Chasing Dramas

During the Lunar New Year, Knockout (狂飙) became the hottest airing Chinese drama. The adaptation of the sci-fi novel Three Body (三体) also aired. Zhang Ruo Yun 张若昀 will have his new drama Under the Microscope on February 10th and A League of Nobleman surprisingly aired with little fanfare. Listen to our latest podcast episode on the latest dramas airing and filming in the Chinese entertainme...

Fu Heng desires to head off to war again which makes sense after his wife Er Qing sold his maid to a brothel, leading to her death. Ying Luo steps in to help convince the Emperor to let him go. Meanwhile, Ying Luo starts plotting how best for her foes to surface and the opportunity presents itself when the Emperor decides to give her riding lessons.

Hu Ge, of Royal Nirvana and Chinese Paladin fame, shocked the Chinese entertainment circle by announcing that he is now a father to a baby girl. It's been a joke for years that Hu Ge would just stay single so for him to announce he's married and has a child is quite a welcome surprise for pretty much all of Chinese media! We also touch on continued drama with Lunar New Year Box Office movies and a...

The Emperor decided to give Ying Luo the cold shoulder after seeing her with Fu Heng together even though he saw she was set up. This meant that she was mistreated and neglected in the palace without her favor. But, Ying Luo being Ying Luo captured the opportunity to return to his line of sight when Noble Consort Chun asked her to embroider a buddha portrait for the Empress Dowager. Add on top of...

It's the Year of the Rabbit! Karen and Cathy discuss the highlights or lack thereof from this year's Spring Gala Performance. We also breakdown the fierce competition happening right now at the box office as film studios try to capture audience's attentions with offerings from legendary directors, respected actors, and pop idols.

With Fu Heng having returned victorious from war, old rumors resurface about his and Ying Luo's relationship which causes quite a headache for her as it destabilizes her position in the palace. After all, the Emperor himself knows all about the relationship between those two and has become quite jealous.

Karen provides her review of 月歌行 or Song of the Moon featuring Xu Lu and Zhang Bin Bin. It's a mediocre fantasy drama that has a poor story but stunning visuals. 

Wei Ying Luo incurs the ire of Imperial Concubine Jia and is punished for insubordination. Imperial Concubine Jia goes running to the Emperor and lies about Ying Luo's disobedience. The Emperor decides to ignore Wei Ying Luo. A few days later, he finds himself annoyed that she hasn't come to ask for favor. Wei Ying Luo quickly finds herself back in favor after the Emperor finds out the truth of he...

This is an intro to the drama episode for the Tang Dynasty drama Weaving A Tale of Love 风起霓裳 starring Gulinazha and Timmy Xu. The drama follows the journey between Kudi Liu Li and Pei Xing Jian as the two navigate the palace machinations of Emperor Li Zhi's court. Cathy and Karen introduce the cast and characters, discuss the historical setting for the drama and some key historical counterpart...

Ying Luo has successfully been granted title of Noble Lady but that doesn't mean she has favor automatically. Instead, she starts to enact on various tactics to secure the favor of the Emperor, to great success.

The new year kicks off with a slew of fun and interesting dramas. Liu Yi Fei stars in her first modern day drama in Meet Yourself 去有风的地方. Vin Zhang Bin Bin and Xu Lu star in Song of the Moon 月歌行。Dylan Wang He Di headlines Fu Tu Yuan 浮图缘 with Chen Yu Qi and Liu Xue Yi brings comic book Blood of the Youth 少年歌行 to life.

Upon learning from Ming Yu that the 7th prince's death and ultimately Empress Fu Cha's death may be linked to Noble Consort Chun and to save Ming Yu's life, Ying Luo hatches a plan to seek revenge. How? Becoming a woman of the Emperor.

Karen and Cathy round out the year with our top favorite Chinese dramas for the year, the biggest breakout stars, favorite chinese books and more! 

