Ady An Returns to TW-dramas in an Unexpected Pairing with Mike He

After a long four year hiatus from Taiwan idol dramas, Ady An is headed back to the island where she was last seen on the small screen in a little known monster hit called Autumn’s Concerto, which made amnesia and a certain little Xiao Xiao Bin popular. Since then Ady has been starring in C-drama after C-drama, a good mix of period and modern fare, and raking in the dough doing so. This time she was lured back by her former agency which is bankrolling a production and supposedly she lowered her standard asking price to do this more as a favor. The drama was scheduled to start filming in February of 2013, but Ady was confirmed since late last year but the production had a heck of a difficult time finding her male lead. The part was offered to Jerry Yan, who said he would consider it but never followed up, and Bolin Chen, who declined immediately since he has a packed movie schedule this year. Apparently Show Luo said no because he doesn’t want to play yet another rich chaebol heir, while Joseph Chang, Eddie Peng, and Mike He all said they were too busy. After months of getting rejected by one A-list male actor after another, the production of the upcoming Marry a Rich Husband has finally landed their leading man in Mike He, who apparently changed his mind. So I guess this means Mike is still not ready to enlist in the army? Currently Mike can be seen on television in the drama Spring Love, which might be one of THE worst dramas I have ever ever ever watched. Ever. It is horrendous and defies explanation for its sheer awfulness (there are long lost twins and girl in a fat suit and random deaths and……..trust me it’s just that bad). My affection for Mike is thisclose to getting flushed down the toilet completely, but news of this pairing perks me up considerably. I don’t love Ady but I do like her when she’s playing perkier characters rather than the suffering girlfriend/wife type. This drama isn’t the typical rich man/poor girl set up, instead the heroine is the rich daughter of a wealthy pig farmer from Southern Taiwan (the countryside), who crosses paths with a sophisticated chaebol heir from Taipei. They have the same wealth but completely different upbringings and fate throws them into a proverbial pig pen together and hijinks ensue. With Mike onboard, the drama is scheduled to start filming at the beginning of April and will air on GTV when its completed.

The drama has the rich chaebol heir played by Mike quickly falling into dire financial straits when his family enterprise goes belly up. He travels down South to find odd jobs and finds himself at the mercy of the rich daughter of the landowning pig farmer, who rather relishes tormenting this formerly arrogant city boy who mocked her less sophisticated ways. I actually think this sounds quite cute, and Mike and Ady will be a new pairing that I’m willing to give the benefit of the doubt to. The second leads are both C-actors – baby-faced Fu Xing Bo (last seen playing the youngest 7th son in the upcoming Saving General Yang movie) and rising starlet Dong Xuan.


Comments

Ady An Returns to TW-dramas in an Unexpected Pairing with Mike He — 39 Comments

  1. Ahhhhh. Spring Love… MH must have been drunk when he signed for that thing. Could watch “only” 4 episodes then said ciao. Maybe that’s why he now wants to do this drama: He needs to salvage his image before enlisting.

      • LOL Spring Love is quite good to watch actually. It’s my first time watching Mike play a naïve role and I think he’s done a good job.

    • I feel like it’s a sad attempt by HIM service, the company of Mike He and the leading lady of that drama to promote their new “idol group”, which the leading lady belongs to. I feel like Mike He just agree to do it for a favour and earn some dough…

      • I think Mike should follow on the steps of Wu Zun and Jiro Wang and leave HIM. It’s not like he has had any good projects ever since he joined the company (if memory doesn’t fail me, he did SH before HIM signed him, right?). He just keep playing the same kind of roles over, and over and over again. And his acting is not getting any better either… If he really wants to grow as an actor and improve, he needs to step up his game. Soon.

  2. Is this second lead Fu Xing Bo the same guy as the guy who acted as 以 欢 ‘s hopelessly arrogant boyfriend in the ongoing Taiwanese drama A HINT OF LOVE? Incidentally this is an interesting show worth watching. (I surprised myself too when I marathon rest of episodes after the first!)

