The Eight

Filmmaker Chen Kaige has recently joined forces with Chinese streaming platform iQiyi to give us what looks to be a kickass Chinese drama series. 

The Eight 外八行 takes place in both Paris and China during the Republican Era and centers on a young Chinese man who is drawn into the criminal underworld while fighting for China's independence against several hostile forces.

The cast includes Oho Ou, Tan Songyun, Wang Zixuan, Qin Lan, Jin Shijie, Cheng Xingyuan, Liu Jianyu, Gong Wanyi and Jiang Han. I'm especially looking forward to seeing Qin Lan. She was so gentle and elegant in Story of Yanxi Palace whereas the characters of The Eight seem like they could kill with one look. 

What differentiates this from the usual Chinese online drama series is the attachment of Chen Kaige, a big shot industry veteran whose works in wuxia films can be visually mesmerizing. Chen Kaige, who is also the executive producer, says,"The rise of premium internet dramas has opened up a huge space for creative innovation."  He further explains, "With this freedom, directors can now approach storytelling from many different dimensions and create deeper, more richly drawn characters." 

After watching the trailer, I do think that this series is one to watch out for. 

Release Date: TBD

Vote for your favorite Chinese dramas in 2018. 

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Story of Yanxi Palace is Google's Most Searched TV Show in 2018

It's been a few months since Story of Yanxi Palace 延禧攻略 ended, and it continues to reap the rewards of success especially now that it's the year end and award shows are rounding up their top picks. Today, the show has become the top trending topic on Weibo once again coincidentally because of how well it trended elsewhere. 

Google has revealed its Year in Search 2018 which listed the trending items for the year. According to the rankings, Story of Yanxi Palace was the #1 trending TV show in the world especially in places like Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Malaysia.

As a fan of dramas, I feel that k-drama is ultimately the more popular choice among international viewers. Mainland Chinese viewers don't even use Google, so this win is an unexpected surprise. Yu Zheng and the cast and crew really deserve all the praise for turning what was initially an underdog into a global phenomenon. A big congrats!

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From Kris Wu to Luhan, iQiYi Scream Night 2019 is full of epic reunions

iQiYi Scream Night 2019 was held last night on Dec 1, 2018. An awards show hosted by a streaming media service may be far from being the most esteemed, but the event came together with all the glitz and glamour of c-ent. Many attendees went onstage to accept their awards and off-stage interactions also became trending topics. 

To start, Kris Wu and Luhan who were formerly members of the boy band EXO were seated on the same table. Ever since they left the band one after the other and returned to China to pursue solo activities, interactions between then were sparse and far between (though they do exist, if you know where to look). 

Whoever's in charge of the seating plan is a genius, allowing the two a chance to reconnect in the public eye. The moment though lasting less than a minute still put a smile on my face (see video). 

Yu Zheng is like the proud father of Story of Yanxi Palace as he attended with the cast that includes Nie Yuan, Charmaine Sheh, Qin Lan, Wu Jinyan, Xu Kai, Su Qing and Wang Yuanke. Bai Lu also joined in for the pictures. 

Story of Yanxi Palace took home many awards. While posing for the group photo, Yu Zheng joked that he is not the eunuch but the crown prince. 

Actor Hu Xianxu and singer Chen Linong are friends from the iQiYi reality show Hi Housemate.

The two same-age buddies born in 2000 chatted the night away at iQiYi Scream Night despite being seated at different tables. They even shared a handshake before Hu Xianxu took the stage to accept his award. 

NINE PERCENT members performed onstage and brought home Group of the Year, Variety Show of the Year and Scream Boy Band. The nine members were complete - Cai Xukun, Chen Linong, Fan Chengcheng, Justin Huang Minghao, Lin Yanjun, Zhu Zhengyan, Wang Ziyi, Xiao Gui - Wang Linkai and You Zhangjing. 

Watch iQiYi Scream Night 2019 here. 

Source: 1, 2, 3