This weekend was the 2019 Golden Bell Awards in Taiwan, their version of the Emmy’s feting the best of television for the year. The big winner was, not surprising at all, cable drama The World Between Us (Our Distance to Evil) which won 6 awards including Best Drama, Best Screenplay, Best Actress to Alyssa Chia, Best Supporting Actor to James Wen, Best Supporting Actress to Pets Tseng, and Best Director. The only surprise was male lead Chris Wu not winning Best Actor which went to veteran Long Shao Hua, probably because Chris already won Best Actor in 2016 and is a frequent nominee. Chris also was the talk of the red carpet showing up 20 lbs skinnier, bald, and super tanned for a role he’s currently filming, talk about method acting.

I was annoyed newcomer Chen Yu (who also played the sane younger sister role in Before We Get Married) wasn’t even nominated for her pivotal role as the younger sister to a mass murderer, she should have gotten Pets’ nomination but other than that I thought The World Between US was far and away the best drama for sure, and may even be the best drama counting Korean and Japanese dramas this year. It’s incredible and available on HBO streaming for those curious – it takes a look at the aftermath of mass shootings and mental health along with legal culpability. Very gut-wrenching to watch. Continue reading →