  3. The plot sounds like a Thai lakorn – which is not a compliment. And Ady An? Uff. Pass.

    It’s interesting though that Chinese actors are getting more exposure in Taiwan, especially with the success of dramas like Zhen Huan. I hope that in the future we can see lots of interesting collaborations.

    • In addition, my guess is that a Chinese company is investing in it, and therefore, it comes with rules that at least 2 of the actors are from China etc etc. I thought that is how it works? I don’t really read that much details about dramas to know.

  4. Aww, I really like Ady An. I’ve only seen her in Autumn’s Concerto, but the premise for this drama sounds pretty cute, so I’ll be tuning in.

    • Me too. I think she’s incredibly beautiful (one of the most beautiful C/T actresses). Her beauty is comparable to Vicky Zhao who I also think as on of the most beautiful actress that I love the most. However, I still hate her character in Heavenly Sword and Dragon Sabre. She’s the worst Zhao Ming ever! Although that’s probably not her fault.

      And I love Mike He. Although perhaps I would love this drama more if Jerry Yan is the male lead. Anyway, I really love the description of this drama. If it’s up to me I would never make my heroine a downtrodden poor girl. She would be a force to recon with.

      Really looking forward to watching this one.

  5. I thought he would finally o to army… But this drama sounds good. I try not to watch his crappy dramas… to continue to like him lol But I like Ady An, always thought she looked like Barbie Hsu. I think the pair is good.. Hopefully the drama will be too.

  6. I really liked Ady An in Autumn’s Concerto and am glad to see her do another drama.

    Thanks for the opinion on Spring Love…saves me the trouble of checking it out!

  7. I really like Ady too especially if she’s in a perky role. I feel like she gets typecasted sometimes since she does play the mature, torture gf/wife roles well.

    Looking forward to this pairing and seeing if it sparks something different. I’m really not a big fan of Mike. I liked SH but it’s wasn’t my favorite per say. I just feel like he’s an uneven actor. But I wish him the best in this one. I don’t know what is up with Spring Love.

  8. i always have been a huge fan of mike and loved him dearly, but the last couple projects of his i haven’t watched at all, mostly because they never seemed entertaining enough to me.

  9. Aww yayyy! I’ve got such a huge soft spot for Ady An and I’m glad she’ll soon be back in the TW dramasphere. That girl can cry buckets. As for Mike, I haven’t seen him in anything since Sunny Happiness, which, I think you and I both deem as cracktasticly good. So Imma cross my fingers for this one and hope that it turns out to be decent!

  10. ooo. I really like Ady! exciting. but indeed, all my goodwill towards Mike is rapidly being washed away. he’d better redeem himself with this!

  11. OH Spring Love… how I do not understand. If it weren’t for Mike he and Nylon Chen, I don’t think I would have even watched the first 5 episodes then gave up lol.
    As for Ady… I’m sorta indifferent about her. If the drama’s good then I’ll watch, if not, I don’t. She’s pretty though so I give her that.

  12. Ady’s talented, no doubt. As for Mike? I found him charming as the misunderstood child of divorcees in Devil Beside You, but most of his subsequent acting stints have done little other than to reveal his weaknesses as an actor. Since he’s generally been pairing up with weak co-stars as well, he’s had virtually no growth as an actor.

    It’s a shame, since his friend Ethan Ruan started off about the same place (or even lower on the rung, since Ethan took mostly supporting roles at the beginning of his career), took all the right steps to launch himself into stardom. On the other hand, Mike’s career seems to be stagnated thanks to typecasting and poor career choices.

