Have you ever had that moment when you’ve just moved to China, settled in and then kickback in your pajamas ready for a relaxing night in with television shows only to realize, that you don’t know anything about shows in China?
Have you ever had that moment when you’ve just moved to China, settled in and then kickback in your pajamas ready for a relaxing night in with television only to realize, that you don’t know anything about shows in China? Same. I mean being a ‘laowai’ is hard enough and then to deal with the idea that your local cable network only exclusively broadcasts shows and m
ovies in mandarin? Oh and if that wasn’t the icing on the burnt cake, lets top it with the cherry of the upcoming VPN ban of 2018 that basically eliminates the possibility of torrents, online streaming and… give me a tissue while I sob to this-Netflix.
Photo: dreamstime.com
Photo: dreamstime.comAnyway, I guess we all traded that life of freedom when we willingly crossed over to the wrong side of the censorship border and lets not forget the weird and wonderful world within China. So, if you’re feeling just as low as I do, and need a pick me up comfort to rely on, while also bettering your language skills and feeling a lot more local; here’s your list of must watch television shows in China this year.
In no specific order….
Genre: Entertainment, Suitable for family viewing
1- Happy Camp: kuai le dabenying 快乐大本营
Photo: Internet
Photo: InternetThis show was first broadcast in 1997 and is categorized under variety shows in Mainland China. Its been long running, never losing its dedicated viewership. Yes, its IMdb rating is super low but I’d suggest you give this a try for the sake of familiarizing yourself with the idea of entertainment in panda land.friends.
Plot: The show sees 5 most popular/in news celebrities/famous personalities play games with guests. It’s a brilliant way to know Chinese celebrities, and a perfect conversation starter with newly made local friends.
2- Dad is coming back! Baba huilai le! 爸爸回来了
Photo: zhongwen.astro.com.my
Photo: zhongwen.astro.com.myAdapted from South Korean hit show The Return of Superman, this show is suitable for parent-child genre audiences.
Plot: Famous celebrity fathers are left to care for their offsprings for 48 hours, while their wives and domestic help leave the premises. The cameramen are seen in the first 5 episodes after which they are hidden in tents and playhouses around the house.
The take away besides seeing a humbling vulnerable side of celebrities as regular dads is that you get a sneak peak into their actual homes or workspaces. Occasional celeb friend drop ins are also seen.
Gene: Sports / Adventure based; Travel / Culture
3- Keep Running/ Running man: benpao ba xiongdi 奔跑吧兄弟
Also a Chinese spin off of a South Korean reality tv show, first aired in 2014.
Plot: the hosts and guests complete missions at a specific location to win a race.
I’d personally not be interested in this show if it weren’t for the fact that each episode is shot in a different city in China. For me this works more like an entertaining travel show that allows me to add and subtract from an eternally growing travel bucket list.
On the plus side, you also get to learn a lot of different Chinese customs and traditions specific to particular cities and there are all kinds of sports involved.
4- Beat the champions! : Lai ba guan jun! 來吧冠軍
First broadcast in the beginning of 2016, the show was instantly popular.
Plot: Professional sports champions are pitched against amateur sports enthusiasts and aspirants. The show takes in consideration the obvious gap in the level of fitness and expertise and thus a lot of obstacles and odd challenges are posed to the professionals while the amateur are given assistance and hints to clear levels. At the end, depending on the level of difficulty crossed, an amateur stands to win a cash prize.
Genre: Music
5- Voice of China: zhongguo hao shengyin 中国好声音
Photo: Internet
Photo: InternetThe show was a spin off of the original mega hit Voice of Holland. Brought to China in 2012 and concluded in 2015 over copyright issues. The Chinese production house that released the show then brought out a rebranded show called ‘Sing! China’ with a similar format. The original show is set to return with its next season this year.
Plot: This is essentially a talent hunt show with professional singers as mentors and participants divided in mentor camps. The mentors put in a lot of work to win the mentor title too. The winner walks away with recording deals from several recording labels. The winner is selected by a media judge panel and votes cast by a live audience.
