Chen Ming (second from left) won BB King of I Can I BB Season 5. [Photo/iQiyi]

Hilarious talk shows won fans

Entering its fifth season, I Can I BB, one of China's most popular online talk shows produced by iQiyi, made headlines in 2018.

The show brought us talented debaters arguing a different topic each episode, hoping to win votes from a studio audience. The show's debaters triggered heated discussion on social media with their knowledge and entertaining yet thought-provoking talks.

Topics included: "Will you attend a class reunion after graduation if you're living a very ordinary life?"; "A fat-salary job that you don't like versus a low-salary job that you like – which one will you pick?"; "A new technology allows sharing all humankind's knowledge in one second – would you support it?"; "If there is a button to show how much your sweetheart loves you, would you press it?

Though many criticized season five's themes for being too heavy on love and romance, the program caused ripples on China's Twitter equivalent, Sina Weibo, every weekend from late September to early December.

Tucao Dahui, China's version of Comedy Central Roast, was another popular talk show in 2018. Similar to its US counterpart, each episode roasts a guest celebrity, with a panel of comedians and celebrities taking it in turns to mock each other.