any good TV series recently?

[amytheorangutan]

Thank you @EnergyReaper I just watched a few episodes, I didn’t realise that it hasn’t finished airing yet so I stopped because I always binge watch all my dramas ?

[EnergyReaper]

@amytheorangutan Do you like it? It has 26 episodes in total, so you have to wait for at least 2 weeks.

[amytheorangutan]

Yes, it’s actually entertaining and funny. Can’t wait for all episodes to be released ☺️

[amytheorangutan]

I haven’t watch this myself but my mum read the novel and said it was very good and now it’s made into a series on Netflix called On Children 《你的孩子不是你的孩子》my mum likes pretty messed up stories though so I expect it to be a bit dark. 

[mlescano]

Hi! I've just found out that what is considered a "Good Chinese TV show" by westerners can be wildly different from what Chinese people like. 

 

For example, some of the best rated shows on MyDramaList can have very low ratings on Douban. Chinese people seem to be ruthless when rating.

 

I'm currently watching 天盛长歌, which seems to be highly rated both inside China and outside China, despite some Chinese people saying it's 老套。Since this is the first costume drama I'm watching, It's not 老套 at all to me. Currently in episode 25. Without spoiling anything, I can say that it's so far had a few bite-nailing moments that kept me watching episode after episode.

[imron]

15 hours ago, amytheorangutan said:

so I expect it to be a bit dark. 

It’s basically a Taiwan version of black mirror

[StChris]

On 6/25/2021 at 2:33 AM, imron said:

It’s basically a Taiwan version of black mirror

 

If anybody is interested in a Taiwanese Black Mirror, then I can recommend Fumalls.com on Netflix:

 

 

It's about a mysterious website, where people can order products from the future (normally providing a solution to a person's deepest desires and insecurities). As you can probably guess, the purchase of said products normally comes back to haunt the buyer, even if they do temporarily solve the problem at hand. Here is a little (non-spoilery) review in English, which I think is quite fair:

 

Futmalls.com Series Review (Season One) - YouTube

 

I think the plot doesn't really fully explore the black mirror-esque setting enough, especially in the middle couple of episodes, but I still enjoyed it overall. It's only 6 or so episodes, so I think it's worth a watch.

[StChris]

While on the topic of Taiwanese Netflix shows:

 

Days We stared at the Sun

 

 

I went into this expecting a cheerful coming-of-age drama, but it's much more of a "young people grow up and meet cruel society" show, and it gets pretty dark in places. There was also a second series, where only a couple of the original cast returned. That one was about young, politically active journalist students in Taipei, including one mainland Chinese student who has to confront the whole Taiwanese independence issue with her idealistic classmates. Only 6 episodes per series, and worth watching if you can find it (it seems to have left the UK Netflix service)

 

 

The Witness Game

 

 

This one was really good. It's about police and journalists investigating a spate of seemingly connected suicides, which many suspect is actually the work of a serial killer. Nicely paced, with well-rounded characters. It's been commissioned for a second series (due to screen next year), so it must have been popular. The only thing I didn't like was the young police officer who insisted on always talking Taiwanese to people, even though he was always spoken to in Mandarin. Do those kind of people exist in Taiwan?

 

The Victims' Game | Official Trailer | Netflix - YouTube

 

 

Marry Me or Not

 

 

A pretty run of the mill romantic comedy/drama, where the plot only happens because none of the characters acts and communicates like normal people would. Only around a dozen episodes, so not too much filler. I've become a bit of a fan of the main female lead, 柯佳嬿. All female leads tend to look the same these days, but she has a unique look about her, plus she can act. Good enough, if you're in the mood for something like this.

 

 

Close Your Eyes Before It's Dark

 

 

A group of former high school friends arrange a hiking/reunion trip in the mountains. After a storm knocks out all communications with the outside world, the group begins to get killed, one by one, causing panic and mutual suspicion. I really wanted to like this one, as the concept of the show sounds pretty interesting, but I just didn't like any of the characters, and never really felt any suspense.

 

 

Netflix has a pretty decent selection of Chinese language films and TV, all in all.

 

[amytheorangutan]

14 hours ago, StChris said:

It's about a mysterious website, where people can order products from the future (normally providing a solution to a person's deepest desires and insecurities). As you can probably guess, the purchase of said products normally comes back to haunt the buyer, even if they do temporarily solve the problem at hand.

This sounds like a no-fun Doraemon ?

[EnergyReaper]

On 6/21/2021 at 6:28 PM, amytheorangutan said:

Can’t wait for all episodes to be released

You can watch full episodes now.

