Upcoming Taiwanese dramas
Since my last post on current taiwanese tv got a good response, I figured I'd post a continuation. Out of all asian entertainment, I know the most about Taiwan. Taiwanese entertainment is my passion. Overall, people generally tend to prefer Korea or Japan, so I thought I'd give some love to my favoritest place in the whole world; Taiwan.
K.O.3an Guo, a new drama in the same theme as KO One and the X-Family starts airing today. It stars George Hu, who I find utterly adorable, and Lee Shiau Shiang, who played the underclassman interested in Ariel in ISWAK. For girls, they have Cai Yi Zhen (from Summer x Summer and TKA), and Kirsten Ren, the utterly beautiful younger sister of Selina Ren (from S.H.E). There are also a bevy of other minor character actors I see all the time in twdramas. I'm not terribly excited for this drama, on the whole. It's an action/fantasy show, and while I might have watched it if Fahrenheit were in it (they do makes cameos, though), but overall it's not my thing. Maybe if I had watched KO One and The X-Family to begin with. Either way, it looks action packed, and George Hu is always lovely.
Quietly Falling in Love With You / Secretly in Love With You is a drama I've been excited about for a LONG time. It stars Ming Dao (PtTF fame), and Dylan Kuo (The Outsiders). Technically this is a cdrama, and stars several mainland actors. To be honest, I have no idea what this drama is about. That being said, I love Ming Dao. I think he's quite good, and I'm sold on anything he does or says. (Hah, when searching for more info about this drama (of which apparently there is NONE), I totally ended up with a link to my own blog...)
Qilin House of Love is based on the manga "Kirinkan Graffiti", and stars Megan Lai as a woman who falls in love with Abe Tsuyoshi, who is married to another woman. But instead of becoming rivals, Megan and the other lady become best friends. I like this format a lot; friendship despite jealousy. Also, I adore Megan Lai, and it's really about damn time she got more lead roles (the only other one I can think of was White Robe of Love). Also, Abe Tsuyoshi!!
Calling Big Star starring Mike He and Ah Sa from Twins looks really confusing. Apparently Mike plays a reluctant star who got in the buisness to support his family. Right as he was about to quit, he faced a financial downturn, and hoping to not have to renew his contract, bought a lottery ticket hoping it would win. He does end up winning, but then looses the ticket. And somehow Ah Sa fits in there somewhere as a taxi driver. This drama is still in the works with no release date.
Extravagant Challenge is the one I'm most excited about. Unfortunately it's also the one that is least likely to happen anytime soon. Based on the Skip Beat! manga, Ariel Lin plays a girl who just got dumped by the boy she had been taking care of/been in love with for many years after he enters show buisness. Wrathful, she decides to enter show buisness herself in order to become a bigger star than he. On the way she meets (and eventually falls in love with) another big star (played by Jerry Yan). I adore Skip Beat, so I'm hoping beyond hope that the script issues are resolved on this drama soon.
Summer's Bubble, starring Barbie Xu, is another really complex one. Part Skip Beat, part Green Forest, part Why Why Love. It's really insanely complex, so I'll try to simplify. Barbie's character falls in love with a rich kid. Barbie's parents adopt another kid (who is mean/cold), and Barbie hates him. Rich kid sends the adopted brother overseas. Somehow Barbie's parents die, she blames the rich guy, and he loses his memories. Barbie decides to become a celebrity (I like how they're always deciding to become a celebrity, like it's THAT easy) to pay for her brother's hospital fees. She and the rich kid meet up again 5 years later, and remembers her, and how he was betrayed. He wants to ruin her, but can't do it, and falls in love with her. To save her little brother, she agrees to marry rich guy in exchange for a kidney (wtf?!), and then the adopted brother tries to kill himself.. it's a little convoluted. I'm sure it'll make sense when it starts, but the summary is crazy (I have similar problems with almost all twdramas; the summary is insane, but it makes sense once you start watching). It's apparently a novel (or a manga, I'm not entirely sure). Truthfully, the whole thing appeals to me intensely, mostly because apparently Barbie falls in love with adopted brother. Mmmmm fakecest. Originally Dylan Kuo was supposed to play adopted brother-guy, but no longer. Oh, the sadness!
Next Station, Happiness is another upcoming, but details are scarce. It DOES star Ming Dao, though. There were rumors initially about Qiao En being in it as well, but as far as I can tell, those are false. Too bad for us MingEn shippers.
Good Health & Fortune starring Chen Qiao En and Jerry Yan is currently up in the air. Jerry Yan is notoriously picky about roles, so no one knows if he will actually stay. Qiao En has been looking to get into more mature roles, but hopefully she'll stay in this one. Qiao En and Jerry together is like a dream. It would only be better if it were Zai Zai and Qiao En. I will watch this, for sure, because I'm in love with Qiao En (#1 girlcrush!), and I'm watching everything she's been in.
