Modern Family and Romance Drama Best Choice Ever with Yang Zi and Xu Kai Off to Mid Start But Expected to be a Modest Hit

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• Looks like mom and son. Yikes. Yang Zi needs to stop pairing with actors who look better than her coz it emphasizes her basic looks even more. No amount of plastic surgery, makeup and photoshop can help. Of coz this looks better than her original face but she still looks basic af.

  • You must be kidding, right? Xu Kai is not good looking at all, not even mediocre, LOL

    • What? Xu Kai IS good-looking. His only flaws are average acting and tendency to bloat every now and then.

    • Nah he is not good looking Lilith , he has this weird set of eyes , there is nothing GOOD looking ab him ,I am not hating him ,I know he got popular with his Bailu drama but he is not good looking at all

    • Nah, he first hit big popularity with Yanxi Palace as Fucha Fuheng. Though it fizzled out quickly due to rival agencies digging out his past and creating a scandal out of it. You can say he's not to your taste but he is objectively good-looking with a nice build to boot.

    • Talk about terribad taste, he's objectively good-looking, get outta here, lmao.

  • Some of the comments on this site are just straight up mean. And this is coming from someone who does not care about anyone in this show.

  • think you forgot to take your meds today... if someone you dont know can cause you to vomit so much hate, you should really reevaluate your life and priorities... constructive criticism is one thing, but everything you said is just repulsive

• I wonder what we even call a hit show nowadays because an just not seeing it or probably don't understand it yet.

  • Agreed, C-ent makes it so hard to gauge whether a show is truly a hit or if it's just fans/executives doing data work behind the scenes. These numbers all seem so arbitrary. I think a lot of shows are considered modest hits, but long gone are the days where we have a huge general public recognized hit like Yanxi Palace, where everybody and their mothers were watching. It's actually quite concerning that YuZheng was responsible for the last big big hit in China; not sure what that says about the current state of C dramas.

    • Censorship on drama genres and morally grey characters had the most impact on the current state of Cdramas. Most people like watching relatable characters in unrealistic settings but the concept must be fresh. There's only so many times before people get bored of watching Xianxia.

• I plan to watch it later since i have a long holiday until next week. But im also curious about War of Faith, is it good? Or just 'another' propaganda'? Please lemme know if you guys have any suggestions. Thanks.

  I haven't finished shen li. I got bored in the last 10 episodes. It's a better mature xianxia, but the story is weak comparing to some popular xianxia like ten miles. But then, preference tho

  • It's not.

    This is the only drama in my memory that ended up with criticism in a CCTV review of it. Yikes.

    • I thought with high rating it would be good. Thanks for the info.

  • I've seen clips here and there for War of Faith, and the acting and production looks really good. But I heard it does become quite "red" so I haven't invested my time in it. There's two Li Xian dramas coming this month (next week and end of April) that looks pretty good, one that gives similar vibes to War of Faith, hopefully not too much propaganda (fingers crossed), Shooting Star, and one that seems like a mature romance with Zhou Yutong, Will Love in Spring. Cdramas have been kind of on a drought this year, hopefully summer will kickstart some decent shows.

    • Thanks for the recommendations, will give them a try once they air.

  • Nah War of Faith is not just propaganda, the characters are not well thought out at all, some of their actions don't have common sense. And don't believe the comments here claiming about someone's supposedly improved acting skills. The other dramas are pretty meh for me right now (haven't watch Legend of Shen Li yet because I'm bored with Xianxia). Guess I'm stuck with variety shows until summer.

    • Can you tell me something about avenue x channel in YouTube because she constantly praising some actors again and agin at the same time she is criticizing some actors

    • @Yes
      No idea, I don't follow that channel and don't need to either because I can get my news from Chinese SNSes directly without filters. Only came here because it's a habit from the days of reading Kpop news here. I trust my own eyes and intuition.

    • Alright, noted. Thanks. I rarely watch variety shows.. but will try to watch it again any time soon.

    • @Yui I'm generally rewatching a few old korean variety shows which I haven't watch before, like Girls' High School Mystery Class. I can't believe I missed this gem out. And for some reason I feel the urge to rewatch Liar Game dramas, both Korean and Japanese versions.

    • @lilith wah those sound good. I do have a long holiday and plan to be a homebody and watch everything. Lol

  • Ι thought it was a solid watch, if you are not overly sensitive to propaganda. They have done a great work in recreating 1930s Shanghai and the acting is overall good, including Wang Yibo whose I am not a fan (I have only watched him in the Untamed so far) but I don't hate him obsessively as many people here do.
    If in general you agree with Avenue X's taste in dramas, you may want to watch her review of the show on YouTube. It's spoiler-free and it might give you a more objective idea than rabid haters or fans.
    https://youtu.be/C3i2NWRDRr8?si=31ARrYR2gKLTBNXn

    • I definitely disagreed with Avenue X most of the time. She like C fan, is biased. LOL

    • Ah, really? Should i try one ep or two? Hmm.. will do. Thanks for the diff insights tho.