    • LOL so where’s Ethan now? I’m not a big fan of Mike but after watching Devil Beside You, Bullfighting, Sunny Happiness, Love Keeps Going, and now Spring Love, I think he’s amazing. Remember he’s just an actor, the director gets the right to tell him what he should do or how he should act and he’s just doing as he is told. And it’s not his fault that directors and producers are chasing after him to do more “bad guy” roles. They see that that is his potential, so you can’t blame him and say his career choices are poor. Every drama is different, so you can’t just say he’s had no growth as an actor. All his dramas that I watched so far tells me that he is good.

    • I think the problem lies with the directors and the script and how the whole drama is filmed. I agree with piggyback, the actors only follow the directors instructions, if you watch behind the scenes you’ll know.. Mike is not the greatest but he is a good actor!

  13. I used to be big on Mike. I thought he was charming in DBY and I quite liked him in SH. But then he never quite got into my good books for long because whenever I wanna see something he does, it somehow turns out to be super bad. Unlike Ming Dao, Roy Qui or Ethan Ruan – I feel his choices of dramas is just so damn bad and borderline desperate. I’m sure he has other good choices (?). How does he end up doing such bad ones?

    On the other hand – I adore Ady An. Haven’t seen her in very many but in the ones I did – she is just amazing. Her acting is convincing and her chemistry with her co stars are strong. I particularly love AC and since this is her retun to Taiwan – I hope it does well. Although when I think about it – why did so many A listers decline the show?? Could it be bad script? I really hope not.

  14. Yay omg, Mike He was my ultimate hearthrobber actor. He was also my first ever T-Actor that I’ve watched, because my first T-drama was Devil Beside You.

    Ady An just stole my heart in Autumn’s Concerto, that drama was heartless. <3

    These two will make an excellent duo couple in the idol dramas industry! Fighting! 🙂

  15. I like Mike He, but not Ady An. To me, she looks depressed and sad in every single role, whether it’s a jolly or sad role. If it’s a sad role, she makes the character even more sad. If it’s a happy role, it looks like her character has a sad day. I can’t get used to her acting.

  16. omo! Ady An finally back in action! I like her quiet beauty (at least in Autumn’s Concerto) – not like those whiny foot stomping girls who yell on the top of their heads or put on too much aegyeo for their age. A.C. remains one of my few fav Taiwanese dramas that I can recommend to friends with no reservation at all (well…. “except” V.Wu, which thankfully he got better and better (character, acting, everything) along the way!)

    And Mike, is he not ready for the army yet? My friend was singing praises for the new T-drama he is in – I guess i won’t be watching it after seeing people bashing it here. Ah well, he needs to up his game, I really like him but frankly I’m getting a bit tired of watching him play one chaebol after another.

  17. Aww I love Ady! I think she has acting talent. Loved her in Chinese paladin and loved her chemistry with my Hu Ge. I’ve been praying to the drama gods for an Ady/Roy collab but alas, Mike he.. His drama choices have been pretty bad lately and he doesn’t have the acting chops to save a bad script. Though I do think he is quite dashing. I might check in if teasers piqué my interest.

  18. MIKE HE! OMG I’m watching Spring Love too! It’s funny and sad at times. Unlike most of you though I will continue watching it because I’m already hooked and Mike playing a good guy role is WOW ++. And there are 2 Mike in the drama <333

    I'm not a fan of Ady but I hope this drama goes well.

  19. Some of the comments here are interesting. Mike He’s acting skills is improving every time, let’s face it. Just cause his recent drama doesn’t have any professional actors casted on it, other than Mike He, of course, doesn’t make him a weak actor. He’s done so much to prove that he is great. When someone as skilled as him work with rookies it’s going to be hard to act because the director needs to make sure that they’re all at the same pace. I’ve seen episode 1-7 of Spring Love. The drama itself may have some flaws going on but it’s not that bad overall. It’s just that other than Mike He, the rest of the cast’s acting is… what’s the word for it…raw? Especially the leading lady. I think that’s another reason why some people might find the drama boring. Mike He and the female lead lacks connection. Maybe because he’s older than her? For Mike He’s part though I think it’s been really tough for him to portray two totally different characters in one drama (I heard Spring Love took 5 months to film). We can see how hard working he is, the effort he puts in in every single drama he films is just great and I salute him for that. Maybe he is not as strong as other actors, but maybe he is. It could possibly be because he’s been portraying the same type of character over and over again that he cannot redeem himself any more. But if you put that behind the back of your head and focus on the drama, whatever drama of MH, you’ll realise he’s just as talented as other actors. Sometimes, it’s also hard filming, especially when the actor and the director’s point of view differs, so like what others said, the whole thing may still rely on the director, and their co-actors.

