KDramas? I could easily see an uproar.
I am trowing my vote for “Siege in Fog”, “Princess Agents”, Lost love in times", “Rule the World”, “Ruyi’s royal love in the palace”, “Turn a corner to love you”, “A life time love”, “As long as you love me”, “Nothing gold can stay”, “Win the World”,
“Liang Sheng can we not be laden with grief”, “Good Bye My Princess”, “Oh my General”, “The King’s Woman”, “Empress Dugu”. There are others but i’ll skip them for now.
Mission statement means what they are striving for, together with its fans (the volunteers). A goal is a goal, not a promise or guarantee. Viki does not make subtitles. If the fans don’t want to subtitle something, they don’t, period.
“Mission statement” is not the same thing as “vikipass benefits”. You are confusing the two.
Pls licence ‘A Life Time Love’
It is Tonghua’s work (Scarlet Heart) produced by CROTON MEDIA (Eternal Love) and will be airing on July
right now I only want Viki to stop licensing c-level dramas and to let subbers be able to finish subbing some of the dramas recently licensed. I have said this before that Viki strives for quantity, not quality. Like 85% of recently licensed cdramas have been really bad quality ones or very unknown. Such a shame bc you get lost in all the bad ones and miss the really good dramas.
Just seen these have got a licence but they haven’t got a channel manager yet. I thought to inform you in case someone wants to apply
https://www.viki.com/tv/34438c-the-deer-and-the-cauldron
https://www.viki.com/tv/34436c-the-lovers-lies
Actually the drama (The Lovers Lies) has been requested by @serenite78 some time ago but was not approved “yet”, you’ll see the doggie,
https://www.viki.com/tv/32934c-the-lovers-lies
Perhaps Viki will transfer the current channel to her, hopefully!
I really want this one here, Viki. Pretty please, with a cherry on top! 
https://www.viki.com/tv/33574c-the-advisors-alliance?q=advisor
Haha… let me add another cherry on top
Please, Viki, you gotta get this! 
I feel you on Memory Lost. There are like 10 episodes subbed online but that is it.