Liar Game starring (possibly) Rainie Yang is also another drama that is up in the air right now. No real news as of yet. Panda Hero with Jay Chou is another one that is there, but has no news. I've been looking forward to Love at Sun Moon Lake with Ruby Lin, for awhile as well.
Finally, an unconfirmed that I hope happen; Absolute Boyfriend with Wu Zun and Jolin Tsai. Obviously a remake of Zettai Kareshi. But TAIWANESE.
I'm sure I missed a lot (including Momo love, Aaron Yan's upcoming drama), but whatever.
By the way, I totally did something similar to this in December. I've posted it below. (Notice the lack of fangirling on Boys Before Flowers? I thought it was going to suck)
Extravagant Challenge - I already spoke about this one in this post... so I'm not going to repeat. Except to say; SO EXCITED!
Starlit - All I know about this drama is that it stars Jerry Yan and Terri Kwan (and Chen Zhi Kai , who I thought was REALLY hot in Corner With Love). Which honestly, is enough for me. But what drew me in even more, and made me all excited was the promo pic they released. Um, hello, stars, ocean, piano, wheelchair?, bedraggled wet girl... it has the makings of a GREAT drama already. Plus, Jerry is hot, and Terri is so beautiful it almost hurts. Watching ridiculously pretty people is always fun.
Qi Lin Guan Zhi Lian - I'm excited solely because Megan Lai will FINALLY have a starring role. She deserves it. I really like her. Plus, Abe Tsuyoshi is going to be in it, which will be fun, since he'll forever remind me of Akira from HYD.
Superstar Express - Rainie and Jiro... bound to be fun! Plus, Rainie plays an agoraphobe, which is going to make for some WACKY SITUATIONS! I love Jiro, so much, it'll be nice to see him actually, for once, get the girl (not that he doesn't in Rolling Love, or possibly in KO One/X-Family, but I haven't seen those yet, so they don't count)!
Pi Zi Ying Xiong - Um, Zai Zai... that's enough. Even though it's not my normal type, it's Zai Zai! Plus, Chuan Yi is on the cast list!! Chuan Yi AND Zai Zai! It's like a replay of WtSYA... except very much not.
Infernal Lover - So THIS is the "secret" mainland project Mike was working on! The plot, which involves spies and political intrigue with lots of romance seems interesting, and is right up my alley. The cast is attractive, and the love triangles are insane! Plus, it's a period drama... How more perfect could it be! But man, it's 40 episodes long... And no group has signed on for subs yet. I'm REALLY excited for this one.
Boys Before Flowers - Obvious choice. I'm excited to see how the Koreans interpret this drama classic.
K.O.3an Guo, a new drama in the same theme as KO One and the X-Family starts airing today. It stars George Hu, who I find utterly adorable, and Lee Shiau Shiang, who played the underclassman interested in Ariel in ISWAK. For girls, they have Cai Yi Zhen (from Summer x Summer and TKA), and Kirsten Ren, the utterly beautiful younger sister of Selina Ren (from S.H.E). There are also a bevy of other minor character actors I see all the time in twdramas. I'm not terribly excited for this drama, on the whole. It's an action/fantasy show, and while I might have watched it if Fahrenheit were in it (they do makes cameos, though), but overall it's not my thing. Maybe if I had watched KO One and The X-Family to begin with. Either way, it looks action packed, and George Hu is always lovely.
Quietly Falling in Love With You / Secretly in Love With You is a drama I've been excited about for a LONG time. It stars Ming Dao (PtTF fame), and Dylan Kuo (The Outsiders). Technically this is a cdrama, and stars several mainland actors. To be honest, I have no idea what this drama is about. That being said, I love Ming Dao. I think he's quite good, and I'm sold on anything he does or says. (Hah, when searching for more info about this drama (of which apparently there is NONE), I totally ended up with a link to my own blog...)
Qilin House of Love is based on the manga "Kirinkan Graffiti", and stars Megan Lai as a woman who falls in love with Abe Tsuyoshi, who is married to another woman. But instead of becoming rivals, Megan and the other lady become best friends. I like this format a lot; friendship despite jealousy. Also, I adore Megan Lai, and it's really about damn time she got more lead roles (the only other one I can think of was White Robe of Love). Also, Abe Tsuyoshi!!
Calling Big Star starring Mike He and Ah Sa from Twins looks really confusing. Apparently Mike plays a reluctant star who got in the buisness to support his family. Right as he was about to quit, he faced a financial downturn, and hoping to not have to renew his contract, bought a lottery ticket hoping it would win. He does end up winning, but then looses the ticket. And somehow Ah Sa fits in there somewhere as a taxi driver. This drama is still in the works with no release date.
