I’m usually not a rom-com person, but the premise for iQiyi rom-com Be My Princess has definitely caught my attention. Xu Zhengxi (The Autumn Ballad) plays an aloof actor who literally embodies his character after getting into a car accident. Zhou Jieqiong (Legend of Fei) stars as his bewildered costar, who must play along and help him recover.
Directed by Huang Tianren (Here To Heart, Someday or One Day), the drama releases episodes weekly on iQiyi and Mango TV.
A round-up of dramas that have just started filming, mostly rom-coms and xianxia romances, without their own posts yet. Which ones are you looking forward to the most?
Brotherhood of Blades: Shadow of the Lands 绣春刀·山河之影 (lit.)
Cast: Zhang Yunlong, Sun Yi, Chen Ruoxuan
Executive producer: Lu Yang
Directors: Li Yi, Cao Hua
Screenwriters: Li Yi, Xu Yiliang (Princess Jieyou)
The first drama from Lu Yang’s Brotherhood of Blades universe, it’ll cover the founding of the Ming dynasty and the formation of the jinyiwei.
iQiyi has released a handful of trailers and posters for its upcoming dramas. The successful Light On programme is back for a second round, and the streaming platform has also lumped its romance dramas into a Sweet On schedule, which is set to begin this month. Which dramas are you looking forward to most?
First up is Luoyang, and the trailer is giving me huge The Longest Day in Chang’an vibes. Huang Xuan‘s character seems pretty similar to Lei Jiayin’s, in that they’re both former government officials who are tasked with solving intriguing mysteries.
Season 2 of Novoland: The Castle in the Sky revolves around the romance between the queen of the winged tribe (Wang Yuwen) and her stone-faced teacher (Xu Zhengxi). The 34 episode drama releases 2 eps every Thurs-Sat on Tencent beginning tomorrow. English subs should be available a day or two later on WeTV/Youtube.
Novoland: The Castle in the Sky 2 stars Wang Yuwen as the daughter of Feng Tianyi and Yi Fuling and new queen of the Winged Tribe. She falls in love with her teacher Xue Jingkong (Xu Zhengxi), who harbours secrets of his own. The 34 episode drama is expected to stream soon.
All dramas have ceased filming and work is sparse, so I’m going to use this opportunity to highlight the following celebrities for donating to efforts to contain the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. I know there’s a lot of uncertainties about whether donations are being properly used, but that doesn’t diminish the goodwill of the donators. If you chose to donate to anything, though, definitely do your homework and making sure that the money is actually well-spent.
The list is too long so I used google translate, feel free to leave corrections and additions in the comments.
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Round-up of celebrity Novembers schedules put out by their workshops and what drama/film they’re working on right now, mostly selected based on if I liked their photo.
Ten Years Late stars Shawn Dou (See You Again) and Nazha (Return the World To You) as first loves that reunite after a decade. Xu Zhengxi, Song Yanfei, Wang Ziyun and Jin Zehao costar. The 30 episode drama releases 2 episodes every Thurs-Sun on iQiyi here (8 episode head start for members).
Theme song by Wang Zhengliang, Trailer 1
Return the World To You is a fashion-mystery-melo that stars Gulnazar as Shen Yi’en, the CEO of a fashion empire. She befriends Lu Huai (Yang Shuo), the CEO of another fashion company, and slowly falls in love with him. Turns out that Lu Huai is actually Shen Yi’en’s boyfriend Ye Qilei post-surgery, who was believed to be dead after being framed by competitors. Xu Zhengxi and Zhao Yingzi complete the love square. The 40 episode drama airs on Jiangsu TV beginning tonight (Youtube).
Ending theme song by Wang Zhengliang, Teaser 1, Teaser 2
Palace intrigue series Legend of the Phoenix 凤弈 begins airing today. The series stars He Hongshan, Xu Zhengxi, and Cao Xiwen. Based on the plot summary, I’m really hoping we’ll see something close to a genuine friendship between He Hongshan and Cao Xiwen like the female leads of The Palace of Yanxi.
Watch the drama on Youtube here. Two episodes will be available every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
Plot, stills, trailer 1, trailer 2; more trailers; theme song by Mimi Lee of Rocket Girls below: