Chinese TV Dramas Worth Watching

[神威98]

I didn't know they started airing this drama 9 days ago. On the other hand I love it when I can binge several episodes in one sitting...

EP1: Joy of Life S2 - Watch HD Video Online - WeTV

Watch Joy of Life S2 EP1: Joy of Life S2 online with subtitles in English. Introduction: It tells the story of a mysterious young man, Fan Xian, who has been tested and tempered by his family, times, and royal court. He adheres to justice and goodness, starts a new journey of life, and...

wetv.vip

 

[神威98]

Personally, I found Joy of Life S2 to be a lot more boring than the 1st season. S1 was so jam packed with action, S2 watches more like an imperial palace drama! Anyways, I've only seen 9 episodes so far. Maybe things will change (for the better) later on in the series...


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Culture Beat: ‘Joy of Life’ season 2 breaks records - Global Times

www.globaltimes.cn

Culture Beat: ‘Joy of Life’ season 2 breaks records

By Global Times Published: May 27, 2024 09:25 PM

Photo: Screenshot from the website

The highly anticipated season 2 of Joy of Life is currently on air on CCTV-8 and Tencent Video, breaking several viewership records.

The series, produced by CCTV, Tencent Video, Yuewen Film and Television, and New Classics Media, stars Zhang Ruoyun and Li Qin in lead roles. Directed by Sun Hao and written by Wang Juan, the drama is based on the popular novel by Mao Ni .

Joy of Life follows a young man Fan Xian (starred by Zhang) as he encounters various trials and tribulations on the way to uncover his true identity. The first season, which aired in 2019, garnered over 16 billion views domestically and received a 7.9 rating on Douban, China's leading media rating platform, from over 1 million users.

Internationally, Joy of Life season 2 premiered on Disney+ in multiple regions, including Singapore. Promotional efforts targeting overseas audiences are in full swing, featuring outdoor advertisements, in-platform promotions, and English-language marketing materials.

Current data shows that since its release, Joy of Life season 2 has become the most popular drama from the Chinese mainland ever on Disney+ streaming platform.

Hou Xiaonan, CEO and president of Yuewen Group as well as producer of the series, revealed that the first season was broadcast in 27 countries across five continents, receiving widespread acclaim from international viewers.

According to Hou, even before filming began for the second season, a collaboration with Disney was already established for simultaneous global distribution.

In addition to its Disney+ release, Joy of Life season 2 is set to air in Japan.

Following the initial release, Disney+ plans to introduce multi-language versions of the series, further expanding its global reach.

 

[神威98]

I didn't know they started airing this drama 9 days ago. On the other hand I love it when I can binge several episodes in one sitting...

EP1: Joy of Life S2 - Watch HD Video Online - WeTV

Watch Joy of Life S2 EP1: Joy of Life S2 online with subtitles in English. Introduction: It tells the story of a mysterious young man, Fan Xian, who has been tested and tempered by his family, times, and royal court. He adheres to justice and goodness, starts a new journey of life, and...

wetv.vip

Episode 36 [END] has been aired. How did the series turn out on Douban?

Joy of Life Season 1 -- 7.9/10 (1.1M votes)
Joy of Life Season 2 -- 7.2/10 (200K votes)
The Untamed -- 7.7/10 (1.8M votes)
Three Body Season 1 (Tencent TV drama version) -- 8.7/10 (500k votes)

BTW, I can relate to the scene with the narrow walkway hugging a steep cliff at the Chrysanthemum viewing Temple as I have been to a similar place myself. There are stretches and stretches of that kind of (*scary*) walkway at ZhangJiaJie National Park...

Tencent makes it even more fun by holding a duel off the cliff (literally two guys start fighting in the temple at the peak, do some wall jumps/fly off the cliff and continue their duel well into the bamboo forest below and open space beyond)!

Overall, despite the lower ratings *count* (about 1/5th) than the first season, the drama is still a very good one and worth your time (or at least worth mine for the ZhangJiaJie-like [fight] scene alone)!

 

[神威98]

This one belongs in the category of hidden gems, highly rated but not very watched...

Heroes 天行健 8.1/10 (20k votes) <- Douban rating (the Chinese "IMDB")
Joy of Life Season 1 -- 7.9/10 (1.1M votes)
Joy of Life Season 2 -- 7.2/10 (200K votes)
The Untamed -- 7.7/10 (1.8M votes)
Three Body Season 1 (Tencent TV drama version) -- 8.7/10 (500k votes)

On the surface, it looks like a generic late Qing Dynasty drama. BUT here are the differences from this series:

-- Stars the ML of Side Story of Fox Volant:



-- Made by Tencent (you can be sure that the quality to rival Hollywood productions is there when we're talking Tencent)
-- Involves martial arts sect who are experts in Chinese swordsmanship
-- Features authentic shuriken (ninja star) throwing warriors from Japan (can see this action right off the bat in Ep2)

 

[Menthol]

@神威98

Do you know good Chinese movies?

I heard Chinese movies dominate box office in China, but I don't know which movies.

 

[神威98]

@神威98

Do you know good Chinese movies?

I heard Chinese movies dominate box office in China, but I don't know which movies.

All the good Chinese movies worth watching, you've probably heard them in the news regarding box office figures, or go visit BoxOfficeMojo China section. Myself, I am looking forward to Part II of this movie:

 

[神威98]

This next one is very unusual. I only found out about the TV drama after seeing the trailer for the upcoming cinema release!

I Am Nobody 异人之下 (2023) -- 8.1/10 (120k votes) <- Douban rating (the Chinese "IMDB")
Heroes 天行健 (2024) -- 8.1/10 (20k votes)
Joy of Life Season 1 庆余年 (2019) -- 7.9/10 (1.1M votes)
Joy of Life Season 2 庆余年 第二季 (2024) -- 7.2/10 (200K votes)
The Untamed 陈情令 (2019) -- 7.7/10 (1.8M votes)
Three Body Season 1 三体 (2023; Tencent TV drama version) -- 8.7/10 (500k votes)

The movie version (to be shown in theaters soon) looks to have good effects!


TV drama with ENG sub:



P.S: Douban ratings are typically very harsh. Anything over 7.0/10 is considered A+ grade / quality!