Republican espionage drama The Rebel 叛逆者 stars Zhu Yilong as Lin Nansheng, a covert operative who is sent to infiltrate an underground Communist base in Shanghai led by university student Zhu Yizhen (Tong Yao).

Like any other espionage drama, the upright and honest hero is impressed by the communists’ ideology and their willingness to self-sacrifice for the greater good. Lin Nansheng defects to the other side after becoming disillusioned with the corrupt Kuomintang government, and starts working as a double agent.

Based on the novel of the same name by Bi Yu, the drama is written by New Classics Media’s script writing team led by Li Xiaoming (Secret History of Xishi) and Qin Wen (The First Half of My Life). Director Zhou You recently worked on Jin Dong’s Candle in The Tomb.

The 30 (temporary) episode drama began filming today on April 16th, which also happens to be Zhu Yilong’s birthday (Happy Birthday and happy filming!)