We enter into a new regime in the palace as the former Consort Xian is promoted to Empress and Fu Heng heads off to war to rescue a failed campaign in the Si Chuan region. 

Cathy provides her reviews of the two medical dramas, Dr. Tang 关于唐医生的一切 starring Qin Lan and Wei Da Xun, and Thank You, Doctor 谢谢你医生 starring Yang Mi and Bai Yu. Dr. Tang is a comfortable, heartwarming medical drama that leaves you rooting for all of the characters at the end. Thank You, Doctor squanders its cast with paper thin character development and rides on the strengths of its...

After suffering another devastating heartbreak, Empress Fu cha cannot cope with the fact that her second son, the 7th prince, passed away. When the Emperor reminds her that her most important duty is to be the Empress, she concludes that she must decide her own fate. She does not want to be Empress anymore, only Fu Cha Rong Yin. 

Karen provides her review of the hit Chinese drama, New Life Begins 卿卿日常 starring Bai Jing Ting and Li Wei which became a surprising hit. This light hearted historical drama shines in its portrayal of sisterhood bonds but struggles to establish strong chemistry of the main couple. Overall though Karen thought it was a fun and worthy drama to chase.

Time goes flying by in these two episodes as two princes are born in the palace. However, Er Qing decides that she wants to ruin Fu Heng's life and plots to do so by way of the Emperor. Meanwhile, Noble Consort Chun cannot stand hearing that the Empress's newborn son would gain all the attention and strikes as well to devastating effects.

In December 2022, the key Chinese dramas out right now include She and Her Perfect Husband Featuring Yang Mi and Xu Kai, Wild Bloom Featuring Zhao Li Ying, Bright Future featuring Hu Ge and Shining Just For You featuring Feng Shao Feng and Peng Xiao Ran.

Wei Ying Luo is given the opportunity to return to Chang Chun Palace. She is offered the choice of publicly renouncing her love of Fu Heng or suffer a punishment. She chooses the latter. After her ordeal, she is allowed back to serve the Empress and help her regain the ability to walk. The Emperor, meanwhile, is trying to figure out his feelings towards Wei Ying Luo. Fu Heng and Er Qing finally ge...

BREAKING - On November 25th 2022, Kris Wu, once one of the most famous pop stars in China, was sentenced to 13 years in prison and exile on counts of rape and group sexual promiscuity. We discuss in this episode who he is and the events that led up to his arrest and the subsequent aftermath. Listen for the latest updates on this scandal Trigger warning: In this episode, we do discuss sexual assaul...

Wang Xiao Fei decided to publicly blast his ex-wife Da S/Barbie Hsu on Weibo complaining about all of the fees he's paying for in her home and he's sick of it, complete with a detailed spreadsheet. His mom entered the fray and so did Da S, her sister, Xiao S, and their mother, plus Wang Xiao Fei's mistress. It's been a multi-day saga with the clear winner being the mattress brand Hastens since Wan...

In the end of episode 34 and into 35, we get a number of disturbing revelations. 1) Yuan Chun Wang believes himself to be connected to an extremely powerful family, 2) Consort Chun had been nursing an unhealthy love for Fu Heng for the last decade and 3) with the Empress's return to consciousness, she outright forces the Emperor to reconcile for his true affections for Ying Luo.

The Emperor happens upon Ying Luo and Fu Heng working together to tend to the Empress and is furious to see them so close. Soon after, Ying Luo is accused of cursing Noble Consort Gao and is interrogated by the Emperor. In order to save her life, Fu Heng jumps to the conclusion that he must marry Er Qing, breaking Ying Luo's heart. 

Here's our November drama update of the new dramas that have recently aired! This includes Lighter and Princess, Thank you Doctor, and New Life Begins. Several dramas have also recently wrapped filming including new dramas starring Yang Mi, Zhao Li Ying and Lin Geng Xin. We also have some new pop culture gossip as the two co-leads (Bai Jing Ting and Song Yi) of the recently wrapped Chang Feng Du w...