    Mike He’s drama choices is not that bad either. I heard that he is very choosy when it comes to choosing a script? Sometimes it takes him months before he can choose one that meets his requirements. But sometimes, unexpected things happen, let’s say when a director comes up to him and beg ask him to act with them, (like this one Ady) he just can’t say no. How many times did this kind of thing happen to him? From “Bull Fighting” where he thought plot’s focus was on basketball, well the script was changed. He suddenly found himself filming romantic scenes with “the leading lady”. Though the result was good. It was well received, mostly by netizens. And then “Calling For Love”, where the director and the producer begged him to accept the project. And then “Love Keeps Going”. Wasn’t it supposed to be Joe Cheng and Ady’s? Both of them turned it down so the producer came up to MH to ask him to act instead. The outcome was great. And then of course, “Spring Love”. Maybe he wanted to try out twins role so he accepted the challenges. But it is obvious that the company made him do it, and for the sake of helping his leading lady, he accepted the project. As I said, MH’s performance in this drama is good. But for the company to do that? They’re putting MH’s career at stake. However like I said, Mike He is fine, he is talented..he need not worry about his acting.

    Anyway there goes my two cents. I’m sorry if it’s too long, but since a few people here seems to be pointing at how Mike He’s drama choices became bad rather than understanding that the weak co-actors (and perhaps the director/s) he’s been working with could well be the reason why this recent drama is not very interesting, so I thought of sharing my opinion.

    • I love Mike He!! I think he’s great. He’s acting is superb. Looking forward to this and also spring love…….. episode 12 is on tonight yay!!

    • Thank you for speaking the truth about Mike. It’s really upsetting to see how people typecast and misunderstand him all the time when he’s actually trying hard to differentiate every character. I think as an actor he has developed grown maturity over the years which often goes uncredited. He IS good in Spring Love despite the bland script and unimpressive cast. I think the twins thing is the best thing which displayed his acting. The failure lies in the female lead who really cannot act. I just can’t help but agree that mike has been “sold” into acting this for the sake of the female lead and her girl group. But these are all advertising gimmicks so- cant blame mike or dayuan for the matter too.
      But anyway, mike’s performance is worth the wait and the anticipation and I definitely look forward to his pairing with ady an!

  20. I’m really excited about Ady and Mike’s new drama collaboration. I’ve only watched Autumn Concerto out of Ady’s dramas but I think she’s a good actress.

    And I really like Mike so I’ll watch any drama/movie he’s in. I’m enjoying Spring Love and I think it’s pretty funny and the plot is something new. Mike is playing twins there and he made me root for the good twin and dislike the evil (though handsomer) one, so props to his acting. The rest of the cast won’t win any acting awards but they’re enjoyable to watch nevertheless.

    I read that Ady and Mike’s new drama is being directed by the The Outsiders and Love Keeps Going director. I hope it’s good! And Mike said in an interview recently that he’ll be going to the army end of this year or early next year, after completing one more drama or movie. Since he is a few years younger than Joe/Ethan/Ming Dao, I think it’s okay that he is going last.

  21. Two words: Jerry Yan. Can’t believe he rejected this project! A Jerry Yan-Ady An collaboration is what I’ve been wanting to see. I still want to watch this because of Ady! ♥

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