Hunan TV Releases First Preview and Posters for Period Romance and Politics C-drama Dancing with the Tides with Tan Jian Ci and Lu Yu Xiao
With June right around the corner it means we can survey the landscape of the first half of 2026 in terms of drama output. But as always, for every drama that arrived and didn’t work there are plenty more waiting to air or getting filmed. One that is perplexing me is Hunan TV’s upcoming Dancing with the Tide starring Tan Jian Ci and Lu Yu Xiao. It finished filming earlier this year and the network just dropped official posters and first preview. It doesn’t look bad but I’m still unclear what the relationship is between the leads and the whole push/pull interaction is of course always good for creating tension but I need more flavor for the characters. I haven’t read this novel and wonder if I should now just to fill in more blanks because this preview was a lot of action (battles!, hot kisses!) but not enough substance for me.
Dancing with the Tides trailer:
It is just the trailer… not much substance to be had… I like the lead actors and look forward to their performance. These stories at some point begin to resemble each other more or less. It’s like Korean dramas and their cliches. It’s been done so many times there is only so much one can do to make it unique or interesting.
This actually peaked my interest!! I might, forcing my short dramas to watch this one.
You are misinformed, the drama hasn’t wrapped yet.
The leads both rushed from the Mango conference today straight back to the set to continue filming. The drama is expected to wrap in early June.
Considering your level of research on this drama before hastily typing up a blog post, I am not astonished that you are unclear about the relationship of the leads in the drama. It is a bit complex…
It’s a historical spy story, where no one trusts anyone. Their relationship starts out as handler and unwilling asset / tool, sort of like Femme Nikita.
Also, all the Mango conference material was AMAZING! Eagerly looking forward to the drama.
He is so tiny, I just can’t get into the story when he is the ML. He isn’t the only actor I have this problem with, Luo Yunxi is another example. I just don’t believe in what they are trying to sell me when I can lift them with one hand. Pity as that sounds like an interesting story.
He is on the shorter side, but who says that only tall guys can be romantic leads? Take a look at the real world!
Oh, is that what they are talking about? I was wondering why a police sketch artist or a lawyer or graphic designer or a voice actor or a doctor or a scientist or a historical diplomat or even a demon had to be so huge that this person couldn’t lift them with one hand to be believable… As well as wondering just how big they were that they could lift a grown man with one hand. But if that’s their gage for romantic leads, they might have to visit a gym, rather than Asian dramas.
OTOH, if someone watched the trailer and didn’t think those kisses were romantic lead material, than this drama is not for them.
LOL. Second! The major issue with these shorter C leading men is that their acting isn’t that convincing either. Many K actors are not tall but they are excellent actors.
I wonder if it will even air this year given that it still filming. Lu Yu Xiao’s When I Meet the Moon will probably air before this one. I like both actors a lot and they look great together and they’re both so very expressive in their acting, though I do think LYX’s voice sounds strange in the trailer.
Not being very tall isn’t a major weakness when it comes to being a charismatic male lead. I still don’t get the charm of TJC. He’s expressive, but that isn’t equivalent to good acting. I’m simply not convinced by his performance as a lead actor yet.
On another note, I stumbled across a random drama led by Ren Min and Ci Sha, A Splendid Match. I never expected to like it that much because RM is the female lead. But to be fair, she did a good job. The Longest Promise did not do her justice in terms of acting or visuals. The real pleasant surprise, though, is the male lead, Ci Sha! Oh, who is this guy? How has he never been on my radar? lol. He isn’t tall, but he is extremely charismatic. Plus, he can actually act.
I can also name quite a few Korean actors who are not tall but extremely charismatic. Namkoong Min is one of them.