At this rate, you will never miss youth dramas. They are abundant every season! Our Secrets (暗格里的秘密) is adapted from the novel written by Er Dong Tu Zi and stars Chen Zhe Yuan and Xu Meng Jie as the main leads. He’s the talented and genius boy on campus and she’s the stubborn and bubbly Cinderella. They will accompany each other on the road of youth.
Airing 8/10 ~
A lot of dramas began filming this week, here are some with good, decent booting ceremony pictures.
Adapted from the novel written by Priest, Sha Po Lang (杀破狼) is set during the Great Liang Dynasty where steam-powered machines make lives better and worse for many people. In a small countryside village, our hero (Chen Zhe Yuan) has lived since he was a child. He’s Chang Geng and he’s close to two young kids, his teacher, and his adoptive father – our other male lead (Tan Jian Ci). Their age difference is only 6/7 years. His somewhat peaceful life is turned upside down when the barbaric tribe Man invaded and his real identity is revealed – he’s the Emperor’s son (4th Prince) with the Man’s high priestess. And his beloved adoptive father with impaired hearing and vision turns out to be a respected General. After the invasion, our Fourth Prince is escorted back to the capital and this is where his story begins. Other cast members right now include Li Hong Yi (as Shen Yi) and Sun An Ke (as Chen Qing Xu).
Expect changes to the drama, as always. Filming began in July and has ended.
You can read the novel here.
Renascence (凤唳九天) is adapted from the novel The Cry of the Phoenix Which Reached the Ninth Heaven written by Xiao Yun. I don’t know much about names but THIS name would make me want to check the series out. Lol. It is a revenge journey of our female lead; her soul is transferred to her sister in the same timeline. Whut?? (What happened to her sister’s soul then? Hanging out with ET?)
This is the description of Qiyi: Empress of Chu, Yao Mo Xin, falls prey to traitors in the imperial court. After a thunderstorm, her soul transfers itself into the body of her younger sister, Yao Mo Wan, who happens to be running from the enemies. Yao Mo Wan tumbles down a cliff and loses her memory. Through a series of events, Yao Mo Wan and Prince Su of Chu, Ye Jun Qing, fall in love. Yao Mo Wan finally settles the painful score of the past after much hardship and helps Ye Jun Qing reclaim his kingdom.
Began airing yesterday 9/22!
This is one long production! More than half a year to finish filming! Now let the post-production editing begins. Both leads wrote a lengthy appreciation post on their respective weibos to thank the director and staff. The newly released BTS video shows both of them having a blast together as well. I didn’t expect anything less from the mischievous Yang Zi!
The Golden Hairpin (青簪行) is based on the novel written by Ce Ce Qing Han. The story follows our female lead who made quite an impression at the tender age of 13 when she begins helping her dad solve murder cases. When she turns 17, her life takes a dive as she’s on the run, accused of murdering her own family to escape an arranged marriage. During her run, she meets Prince Li (4th son of the Emperor) and is involved in the conspiracies of the princes and her detective skills are put to test when Prince Li’s soon-to-be wife disappears/dies. In exchange for his help to clear her name, she becomes his eunuch, helping him on the side.
Another boy-love novel from Priest (the money bag is getting heavy, yes? :D)! Sha Po Lang (杀破狼) is set during the Great Liang Dynasty where steam-powered machines make lives better and worse for many people. In a small countryside village, our hero (Chen Zhe Yuan) has lived since he was a child. He’s Chang Geng and he’s close to two young kids, his teacher, and his adoptive father – our other male lead (Tan Jian Ci). Their age difference is only 6/7 years. His somewhat peaceful life is turned upside down when the barbaric tribe Man invaded and his real identity is revealed – he’s the Emperor’s son with the Man’s high priestess (Don’t know what her position is called, but scandalous nonetheless!). And his beloved adoptive father with impaired hearing and vision turns out to be a respected General. After the invasion, our Fourth Prince is escorted back to the capital and this is where his story begins. Other cast members right now include Li Hong Yi (as Shen Yi) and Sun An Ke (as Chen Qing Xu).
Steampunk technologies! Interesting. Who has read the novel and can give me some spoilers? Lol.
My first version of this story by Gu Long was the Taiwanese version with Jimmy Lin and Alec Su, followed by the TVB version with Tony Leung and Hugo Ng, then HK version with Dicky Cheung and Nicholas Tse. In all the versions, the mischievous brother (to be played by Chen Zhe Yuan) who was raised up by a group of villains is almost always the reason to continue watching. He’s unconventional, a prankster, and has tricks up his butt-hole. Lol. The newer version seems to favor the other twin more (played by Hu Yi Tian, he’s the more popular actor of the two), who was raised in a female-only palace, by a cold lady conspiring to see the brothers at each other’s throats. Why? Because their father rejected her and eloped with one of her slave girls! And this is her revenge plan.
The drama will air on CCTV, Qiyi, and Netflix, starting 1/16.
Roy Chiu (“Office Girls”, Dear Ex) is the reason why I started watching Asian dramas. I saw him in Easy Fortune Happy Life as the loan shark with a heart of gold, loved his character and started watching as many of his shows and movies as I could find. So it was nice to start 2020 by watching his new web drama, Detective Chinatown (唐人街探案) and finally be inspired to write a new review after such a long time.