And the saga continues for our six young spies to maintain peace in Northern Song Dynasty. This is nice! The whole cast of Season 1 was able to return and reunite to really film a real season 2! I still haven’t finished Season 1. LOL. Hear me out here, not that it’s bad, but I feel this type of drama requires one to reach a certain arc/moment for us to feel the magnetic pull and marathon the whole series. I’m still stuck somewhere around the first arc. xD
Airing 7/29~
Palace of Devotion (大宋宫词) is an upcoming historical drama inspired by the life of Empress Zhangxian Mingsu, Liu E of the Song Dynasty, married to the Emperor Zhenzong (3rd Emperor of the Song Dynasty). According to history, Liu E “served as de facto Co-ruler and regent of China during the illness of Emperor Zhenzong from 1020 until 1022, and then officially as regent and Co-ruler during the minority of Emperor Renzong from 1022 until her own death in 1033. As a regent she became the second woman in Chinese history to wear the imperial robe, after Wu Zetian, the only empress regnant in Chinese history. ”
Airing 3/20~
It’s very odd seeing Vic in ancient costumes. Lol.
I’ve been reading a lot of discussion since the last post about Tribes and Empires running out of money (true!) and who’s to blame. A lot of rumors. It’s hard to say. This is director Cao Dun’s first venture into ancient fantasy series so he is ambitious and has an artistic vision and didn’t realize many costly things. It’s hard to entirely blame him because he’s well-loved by the cast and we were all wow-ed by the first trailer Tribes dished out. Weren’t we? At least now many realize a good drama isn’t just about the directing but a combination of directing, writing, and acting. Whether or not Huang Xuan’s scenes were cut, we can’t verify, but I did watch Zhou Zi Wei’s interview where he admitted that he shot the drama and then was told they could only give him so much and he replied that he didn’t need to be paid because acting out emotional turbulence like Shuo Feng in itself is a mark in his acting career. The opportunity cannot be exchanged for money. So everyone in the cast suffers in one way or another, not just any one actor.
If they are lucky to get funding for another season, let this first season be a good lesson for the production company about budget management (!!).
So we only have one more week of Tribes and Empires totaling 75 episodes because they only shot up to Huang Xuan’s ascension to the throne. What will they do from here? I don’t know because it’s not a small project. The novel writer wrote on his weibo that he has big dreams for Tribes (on the level of Attack on Titan and Lord of the Rings) but the project lacks funding so he’s looking for ka-ching!
As of 12/26, the drama online views have hit 7 billions. 😀 Hunan has also sucked it up and will air Tribes starting 12/29 on TV.
Our wicked queen played by the lovely Jiang Qin Qin who’s more known for her stage name as Shui Ling. She was pretty then and still stunningly breath-taking now. I remember her most in Wind and Cloud and The Four Detective Guards. How time has flown by that all the leading actresses of the past are now playing motherly roles. In any case, I haven’t started on this drama yet… gahhh. I need more hours in a day to do what I want to do! As of 11/26, the drama has reached 1 Billion views! Congratulations! Let’s break more records and shove it up HNTV’s nose!!