6- I am a singer: Wo shi geshou 我是歌手
Photo: Internet
Photo: InternetFirst introduced inchina in 2014, the show is now coming with a reinstated format and name: Singers. However, previous seasons are worth watching too.
Plot: 7 singers from across the globe compete and perform for a selected audience.
Plot twist: Each week a participant is eliminated but to compensate, each week a new singer is added. The show goes on endlessly till a winner is unanimously voted.
Genre: Drama
7-Eternal Love: 三生三世十里桃花 ; lit. Three Lives Three Worlds, Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms
Photo: Internet
Photo: InternetThis massive hit of a show received 29 million comments on weibo after its first episode aired and was trending on Weibo and Baidu alike. Based on a novel by the same name by Tang Qi, it is most definitely the biggest hit of 2017.
Plot: The show is based on the theme that love transcends mortal and celestial worlds and its lifetimes.
After a devastating war, the immortals offer their princess to the ghost lord. In an attempt to seal her fate and test her loyalties before her ascending the title of High Goddess, she is sent to the moral; world where she meets Ye Hua and falls in love. To prevent the previous fate of such lovers, Ye hua fakes his own death to protect his lover from the Nine Heavens. A series of misunderstanding ensue and Bai Qian jumps off a high terrace thinking Ye Hua betrayed her. This brings her back to Nine Heavens and to her former goddess form. She then asks for her memory of the mortal world be erased and is granted her wish.
As fate would have it, they meet again in the High Heavens, this time 300 years later. Bai Qian owing to her erased memory doesn’t recognize Ye Hua who remembers his former lover and sets out to woo her again. Eventually love prevails, they reunite, despite the worlds and time that they’ve transcended.
I see why this story is such a hook, it sounds pretty convincing for an eternal tv and romance drama junkie.
8- Ode to Joy: 欢乐颂
Photo: Internet
Photo: InternetThe first season of this modern drama aired in 2016 and 2017 saw its second season conclude a couple of months ago.
Plot: China’s answer to Sex and the City, this show revolves around the lives of 5 single women flatmates living in their 22nd storey apartment called called ‘Ode to Joy’.
Together they try to find their own individuality, balancing their love lives and careers while each in the pursuit of their happiness. The characters are meticulously written, each different from the other in their age, social status, personality and profession.
The show was extremely well received for bringing realism and getting rid of the angelic innocence of the female lead in most Chinese dramas. The show does go over the top with the luxury wardrobes a few times perhaps in its attempt to compete with its similarity to SATC, but that said, it’s a well-written story about life in an urban city and the pressures faced by women. Its one to watch out for, for all feminists. The show amassed 18.3 billion views I its first season and rose to the most viewed contemporary drama in 2016 before being taken over by an equaling thrilling more millennial take on romance- LoveO2O.
9- Go Fighting: jixian tiaozhan 极限挑战
Photo: Internet
Photo: Internet
This one makes our list solely for being the male answer to the female oriented Ode to Joy. This show builds on the plots of the pressures faced by Chinese men from all walks in life, especially societal pressures. It is for obvious entertainment purposes celeb represented, but that’s a failing point for me as a viewer because it pulls away from realism especially with the gamesque theme it follows with MCs and guests completing tasks in landmarks with an objective to win. It essentially would fall under the variety/ game reality shows to be honest.
10- LoveO2O: 微微一笑很倾城
Photo: DramaFever
Photo: DramaFeverBased on a novel written by Gu Man, this show was the highest ever viewed with 20 billion views in its season release in 2016.
Plot: The show features a female game designer, lead student at university, who is an active participant in an online game community. Her game partner, virtual husbands dumps her and the lead scorer on the game board then asks her to marry him so they accomplish their future tasks. Over the course of the game, the two go through a lot of stages together and fall inlove before even discovering each other’s true identity. The new husband turns out to be an A list college student excelling at academics and sports and much chased by all the girls. They then start their relationship, overcoming all kinds of obstacles along the way.
Genre:Romance/ Dating / Love Games
11- Fight for her: wei ta er zhan 为她而战
Plot: Watch 12 famous couples enter a competition together.The show is widely popular for its format of husbands competing with each other to win their own wives and express their love. Shows the extent in risks they take to woo their already life partners. It’s a mushy feeling wrapped in a game format.
