Drama update
Dramas I'm looking forward to this summer!
Xuan Yuan Sword 3 / Rift of the Sky - Cdrama airing July 6 to August 3, 2012. Fantasy drama based upon an RPG, similar to Chinese Paladin. I'd be there for the pretty. And Hu Ge & Liu Shi Shi.
To the Beautiful You - Kdrama airing August 2012. I know none of the actors and actresses in this show (as they're all pop idols), but that matters little in the grand scheme of things. The grand scheme being the Japanese manga HanaKimi was one of my favorites ever AND stories involving cross-dressing girls can do no wrong for me. Since this drama is a Korean adaptation of HanaKimi, I'll be tuning in come hell or highwater. :D
Half a Fairy Tale - Cdrama airing August 2012 (purportedly, though the airing date has been pushed back from April to June to now August, so we'll see what happens). Staring Janine Chang! But more importantly, this drama promises fancy castles, twins, star-crossed lovers (a given when you have feuding families in the plot), and love rectangles. So looking forward to it!
Queen of SOP - Twdrama airing August 2012 (guessimated on viki). It stars my very favorite Qiao En and the plot sounds cute. Plus, Zhang Han is not bad on the eyes. ;)
Beauties of the Emperor - Cdrama airing supposedly coming out July 2012, but still no further news other than it'll be showing in Singapore the end of September 2012. Am losing steam for this drama in the prolonged wait period...but Chen Qiao En is in it and I <3 her in Fated To Love You, so still keeping an eye out for this drama.
Beauties Without Tears (English title is "In Love With Power") - Cdrama airing summer 2012 (apparently production was wrapped up in February but no other news about exact airing date). Stars Hawick Lau so it can do no wrong (I mean, if he can get such a train wreck story like Sealed with a Kiss to be interesting and create an empathetic lead, he can pretty much do anything). The trailer is overly dramatic, as others have pointed out, but I'm all for it. Yum. And the stills for it are so, so ridiculously pretty. Seriously the most gorgeous drama I've seen yet in stills. And that's saying a lot, considering Bu Bu Jing Xin stills were epically gorgeous.
Legend of Chu and Han - Airing December 28, 2012. Wherein I get my wish fulfilled, and Peter Ho stars in another drama. More historical background on the Chu-Han contention here.
Da Mo Yao (English title is "A Story of the Wolf Girl") - Cdrama airing in 2013. Starring my favorite Chinese stars--Hu Ge and Liu Shi Shi! Here are some pretty screencaps to admire while we wait for it to air.
Swordsman - Cdrama airing in 2013. I'm not a huge fan of Wallace Huo (unfortunate since he's in so many period cdrama!) but am a big fan of Chen Qiao En, so will definitely be keeping an eye on this drama for her. ETA: Except looks like she'll be playing a minor role in this drama (read: EUNUCH, bleh), so we'll see if it's worth sticking around for.