  • I am really enjoying it. It’s a spy plot and the characters are well done. Wang Yang is charismatic and great to watch. Li Qin and Wang YiBo is solid as the mains. The production quality is very good.

    • Alright one ep or two wont hurt, right? Lol. Thanks anyway.

  • One more thing. Be wary of people directing you to specific websites/channels/accounts, it could be attempts to lead you into an echo chamber. YXHs are not limited to just Weibo so always try to countercheck your info against multiple sources.

    If you're sharp enough, you'll notice patterns forming, like "fans" of W & Y constantly speaking up for each other. But of course once you pointed it out, they will label you as conspiracist to make unknowing others doubt you.

    • I totally agree with your point towards both wyb and yz I don't have weibo so I don't know what is happening I watched the untamed in 2022 after I heard about xz controversy. At first I also think xz fans are more toxic. Then I opened account in Twitter it turned out totally opposite because there only wyb fans attacking xz first and started fighting with xz fans. I believe wyb and his agency is behind in 2020 incident. Wyb fans create so many melon account and spread fake news about xz. As for work wyb get better script than xz because he had strong support in industry and xz is abounded by his agency.

    • Sorry not abounded its abandoned

    • It's abandoned not abounded

    • Hah? Idk that actor fandoms are like kpop fandoms.

    • @Yui Yeah and I notice this trend seems to be budding in Korea too, Han Sohee's fans also behave like idol fans.

  • just propaganda drama, I gave it a try but it's just like any other propaganda fiction drama

    • Omo, china produces so many propaganda dramas, for what? I thought their nationalism and patriotism are already there in their hearts and minds.

      Thanks for the info.

    • @Yui, propaganda via entertainment works. It even works better than diplomacy. At least some ppl (mostly women) around me in my Chinese-speaking community used to have a lot of unrealistic rosy picture about CCP China thanks to these C dramas until the pandemic that knocked some sense into their dreamy heads. LOL. There's always one goal for the narratives of these types of dramas to achieve - to justify the CCP regime. It did change many ppl's perceptions about the CCP China.

• I watched four episodes and the story is bad and so far episode #4 is very stupid. Good luck to them. I’m so disappointed because I kind of like the leads. 🙄🙄🙄

• The ratings dropped , significantly, already on the second day. It's rare to have such a big drop off on CCTV.

  We shall see if it keeps dropping or it stabilises but these are not good ratings for prime time on CCTV and this time of the year.

  • Ohh don't worry the ratings have picked up back and many ppl are actually liking it😆😆

    https://twitter.com/zimiyangzi/status/1778417432266260940?t=CoB9pcX_JTPvvKy7SvySww&s=19

• They should have aired ''As Beautiful as you'' with Seven Tan and Xui Kai instead. That drama would have done amazing but they most likely figure Yang Zi's name had more pull.

  • That's not even remotely true though. Yang Zi has a lot of TV flops by now and as can be seen by these ratings that are dropping she just doesn't have real popularity. Water is just that, water.

    Tan has real ratings in her hand, starting from that Wang Kai drama she did, about the pilots. Don't worry, this one will probably go on TV too.

  • Ya i tot Seven's drama would com out first. Disappointed..

  • Seven Tan often picks really good stories - that’s why I trust her “taste”. Hopefully her drama with Xu Kai will be good also. 🙏🙏🙏

  • Yeah I'm looking forward to that drama too, rarely disappointed by Tan Songyun's dramas.

  • How are ml and fl related with grandparents

• How are ml and fl related with grandparents

  • In Ep. 6 (I think) the FL's father says the grandmother is not his biological mother, even though she is referred to as mother/grandmother. I haven't got further than Ep. 6 so far so there is likely more in later episodes.

  • Grandma divorced and married FL's grandpa. However Grandma and FL have no blood relations as grandpa had FL's dad with earlier wife and not Grandma. So effectively FL is the step grand daughter of Grandma with no blood relations.

• I've started watching it - ML has a personality switch in the first couple of episodes that the explanation can't quite cover and I'm wishing someone would silence the FL's mother, she's unbelievably annoying!

  • @Annette

    I agree with you about the mom. I would run away if she is my mom. That woman can drive anyone insane.

• Notice how fans of xz always come barking on the articles related to WYB or YZ, spreading their hate agenda and trying to play victims later. Xz fans are jobless enough to obsess over their fave's ex co-stars 24/7, the peak toxicity.

  • Lol why are you so obsessed over XZ and XZ fans? Do you have to mention them in every article here?

  • LOL. I'd been refraining from my usual carefree style of giving long ass essays lecturing how embarrassing this propaganda drama is and how WYB has been consistently showing lack of acting talent and visuals but thanks to your reminder. I like Li Qin for her personality and calm acting aura. But the drama made her a CCP spy dressing all beautiful and powerful like James Bond ladies that's so embarrassingly comical. LOL. Here I am joining the critique squad.