Tencent saw 5 Chinese dramas breach 30,000 on its popularity index in the first half of the year. Youku saw 5 breach 10,000 while iQiyi only had one. We discuss which dramas they were and also which dramas had the highest tv ratings in 1H24.

In episode 6 of Joy of Life, Fan Xian wanders off to find the Overwatch Council and is surprised and bemused to see Wang Qi Nian as a member there. Fan Xian finds his mother's tablet and has a better understanding of the world she tried to build. At the palace, everyone has their eyes set on Fan Xian's performance at the poetry meeting. Lin Wan Er tries to meet Fan Xian for a discussion but he's nowhere to be found, forcing his siblings to cover for him and presenting a rather bad image of Fan Xian. Listen now to the history and fun pop culture referenced this episode!

The 29th Magnolia Award had quite a bit a drama when the nominations were announced including Wang Yi Bo fans being upset he was not nominated and then questioning whether Tang Yan, Yang Zi and a few others were deserving of their nominations.

Fan Xian and his siblings head out for a nice lunch in the capital. They find that the Dream of the Red Chamber that Fan Xian memorized and wrote for Fan Ruo Ruo is now an incredibly popular book that's selling in the black market. Fan Si Zhe hears this and immediately wants to partner up with Fan Xian.

Meanwhile, they are intercepted by Guo Bao Kun and Li Hong Cheng and invited to a literary/poetry meeting the next day.

A full new slate of dramas have geared up for the summer season. New Wu Xia Drama Legend of Heroes is another adaptation of Legend of the Condor Heroes. Luo Yun Xi and Song Yi star in an original period romance drama Follow Your Heart. Meanwhile, Zhang Ling He has found his groove in The Princess Royal with Zhao Jin Mai. The hotly anticipated season 2 of Lost You Forever is slated to air on July 8th! Listen to our thoughts on these recent dramas in our latest podcast episode

Fan Xian meets his father Fan Jian who gives him the rundown of the capital. The Princess Royal Li Yun Rui currently controls power of the Royal Treasury which she would lose once Fan Xian marries her daughter Lin Wan'Er, thus making him a prime target for attack.

Summer 2024 has been dominated by two dramas that are star representatives of the genre of their source IP, Nan Pin or Books of the Male Gaze and Nv Pin or Books of the Female Gaze. In today's podcast episode, I discuss these two book genres, the tropes typically found in these books, and how they have translated on screen. Joy of Life represent the Nan Pin books and dramas and the Double represent the Nv Pin books and dramas.

Fan Xian heads to the Capital of the Qing kingdom but meets a myriad of characters along the way including a beautiful "Ms. Chicken Leg". When he finally arrives at the Fan Manor in the Capital, his family dynamics also become quite eventful.

Actress Zhou Ye garnered negative publicity due to her attitude towards the "6th Princess" which is actually CCTV6. We discuss what happened and why the "6th Princess" is important.

We kick off with our discussions of Joy of Life Season 1 with the first 2 episodes! We start with an episode recap and then move onto culture and history! We discuss how the author chose the name 庆余年 and references behind it. Join us on this journey for Joy of Life