Year in Review 2020: Most Memorable Drama Characters

“He learnt his lesson well.” Illustration of a scene from The Bad Kids by 电子鲫鱼

I can count on one hand how many dramas I watched from beginning to end, so I’ve decided to do things differently this year and shine the spotlight on the characters that I really liked. Feel free to submit your own reviews and posts here.

Standalone reviews 2020: A Murderous Affair in Horizon Tower, We Are All Alone, The Romance of Tiger and Rose

Which dramas did you follow this year, and which characters made a lasting impression on you?

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Promo Round-up: Nothing But Thirty

Nothing But Thirty stars Jiang ShuyingTong Yao and Mao Xiaotong as womn who break free from stereotypes and begin to live life the way they want – because they’re only thirty after all. [Extended Synopsis]

The drama airs daily on Dragon TV beginning tonight. Tencent VIP members will have a 2 episode head start, and can purchase the final eight episodes on August 3rd. The first episode premieres on YouTube at midnight.

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Nothing But Thirty releases stills

Female ensemble drama Nothing But Thirty finished filming this week and released its first set of stills. The drama, one of many upcoming female ensemble dramas, tells the story of three thirty-year-old women, played by Jiang ShuyingTong Yao and Mao Xiaotong, who break free from stereotypes and begin to live life the way they want – because they’re only thirty after all.

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Will 2020 be the year of female ensemble dramas?

Zhou Xun, Kara Hui and Angie Chiu have already finished filming 24-episode webdrama The Imperfect Woman 不完美的她 (lit.), a remake of Japanese drama Mother.

It might have started in early 2018, when a tweet proposing a Chinese drama featuring female friends whose lives aren’t revolving around romance and kids got millions of retweets as women across China (and overseas) shared their wishes to see more female characters with diverse aspirations and female friendships not tied together by their common rivalry for a man.

In the year since then, companies seem to have picked up the hint as one after another modern female ensemble dramas began production this year. The dramas range from women fighting their place in college (Unfazed at Twenty ) to women dealing with mid-life crises to women seeking to find a new meaning in life in old age (Good Times).

Here’s a look at some of the announced upcoming female ensemble dramas, which one are you looking forward to the most?

First trailer for Jiang Shuying, Tong Yao, and Mao Xiaotong’s Nothing But Thirty
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Nothing But Thirty begins filming with Jiang Shuying, Tong Yao and Mao Xiaotong

“I have no riches. I am my own best asset.” – Jiang Shuying as Wang Manni

Nothing But Thirty tells the story of three thirty-year-old women, played by Jiang Shuying, Tong Yao and Mao Xiaotong, who break free from stereotypes and begin to live life the way they want – because they’re only thirty after all. [Extended Synopsis]

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Tong Liya, Jiang Shuying, Mao Xiaotong cast in female-centric modern drama Nothing But Thirty

Update: Tong Liya has quit the project.
Starring Tong Liya, Jiang Shuying and Mao Xiaotong, Nothing But Thirty 三十而已 revolves around three vastly different women who are all on the cusp of turning 30, and decide to break the stereotype and take matters into their own hands.

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