Latest Chinese Drama Reviews
In depth reviews for the latest popular Chinese dramas.
Chinese Drama Updates
The Chinese dramas currently airing
New Podcast Episodes Weekly
Available wherever you listen to podcasts: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon, iHeartRadio, Google
Chinese Pop Culture News and Drama Updates
Full series podcast episodes are available anywhere podcasts are available. Just search Chasing Dramas.
In The Know – Chinese Pop Culture News
Karen and Cathy explain cultural and historical references episode by episode in popular Chinese historical dramas as well as Chinese pop culture news. The podcast is in English with proper nouns and phrases spoken in Mandarin Chinese. Currently, they are discussing Season 1 of Joy of Life. Completed dramas/movies include: The Story of Yanxi Palace, The Longest Day in Chang’An, The Story of Ming Lan, Empresses in the Palace, Royal Nirvana, Palace (2013 film), and Mulan (2020 Disney movie) among others.
After a 3 year hiatus, Chinese vlogger and global phenomenon Li Zi Qi set the internet ablaze by releasing 3 new videos. She chose lacquerware for her return which holds a unique significance to her. We discuss her background and influence not just in China but globally too. Elsewhere, a new romance might be blooming with Gu Li Na Zha and Zhang Yun Long. Gu Li Na Zha was embroiled in Xu Kai Cheng and Zhang Tian Ai’s relationship last year and publicly stated that she wanted to take a break from dating but that might have changed with a new video of the two of them. Listen to our latest podcast episode for the latest gossip!
Chinese Drama Updates!
Karen and Cathy explain cultural and historical references episode by episode in popular Chinese historical dramas as well as Chinese pop culture news. The podcast is in English with proper nouns and phrases spoken in Mandarin Chinese. Currently, they are discussing Season 1 of Joy of Life. Completed dramas/movies include: The Story of Yanxi Palace, The Longest Day in Chang’An, The Story of Ming Lan, Empresses in the Palace, Royal Nirvana, Palace (2013 film), and Mulan (2020 Disney movie) among others.
2024 comes to a close with new dramas that aired in late November and new ones announced in December. Brocade Odyssey 蜀锦人家 starring Tan Song Yun and Zheng Ye Cheng marks a return to period romance dramas for Tan Song Yun after 3 years. Meng Zi Yi stars in Deep Purple 九重紫. These two add to the growing list of dramas depicting women building business empires. However, it looks like modern day dramas have been enjoying the highest viewership with We are Criminal Police 我是刑警 starring Yu He Wei. Several other dramas including The Land Of Warriors 2 斗罗大陆之燃魂战 have aired but to disastrous results. Listen to our latest podcast on the gossip and our thoughts on the newest dramas airing this month!
Chinese History Through Chinese Dramas
In depth podcast series analyzing a specific Chinese historical drama
Currently Discussing: Joy of Life (庆余年）
The drama is the live adaptation of an essay that a modern day student is writing in order to enter a competition. The student wants to create a story that revolves around a modern day young man who is very ill but wakes up in the body of a young baby in a historical time period. The baby keeps all of his modern day knowledge as he lives in this new world that is entirely fictional.
The modern day young man is given the opportunity to live another life without his ailments and starts his journey as a child. The story begins with one of his mother’s servants, Wu Zhu, taking the baby to Dan Zhou, specifically the Fan family. The baby’s name? Fan Xian.
Fan Xian grows up in Dan Zhou as a ‘bastard” child of Fan Jian but has his “uncle” Wu Zhu and teacher Fei Jie as well as Grandma Fan that help raise him. When he grows up, he heads to the Capital city of the Qing kingdom. There, he experiences various aspects of life and we see how the modern way of thinking contrasts with the feudalistic society. This drama involves romance, friendship, family connections, political intrigue as well as martial arts. The first season had a grand cast and the second season is even bigger.
