When are Chinese drama audiences the happiest?
The answer, of course, is when there is a good drama.
In this sense, this year's Chinese drama audience is the happiest person.
Because from the beginning of the year's "Crazy", the national drama is like a hanging. One set and eight sets of CCTV, and they are even taking turns to contract ratings to explode.
The opening year is CCTV's eight sets of "Crazy" and "Three-Body Problem", which directly stirred up the scene of Chinese dramas.
One is crazy in popularity, and one has the first word of mouth.
Recently, CCTV's 1 set of "The Road of Life" completed the ratings domination, and scored an average of more than 2% in the first broadcast, and the ending week directly soared to break three.
So far, in this ratings drama, various national drama genres have appeared, period dramas, suspense dramas, science fiction dramas, criminal investigation dramas, and the shot is Wang Fried.
However, it seems that there is also a popular genre of national dramas that was temporarily absent in this big drama?
Family ethics drama.
If "Holding Hands", which began broadcasting in 1999, is regarded as the starting point of domestic family ethics dramas, and "Chinese Divorce" reached the double peak of family ethics drama ratings and word of mouth in 2004, then "Snail House" directed by Teng Huatao is to send the national influence of family ethics dramas to a new peak.
Family ethics dramas such as "Double Sided Tape" and "The Beautiful Times of My Daughter-in-law" also directed by him once made "mother-in-law and daughter-in-law contradiction" the strongest ratings elixir of Chinese dramas.
But in the past ten years, this former ratings king has gradually lost its former scenery. Only "It's All Good" by the noon sun, Huang Lei Haiqing's "Little Parting" and "Little Huanxi" occasionally won national explosions with their novel presentation of family affection in the original family.
This genre, just disappeared?
It's time for CCTV to strike again.
On April 15, that is, tomorrow night, a strong lineup of family ethics drama "Dragon City" will be broadcast.
Starring Ma Yili and Bai Yu, Liu Lin, Gao Xin, Shi Ke, Wang Weiwei, Tu Songyan and other powerful people helped.
Adapted from the novel of the same name, focusing on family and family affection.
This lineup, this theme, expectations are directly full.
And compared with the "flat" of domestic family ethics dramas in recent years.
Regardless of the success or failure of this part, it is destined to rise to Qifeng.
Just rely on the comment area netizens' comment on the original novel - "the essence of ethics, the culmination of dog blood".
Such a story basis, coupled with the urban drama combination of Teng Huatao + Lin Yan, is destined to set off a ratings storm and topic frenzy like last year's "Home of the Heart".
The family ethics drama that has been quiet for a long time is going to be lively again.
1. The expert director is equipped with the powerful, and the popularity has not run
First of all, there are three names: Teng Huatao + Lin Yan + Ma Yili.
In 2009, the urban family emotional drama "Snail House" was launched, and it quickly became popular all over the country. "Snail House" made actors such as Zhang Jiayi and Haiqing out of the circle, and also allowed the director to play Teng Huatao to establish his position in the Chinese drama in one fell swoop.
In 2022, "Home of the Heart", produced by Teng Huatao, directed by Lin Yan, starring Haiqing Tong Yao and Zhang Songwen, will set off a ratings frenzy amid controversy.
It can be said that this urban drama creation combination is an absolute expert in this genre.
In addition to the popularity of "Snail House", Teng Huatao's "Wang Gui and Anna" and "Double Sided Tape" are also very popular, and his "33 Days of Broken Love" has also become a box office dark horse.
Lin Yan, the director of "Dragon City", as a female director, directed "My! Physical Education Teacher" shows its excellence in urban ethical dramas, and although many works have average ratings, the ratings and online broadcasts are often good.
Teng Huatao + Lin Yan's urban drama has an important feature, that is, the drama conflict is dense and the story tension is constant. It can be said that with an "immersive look", the audience can't help but complain while watching.
This time's "Dragon City" is mainly based on the fate of the three cousins of the Zheng family, the story has both parents and short and emotional entanglements, and also contains topics such as family affection and marriage, and the original story is extremely tense, which can be said to be the mastery of the two directors.
Secondly, Ma Yili.
In a sense, "Dragon City" is a project facilitated by Ma Yili.
She not only escorted the series with her strong ratings appeal, but also played the 26-year-old heroine Zheng Dongni in the play at her real age of 46.
