Like all awards, the Magnolia Awards have their own favourites, yet it is the awards show I enjoy watching most because the winners are usually worthy recipients. By all accounts, The Thunder winning Best Drama and Best Screenwriter was probably the biggest surprise of the night. A Little Reunion, Joy of Life and The Longest Day in Chang’an also took home two awards each.
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A good original soundtrack / theme song always makes the drama-watching experience more enjoyable, so I’ve included the theme songs and instrumentals that have really impressed me this year. Which drama soundtracks made an impression on you this year?
Royal Nirvana: Instrumentals by Ah Kun
Little Reunion leads Tao Hong and Hai Qing are in full bloom in two recent photoshoots together.
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Some of you may recognise talented actress Tao Hong as the dragon maiden from rom-com Sunny Piggy 春光灿烂猪八戒 (2000), which also propelled her husband and actor-director Xu Zheng to fame, or as Ji Xiaofu in Heaven Sword Dragon Sabre 2003. The actress recently returned to mainstream television as a controlling single mother in A Little Reunion, a critically and commercially successful slice-of-life drama that focuses on the stressful relationship between parents and teenagers on the cusp of high school graduation.
I’ve translated some excerpts from the actress’ recent interview, in which she shares her views on the entertainment industry and the situation faced by many older actresses in the industry.
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A Little Separation’s companion series, A Little Reunion focuses on three sets of families who all go to great lengths to ensure their children perform well in the university entrance exams, yet eventually realise that perfect scores are not the be-all and end-all.
Hai Qing is the strict mother who constantly compares her son (Zhou Qi) to her nephew (Liu Qi), while Huang Lei plays the father who is always responsible for defusing the situation.
Nowadays dramas can be pulled 10 minutes before airing (ahem Novoland, although that’s probably more to do with the fact that it’s a period drama), so don’t get too excited about the shows with unconfirmed dates.
Shows that dropped with little notice: The Untamed, Love and Destiny, The Longest Day in Chang’an, Novoland: Eagle Flag
Cry Me A Sad River 流淌的美好时光 (悲伤逆流成河) – Jul 1
Starring: Zheng Shuang, Ma Tianyu
Details: 52 episodes, daily drama on Hunan TV
First loves break up and later reunite.
A Little Reunion 小欢喜 takes on the important social issue of university entrance exams (gaokao), and revolves around the conflicts of three vastly different families with kids in their final year of high school.