Xianxia epic Ever Night releases new trailer, to stream Oct. 31

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.

Promo Round-up: The Rise of Phoenixes

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

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The Rise of Phoenixes confirms air date, releases new previews and stills

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

Ever Night: Dawn of the Empire releases trailer, gorgeous stills filmed in Xinjiang

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.

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Yao Chen, Ni Dahong lead ensemble cast for modern family drama All Is Well

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).

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An introduction to the characters in The Rise of Phoenixes

The Rise of Phoenixes 凰权·弈天下 has released stills of the cast, and character descriptions have been translated below.

Aug 10: updated with more characters at the end.

Co-directed by Shen Yan (The First Half of My Life) and Liu Haibo (Chinese Style Relationship), and scripted by Lu Yi, Zou Yue (Guardian of Beauty), Wang Pei (I’m Not A Monster) and Qiu Yongyi, the 70 episode drama is tentatively scheduled for a late 2018 premiere on Hunan TV.

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Shanghai’s gang lords unveiled in new teaser for Great Expectations

The new trailer for Great Exectations 远大前程 focuses on second generation mob bosses Huang Jinrong, Du Yuesheng and Zhang Xiaolin, played by veteran actors Ni Dahong (Intrude the Widow Village at Midnight), Zhao Lixin (Chinese Style Relationship) and Liu Yijun (Lost Love in Times) respectively.

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Supporting cast revealed for The Rise of Phoenixes

The casting is now finalised for The Rise of Phoenixes, the upcoming historical drama starring Chen Kun (Chongqing Hot Pot) as an ambitious prince who has his eyes set on the throne and Ni Ni (Suddenly Seventeen) as an intelligent young woman determined to restore her kingdom.

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