Unlike the mess that was the 29th Golden Eagle Awards, the Magnolia Awards were more sensible and predictable, so kudos to the judges (director Gao Xixi, actress Ma Yili, screenwriter Chen Tong among others) for judging based on merit.
A victim of sexism in her own family, a spoiled youngest son, and a weak father finally freed from his boss spouse all walk into the same show…
From preferential treatment to sons to overly-protected sons to independent women to old people being scammed, All is Well 都挺好’s trailer hits so many the hot topics that every episode is already guaranteed to set aflame a million internet forum. The series starring Yao Chen, Ni Dahong, and Guo Jingfei is set to air on March 1st.
Here’s a round-up of Lantern Festival poster/stills released for upcoming (and one currently airing) dramas. Happy Lantern Festival!
The Longest Day in Chang’an – Yi Yangqianzi
Upcoming fantasy wuxia drama Ever Night (Part 1) stars Chen Feiyu, Song Yiren, Yuan Bingyan and Meng Ziyi in the leading roles, and will release 2 episodes every Wed-Fri on Tencent and Youtube beginning tonight. VIP members get a 6 episode head start.
Theme song by Jane Zhang ; Tan Weiwei
Xianxia epic Ever Night: Dawn of the Empire 将夜：帝国的清晨. released another trailer to announce its streaming on October 31st. The new trailer seems to focus on the male lead, played Chen Feiyu, and his love interests – Song Yiren, Meng Ziyi, Yuan Bingyan, and Tong Yao. We’ve seen a string of xianxia flops, so don’t get your hopes too much despite how pretty it is.
A one-off recap of Episodes 1 and 2 of The Rise of Phoenixes. The drama is currently airing on Hunan TV (7:30~8pm CN time) and iQiyi (10pm).
No news of English subs yet.
The Rise of Phoenixes tells of the heart-wrenching romance between the descendants of two royal families who are destined to become enemies, and the political machinations that are bound to push them further apart.
Starring Chen Kun, Ni Ni, Zhao Lixin, Ni Dahong, Yuan Hong, Wang Ou and Bai Jingting, the 70 episode drama airs daily on Hunan TV beginning tonight. Raw episodes will be uploaded by Croton, and it may also appear on Netflix US.
Updated Character Introductions and Extended Synopsis
Chen Kun and Ni Ni’s The Rise of Phoenixes has released two TV spots, a bunch of new stills, and also gotten itself a new native title of 天盛长歌 (lit. The Golden Age of Tiansheng). The 70 episode drama is confirmed to air as a daily drama from August 14th.
I am 95% confident the drama has a sad ending in store for us just based on the last line: “I swear upon my father’s grave that regardless of the circumstance I am in, I shall never marry Ning Yi.”
(The drama is using on-site recording, hence the lack of familiar dubbing voices) Continue reading
Even though the female lead looks twelve and the male lead looks twenty, he was seventeen and she twenty-two when they filmed this last year.
The biggest xianxia/ fantasy wuxia drama starring newcomers, Ever Night将夜, has released a full trailer. Based on the book of the same name by Maoni (Fighter of the Destiny), the series will be released in three parts, with the first one being Ever Night: Dawn of the Empire 将夜：帝国的清晨. Relatively new actors Chen Feiyu, Song Yiren, Sun Zujun, Meng Ziyi, Yuan Bingyan head the cast of seasoned actors like Hu Jun, Leo Lai, Ni Dahong, Adam Cheng, Dylan Kuo, and Tong Yao.
Ning Que is a soldier who has came to the capital to clear his family. Yet when he finds out that his servant Sangsang is the embodiment of Ever Night, the foretold forever nighttime of humanity, the two go on the run.
The series was shot on-location in Xinjiang, an increasingly popular filming location where you can get the desert, vast grasslands, forests, and snowy mountains all in the same location around the same time. If you ignore the whole castle at the beginning, the sets, clothing, and definitely directing/editing appear to be some of the most promising of recent xianxia dramas . The on-location scenery shots are beautiful, the cast seems to have great chemistry based on the trailer, and the romantic BGM is gorgeous.
All is Well 都挺好 is produced by Daylight Entertainment, and based on Ah Nai’s (River of Time, Ode to Joy) novel of the same name. Yao Chen will be making her small screen come back after 2014’s Divorce Lawyers, and this time she’ll be playing the estranged daughter of veteran actor Ni Dahong (Mr. Right).