Chasing Dramas

In June 2023, the Chinese entertainment megastars Dilireba 迪丽热巴 and Xiao Zhan 肖战 take over Chinese network television with separate new Chinese dramas. Re Ba plays a prosecutor in Prosecution Elites 公诉. a modern day drama about online crimes. Xiao Zhan plays a young man from Beijing in the 70s in Where Dreams Begin 梦中那片海 alongside Li Qin 李沁. Ju Jing Yi 鞠婧祎 brings a fantasy drama Hua Rong 花戎, Zhang Bin Bin and Wu Qian star in the modern day romance Here We Meet Again 三分野 and William Chan is a firefighter in A Date with the Future 照亮你。

We're nearing the final episode! On the fourth southern inspection tour, the Prince of He makes devious plans to overthrow the Emperor. The Empress, while not fully aware of his plans, agrees to play along. She believes that the Emperor has fully abandoned her. At night, rebels storm the dragon boat and a large fire breaks out. With the Emperor and Empress Dowager nowhere to be found, the Prince of He almost declares himself ruler. He is shocked to find the Emperor still alive. The Emperor coldly points out his treasonous behavior. Everyone in the room, including the Empress, is about to be betrayed by an unlikely person. Listen to our latest podcast episode!

Karen and Cathy discuss their thoughts on the recently aired and popular Chinese fantasy drama Till the End of the Moon 长月烬明 featuring Luo Yun Xi 罗云熙, Bai Lu 白鹿, Chen Du Ling 陈都灵 and Deng Wei 邓为。

Tensions run high between the Empress vs pretty much everyone else in the palace with Yuan Chun Wang as the master puppeteer. In several well planned steps, he manages to make the Empress and Prince of He think that a coup might be the best option to preserve their power and authority. All of this happens while the Emperor and the rest of the palace are planning for another southern investigation trip, a grand affair to the south of China.

We're finally discussing this new season of Sister who Makes Waves! This is a reality singing competition where 33 ladies over 30 compete to ultimately form a girl group! Each season, we get a variety of ladies from different backgrounds showcase their skills to form this girl group. These year, we have Ella from S.H.E., Ada Choi, our favorite actress Alyssa Chia, Amber from f(x), Japanese singer Mai Mizuhashi, Vietnamese actress Chi Pu, host Xie Na and so many more! Listen to our latest podcast episode as we introduce all 33 ladies and discuss our favorites and thoughts from the first couple performances!

While Ying Luo and the Empress do not want to attack each others' children, the eunuch Yuan Chun Wang steps in and starts wreaking havoc. He skillfully leverages a damaged gun to severely injure the 5th prince and also remove the 4th prince from contention while also causing the Empress to become the subject of the Emperor's suspicion behind this attack.

In May 2023, Chinese dramas the wuxia drama Ingenious One 云襄传 ft Chen Xiao and Mao Xiao Tong and the smaller budget fantasy drama Back from the Brink 护心 ft Hou Ming Hao and Zhou Ye are currently airing. More importantly, the highly anticipated season 2 of Joy of Life or 庆余年 has finally started filming 4+ years after the airing of the first season. From initial photos, most of the main cast has returned including Zhang Ruo Yun, Li Qin, Song Yi, Guo Qi Lin etc though Xiao Zhan's return remains a mystery. He was just cast as Guo Jing in a movie remake for Legend of the Condor Heroes. Elsewhere, Yang Mi has finally parted ways with JiaXing Media or Jay Walk Studios which she was a primary stakeholder of after helping start the company in 2012.

The drama time jumps to the 30th year of Emperor Qian Long's reign and we are now focused on the princes in the palace. Ying Luo has given birth to the 15th prince as well as several other children in the palace while also raising the 5th prince who adores his adoptive mother. Meanwhile, the Empress Nala, who has become hyper focused on maintaining her youthful look, has to contend with Yuan Chun Wang's badgering that she should act to ensure that her son, the 12th prince becomes the next Emperor.

Karen and Cathy provide an plot overview of the movie, Piercing Heart Sword 刿心剑, and explore the historical setting during the Ming dynasty as well as the powerful Embroidered Uniform Guard or Jin Yi Wei, the organization that the main characters are a part of.

After Ying Luo hits rock bottom, Imperial Concubine Shun or Chen Bi furthers her plan by creating the opportunity for Ying Luo to escape with Fu Heng from the palace. She sets it all up with both Ying Luo and Fu Heng and then immediately turns around and tells the Emperor. The day of the supposed escape, the Emperor stops the water tank Ying Luo was going to use to escape only to find her eunuch hidden inside. Ying Luo and Fu Heng both arrive separately to uncover Chen Bi's true motivations. Turns out, Chen Bi was selected as a pawn to enter the palace and hates Fu Heng for saving her life.