Tag Archives: Ode to Joy

Ode to Joy 3 returns with brand new cast

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The drama about an unlikely friendship between five women who share a floor in a Shanghai apartment complex is back for a third season. Ode to Joy 3 will star Jiang Shuying as biologist Ye Zhenzhen and Yang Caiyu as the mysterious and elegant HR manager Zhi Heng, who each have their own apartments. The third apartment will be shared by hotel manager Zhu Ji (Zhang Jianing) and young white-collars He Minhong (Zhang Huiwen) and Yu Chuhui (Sun Qian).

I enjoyed Season 1 and raised eyebrows at Season 2, so here’s to hoping Season 3 brings something new to the table. Directed by Jian Chuanhe (Ode to Joy 2) and written by original author A’nai, the series is yet to begin filming.

How Chinese TV is making its way to Sub-Saharan Africa

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Liu Tao and Qiao Xin at an audience meeting of Ode to Joy in Tanzania

As Tencent is making its way to Thailand and iQiyi partners with Malaysia, another group of Chinese media firms have already settled in Africa. Since 2007, Beijing-based media company Star Times  has established itself in over 30 African countries with 26 million users. The company is also working with Chinese and African governments to provide tv access to underserved rural communities in twenty-five African countries.   The company offers two channels featuring Chinese dramas – SinoDrama and Star Times Kung Fu.  Star Times have has also held competitions to bring African acting talents to its Beijing Campus to translate and dub everything from Latin American telenovelas to Thai dramas into English, French, Portuguese, Swahili, Hausa, Zulu, Yoruba and Luganda.

Over the past month, the heads of Daylight Entertainment (Nirvana in Fire, Ode to Joy) and Linmon Entertainment (A Little Separation, Hunting) and the cast of Ode to Joy attended events in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania as a part of the Chinese-African audio-video exchange to discuss further collaboration between Chinese and African media companies.

Their visit follows the filming of the first Chinese drama made in collaboration with the Kenyan government last month, Wang Kai and Wang Ou’s upcoming crime thriller Hunting.

Hunting ‘s Kenyan special. The series is the first drama collaboration with the Kenyan government.

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XDRAMAsX’s 2017 Drama Review

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2017 was a much better year for dramas in general (I’m actually more excited for 2018-2019, as all the movie actors are returning to the small screen), with several shows hitting it out of the park in terms of ratings and/or online popularity.

Web dramas really started to gain traction this year – in fact, I’m marathoning two right now, and each one stands out for various reasons, whether it be high production values or tight storytelling. These online shows have become an outlet for creativity due to the strict censorship rules applied to television dramas, though SARPPFT has decided to nip it in the bud by making web dramas undergo the same rigorous process before premiering online. Hopefully the streaming sites continue to come up with quality fare in the future despite the roadblocks that are being put in place.

WARNING: Long post ahead.

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Review: Ode to Joy Season I

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As Ode to Joy II  欢乐颂 2 is geared up for release, here’s a review of season 1 of the hit series from 2016.

Witty dialogue and a cast of memorable characters make Ode to Joy one of the most fun sit-coms in a while.  Unfortunately, the  series is often dogged down by attempts to shift to a melodrama that makes the ff button a necessary friend.

The series focuses around the unlikely friendship between five women who share a floor in an apartment complex in Shanghai. There’s Andi (An Di?), the business professional with a fear of human touch, Qu Xiaoxiao, the heiress fighting  for the family inheritance,  Fan Shengmei, the gold-digger with an entitled family, Qiu Yingying, the happy-go-lucky college grad,  and Guan Ju’er, the ordinary white-collared girl who has never said no in her life.

Coming from a misogynistic rural  family, Fan Shengmei (Jiang Xin) is vain, self-centered, but also righteous and protective. She would lie to help out a friend, but also to save face. The first lets her befriend the women in the apartment complex, but the second gets her in trouble  as she falls for men who use her vanity to play her.  When she falls in love with a  man faked his own wealth to date her, she is caught between love and vanity.  Imperfect, complex, and sharp-tongued, Fan’s characterization is perfect.

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Air date update, May 2017

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The Air date update feature is back! Dates and details may be subject to change. I think it’s pretty obvious which drama I’ll be watching..

Double Sweet Wife 总裁误宠替身甜妻 – May  2
Featuring: He Minghan, Zhang Pengpeng
Details: weekly drama on LeTV Continue reading →

Couple stills for Ode to Joy 2

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Season 2 of Ode to Joy has released stills of the five ladies Liu Tao, Jiang Xin, Wang Ziwen, Yang Zi and Qiao Xin and their respective pairings. I’m still interested in checking out the premiere, though I’ve been keeping hopes low after season 1 fell short of expectations.

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XDRAMAsX’s 2016 Drama Review

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Personally I feel 2016 has been a rather lackluster year for dramas, and there wasn’t a single show that had me completely invested. My standards have risen exponentially after a slew of good dramas in late 2015, and I’m hoping some of the shows from the 2017 lineup will make up for the disappointment this year. That being said, I probably have missed out on a couple of gems this year, so feel free to suggest your favourites below.

This is my first time reviewing anything, so do bear with my ramblings as I try and figure everything out. I also owe a huge thanks to the team at CFensi, especially 0kuo0 and idarklight, for patiently answering all my questions and making sure I settled in with minimal hiccups. All productions are listed in the order they aired, and I’ve also included some short commentary on dramas I dropped. 

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Fools of love trailer for Ode to Joy

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Get used to seeing this pair, because they’re going to be collaborating for two more seasons of Ode to Joy and at least one of detective series When a Snail Falls in Love 如果蜗牛有爱情.

First of all, I’m kind of impressed by their use of English songs in the two trailers so far. Hopefully this bodes well for their rather large OST (all the girls and maybe Wang Kai have their own song). Second, can everyone but maybe Jiang Xin please get a new stylist? There is absolutely nothing young and hip about any of Wang Kai’s outfits.

I still think Ode to Joy 欢乐颂  could be ground-breaking in being a female-centric modern drama that isn’t solely-focused on romance (despite this trailer),  so I have high hopes for this series. I like the end message of the trailer, if anything else.  All the leads have signed up for season 2 and 3 for this drama, so that should indicate the script is really good (or they were emotionally blackmailed).

The series has been pushed back for an April 18th release, and still stars Liu Tao, Jiang Xin, Yang Zi,  Wang Ziwen, Qiao Xin, Zu Feng, Yang Shuo, Zhang Lu,  Wang Kai, Jin Dong, and Zhang Xiaoqian,

Sisterhood of Ode to Joy looking fabulous in trailer

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So much talent, looks, and personality in one trailer!

This trailer is actually so much better than I expected it to be! Everyone’s on point with their characters, and the trailer looks both fun and dramatic.

So here’s our Ode to Joy  欢乐颂, set to air on April 17, introducing the adorable  residents  of 2201 and the males in their lives,  Liu Tao, Jiang Xin, Yang Zi,  Wang Ziwen, Qiao Xin, Zu Feng,  Yang Shuo, Zhang Lu,  Wang Kai, Jin Dong, and Zhang Xiaoqian,

P.S. Wang Ziwen said that for all of her scenes with Wang Kai, pretty much if the two can’t come up a way to make their scene cute, they’ll just make out, so expect lots of cuteness from the pair.