Extravagant Challenge is the one I'm most excited about. Unfortunately it's also the one that is least likely to happen anytime soon. Based on the Skip Beat! manga, Ariel Lin plays a girl who just got dumped by the boy she had been taking care of/been in love with for many years after he enters show buisness. Wrathful, she decides to enter show buisness herself in order to become a bigger star than he. On the way she meets (and eventually falls in love with) another big star (played by Jerry Yan). I adore Skip Beat, so I'm hoping beyond hope that the script issues are resolved on this drama soon.
Summer's Bubble, starring Barbie Xu, is another really complex one. Part Skip Beat, part Green Forest, part Why Why Love. It's really insanely complex, so I'll try to simplify. Barbie's character falls in love with a rich kid. Barbie's parents adopt another kid (who is mean/cold), and Barbie hates him. Rich kid sends the adopted brother overseas. Somehow Barbie's parents die, she blames the rich guy, and he loses his memories. Barbie decides to become a celebrity (I like how they're always deciding to become a celebrity, like it's THAT easy) to pay for her brother's hospital fees. She and the rich kid meet up again 5 years later, and remembers her, and how he was betrayed. He wants to ruin her, but can't do it, and falls in love with her. To save her little brother, she agrees to marry rich guy in exchange for a kidney (wtf?!), and then the adopted brother tries to kill himself.. it's a little convoluted. I'm sure it'll make sense when it starts, but the summary is crazy (I have similar problems with almost all twdramas; the summary is insane, but it makes sense once you start watching). It's apparently a novel (or a manga, I'm not entirely sure). Truthfully, the whole thing appeals to me intensely, mostly because apparently Barbie falls in love with adopted brother. Mmmmm fakecest. Originally Dylan Kuo was supposed to play adopted brother-guy, but no longer. Oh, the sadness!
Next Station, Happiness is another upcoming, but details are scarce. It DOES star Ming Dao, though. There were rumors initially about Qiao En being in it as well, but as far as I can tell, those are false. Too bad for us MingEn shippers.
Good Health & Fortune starring Chen Qiao En and Jerry Yan is currently up in the air. Jerry Yan is notoriously picky about roles, so no one knows if he will actually stay. Qiao En has been looking to get into more mature roles, but hopefully she'll stay in this one. Qiao En and Jerry together is like a dream. It would only be better if it were Zai Zai and Qiao En. I will watch this, for sure, because I'm in love with Qiao En (#1 girlcrush!), and I'm watching everything she's been in.
Liar Game starring (possibly) Rainie Yang is also another drama that is up in the air right now. No real news as of yet. Panda Hero with Jay Chou is another one that is there, but has no news. I've been looking forward to Love at Sun Moon Lake with Ruby Lin, for awhile as well.
Finally, an unconfirmed that I hope happen; Absolute Boyfriend with Wu Zun and Jolin Tsai. Obviously a remake of Zettai Kareshi. But TAIWANESE.
I'm sure I missed a lot (including Momo love, Aaron Yan's upcoming drama), but whatever.
By the way, I totally did something similar to this in December. I've posted it below. (Notice the lack of fangirling on Boys Before Flowers? I thought it was going to suck)
Extravagant Challenge - I already spoke about this one in this post... so I'm not going to repeat. Except to say; SO EXCITED!
Starlit - All I know about this drama is that it stars Jerry Yan and Terri Kwan (and Chen Zhi Kai , who I thought was REALLY hot in Corner With Love). Which honestly, is enough for me. But what drew me in even more, and made me all excited was the promo pic they released. Um, hello, stars, ocean, piano, wheelchair?, bedraggled wet girl... it has the makings of a GREAT drama already. Plus, Jerry is hot, and Terri is so beautiful it almost hurts. Watching ridiculously pretty people is always fun.
Qi Lin Guan Zhi Lian - I'm excited solely because Megan Lai will FINALLY have a starring role. She deserves it. I really like her. Plus, Abe Tsuyoshi is going to be in it, which will be fun, since he'll forever remind me of Akira from HYD.
Superstar Express - Rainie and Jiro... bound to be fun! Plus, Rainie plays an agoraphobe, which is going to make for some WACKY SITUATIONS! I love Jiro, so much, it'll be nice to see him actually, for once, get the girl (not that he doesn't in Rolling Love, or possibly in KO One/X-Family, but I haven't seen those yet, so they don't count)!
Pi Zi Ying Xiong - Um, Zai Zai... that's enough. Even though it's not my normal type, it's Zai Zai! Plus, Chuan Yi is on the cast list!! Chuan Yi AND Zai Zai! It's like a replay of WtSYA... except very much not.
Infernal Lover - So THIS is the "secret" mainland project Mike was working on! The plot, which involves spies and political intrigue with lots of romance seems interesting, and is right up my alley. The cast is attractive, and the love triangles are insane! Plus, it's a period drama... How more perfect could it be! But man, it's 40 episodes long... And no group has signed on for subs yet. I'm REALLY excited for this one.
Boys Before Flowers - Obvious choice. I'm excited to see how the Koreans interpret this drama classic.