12- You are the one: feichengwurao 非诚勿扰
Photo: ent.sina.com.cn
It’s a chinese dating reality show of sorts.
Plot: Women are given light buzzers, each episode sees men send in short video clips of introduction, women participants then have the choice to buzz them in if they’d like to know the man better. They can also eliminate these men, kind of a virtual swipe left as in on tinder. Once invited, the men can ask questions, and get to know their woman pursuant, if things click, we have a happy couple walk out at the end.
Genre: Travel
13- Divas Hit the Road Season: hua er yu shaonian 花儿与少年
Photo: Internet
Photo: Internet
Plot: Chinese celebrities are given a taste of the ‘qiongyo’ or ‘poor travels’ lifestyle that mainly consists of travelling on budget and making ends meet, sans their assistants and hefty bank balances. It makes for a hilarious watch seeing the celebs so used to their life of luxury struggle with day to day tasks that seem to be magically done for them in their otherwise comfortable life. They also get to interact with and meet locals along the way and eat street food. Quite nice to bring them down from their pedestal and see them be more human like you and I.
14- Laws of the jungle: 弱肉强食
Photo: Youtube
Plot: a full cast of celebrities travel to rural parts of China and it is basically based on the law of the jungle: ‘if you are weak, you are the meat. If you’re strong, you eat meat.’ A reality documentary based show, it is the survival of the fittest; each celeb has to survive on their own with local tribes while outdoing others in life skills.
Special Mentions
15- Midnight Diner: 深夜食堂
Photo: New On Netflix UK
Photo: New On Netflix UKBased on a Japanese hit show Shinya Shokudō, this one makes it to my list for the brilliant concept and its supremely poor execution in its Chinese spin off.
Plot: The story follows a mysterious master chef who opens his street side diner in Tokyo, in the wee hours between midnight and 7am before sunrise. He does not have a menu but whips up any dish on demand. Quite magical how he has the most unthought of ingredients at bay as if he intuitively predicts the weird cuisines and delicacies his customers will ask for. Anyhow, the more interesting aspect is the show’s storyline. The chef is a listener and the audience gets to live and witness the life stories of all his customers who come seeking the comfort of his food and a listening ear.
The Japanese version is worth watching and took the world by storm, while the Chinese audience couldn’t relate to Japanese food show on its Chinese spin off besides the absurd on demand availability of weird ingredients. The show was one of the lowest rated in Chinese television history and created a massive media backlash from viewers for not showing Chinese culture and being an awful rip off.
16-Rush to the Dead Summer: 夏至未至
Photo: Cfensi – WordPress.com
Photo: Cfensi – WordPress.comThe most awaited and anticipated show of 2017, it was released in June and concluded in July. It is also based on a novel by Guo Jingming and is named after it too.
Plot: Follows the lives of a group of high school students after school ends and how they adapt to a life in society and find their place. Very One Tree Hill like.
17- Krosh and Panda
Photo: Booktable
Photo: BooktablePossibly the most important name on the list for political reasons, this is a carton series collaboration between Russia and China. It is the first ever joint production taken up by the frenemy countries.
Russia’s Riki, producer of animation franchise Kikoriki + China’s CCTV team up to spin the adventures of Krosh the rabbit and Panda. It is an anticpated release, announced in July 2017.
18- Addicted 上瘾
Photo: Internet
Photo: Internet
In 2016 TV dramas that exaggerated the dark side of society were banned from telecasting and off limits topics included homosexuality and adultery.
Hence this show makes it to this list for being a bold exception with its gay theme. Whats more dramatic is that the lead pair is unaware of each other’s backgrounds and consequently turns out to be stepbrothers. Their friends play a major role in their blossoming relationship.
This wraps up my list of shows to watch in China across the past 5 years. Hope you enjoy watching and leave us a feedback!
Disclaimer: The article review needed insights and content information was found on various sources including but not limited to Whatson Weibo, China daily, Hollywood reporter, ninchanese and personal insights from Chinese friends. The article does not steal credit or plagiarize and would sincerely thank all source points made available to the audience on the Internet.