[mlescano]

On 5/24/2021 at 11:52 AM, Balthazar said:

Anyone else watching 小舍得？Pretty good drama, imo (topical too, re the whole "why are people not having more kids" discussion). The first two episodes are pretty slow, but it quickly picks up the pace. Currently on episode nine.

 

First four episodes are available for free on Youtube (subbed into seven different languages, but, puzzingly, not Chinese). The rest are available elsewhere.

Thanks for the recommendation! It's available on IQ.com, the international version of IQIYI, with subtitles in Chinese and other languages. At least here in Ecuador.

[EnergyReaper]

小舍得 reflects the reality of education in today's China very well, but I felt too depressed while watching, so I have given up. The similar drama 小欢喜 gets higher ratings on Douban.

[evr-since]

For those who enjoy contemporary Chinese drama I would suggest 都挺好 (All is well). It's really intriguing and got me easily into binge-watching it ?



from the summary of episode 1 on IMDB:

Quote

"Mrs. Su passed away. Su Mingzhe, the eldest son of the Sus was returned from the US to go home for the funeral. All the people in the family seemed to be strange. Su Daqiang, the host of the Sus was urgently expressing his will to go to the US. Su Mingcheng who was the second son was extremely sad but Su Mingyu, the youngest daughter seemed to be indifferent. Mingyu took his dad back to their old house to bring some stuff. That place reminded her some old memories. Back then, her family extremely valued the male child only."

 

[realmayo]

23 hours ago, evr-since said:

For those who enjoy contemporary Chinese drama I would suggest 都挺好 (All is well). It's really intriguing and got me easily into binge-watching it ?

 

Thanks for the recommendation - I watched the first two episodes of this today and really like it. Contemporary, not silly/cutesy, plenty of dialogue - and as you say an intriguing storyline, reveals what's going on only bit-by-bit. Let us know if you find any more like this!

[Woodford]

On 2/5/2021 at 4:34 PM, StChris said:

I finally followed my own recommendation from last summer and watched 《摩天大楼》.

 

I know I'm responding to you 5 months late, but I've been enjoying this series (I'm on episode 4 out of 16). It reminds me of the "CSI" TV series in the USA. I like all the plot twists that keep me guessing, and I'm particularly amused and entertained by Guo Tao's acting style. Unlike the other Chinese content I practice with--academic lectures, YouTube monologues, TED Talks, etc.--dramas like this one actually give me the chance to practice more "real," informal, everyday Chinese. Sometimes it's really challenging for me to understand the characters as they whisper, mutter, and yell different phrases, sometimes in the presence of background noises and other people who are talking at the same time. It doesn't feel as easy and breezy, but that kind of practice is so necessary for me.

I thought it was particularly challenging to follow Xie Baoluo in the first couple of episodes. His low and muffled voice presents me with a difficulty that is nearly legendary.

[StChris]

18 hours ago, Woodford said:

I know I'm responding to you 5 months late, but I've been enjoying this series (I'm on episode 4 out of 16).

 

Definitely still one of my favourite Chinese series - at times suspenseful, really funny at others. It manages to maintain the quality throughout most of the 16 episodes too. Highly recommended to anyone who still hasn't seen it yet.

[Jan Finster]

19 hours ago, Woodford said:

watched 《摩天大楼》.

 

Do you guys know where to find the Chinese soft subs?

[Woodford]

10 hours ago, Jan Finster said:

Do you guys know where to find the Chinese soft subs?

 

Unfortunately, I only see the "hard" subs on this one. So I have to awkwardly hold my smartphone with Pleco in one hand while I keep the other hand firmly on the pause button, and things can get rather tedious, especially when I'm learning the dialogue. A lot of stop and go.

[EnergyReaper]

Just finished You Are My Glory(你是我的荣耀). Honestly, it's one of the best modern romantic Cdramas I've watched. Yangyang and Dilraba, OMG, their visuals, acting and chemistry are amazing. I think they are the most proper actors for the two main roles. Last night, Tencent's servers even crashed for several hours because too many fans wanted to pay for the last six episodes, LOL

[amytheorangutan]

26 minutes ago, EnergyReaper said:

Just finished You Are My Glory(你是我的荣耀).

I'm glad you like it. It's on my watch list but haven't gotten around to it yet. Currently watching My Roommate is a Detective which I enjoy very much but they really really need to rewrite the female character in this drama because she is just too annoying and being like a lightbulb at this point. 

 

Then I will move on to Imperial Coroner... Heard lots of good things about it....