It can be predicted that after the series is broadcast, this will inevitably cause huge discussion and even controversy.
Ma Yili is a representative of powerful actresses, and her early performance in dramas such as "Qiao's Courtyard" and "Struggle" was only wonderful and not dazzling, but after experiencing a marriage turmoil, she won the best actress of Magnolia with "My First Half of Life" and was upgraded to a domestic first-line actress.
Although her role as Luo Zijun is not pleasing from beginning to end, it fully proves Ma Yili's acting skills and also establishes her dominant position in the role type of urban heroine.
This time, she played the hot and beautiful eldest sister Zheng Dongni, with wavy curly hair and makeup with flaming red lips, trying to get closer to the original role, but it is expected that the character styling will inevitably suffer great controversy in the early days of the series.
What can save a game for her is acting.
The role of Zheng Dongni undoubtedly has a drama to play, she has spent her life in the sword and shadow of her parents since she was a child, her personality is rebellious and flamboyant, and she marries Germany after leaving her hometown repeatedly, and she still inevitably encounters family changes and twists and turns.
Ma Yili's acting skills cannot make up for the age gap, but if she can play a free, rebellious, and strong woman who dares to love and hate, Zheng Dongni, she still has a chance to complete the counterattack.
In the end, what height can "Dragon City" reach, Ma Yili's play can be said to be the decisive point.
2. Set the culmination of ethical blood, this story is attractive
"Dragon City" is adapted from Dean's "Dragon City Trilogy", especially the first two of which are "East Neon" and "West Final".
The official synopsis is: The play tells the warm story of the three cousins of the Zheng family who came out of their respective native families and supported and healed each other in the process of growing up.
This introduction is probably not enough to really explain the style of the show.
Combined with the multi-episode trailer, I think the story style of the episode is one word - fried!
Because the plot completely carries forward the "sadistic" tradition and bloody characteristics of domestic family ethics dramas.
In the story, there are at least three sadistic flashpoints.
The first is the sadistic love of Zheng Xizhi (played by Bai Yu). Zheng Xi was raised by his third uncle and third aunt because his parents died since he was a child, and he stayed in Dragon City to repay the favor to the big family, and also wanted to help the uncle who encountered injustice change his life.
He and his girlfriend Chen Yan have entered the stage of marriage talks, but Dongni is bent on breaking them up and going abroad,
As the plot develops, the audience knows that the reason is that his girlfriend Chen Yan is the girl who was slandered and became a teacher to engage in teacher-student love, thus rewriting Xiaoshu's fate.
In the end, Zheng Xi decided to complete the two and bear the pain of falling in love alone.
The second is Dongni's bloody marriage.
The marriage between Zheng Dongni and her doctor's husband Fang Jinghui evolved into a chicken feather, a divorce and son war from abroad to Dragon City, the aggressive Dongni was exhausted after experiencing his father's illness and the death of his mother, and he was all taken care of by Xi Zhi.
The third is the special sibling relationship between the West and the East.
In the original work, the two characters have ambiguous emotions, and it is certain that this plot will be greatly modified, but the trailer still has a shot of Dongni trying to caress Xidue's forehead, and how Teng Huatao Lin Yan handles this plot is undoubtedly the biggest suspense of the show.
It can be seen that the highlight of the play is the interweaving of warmth and dog blood, and the emotions between family members make them want to escape and not want to lose,
This kind of plot operation can make the series stand firm on the chassis of family dramas.
In the field of Chinese dramas, family dramas are a theme that cannot be tired of filming. There are too many directions that this subject can shoot.
The story route of "Dragon City" is undoubtedly the most spicy taste.
The story seems to be a little bloody, but it presents people who may be real in life, and the unavoidable faces of all living beings through the hustle and bustle of the plot.
And the above plot breaking points are also likely to help the series out of the circle. Let "Dragon City" is no longer the patent of middle-aged and elderly audiences, but let young audiences can't help but plunge into the torrent of chasing dramas.
3, Ma Yili Baiyu's male and female leading acting skills are enough, but I care more about the 6 supporting roles
"Dragon City" is a standard acting drama. There are no idol actors among the main actors, and without exception they are all real powerhouses.
7 actors, especially noteworthy.
First, Bai Yu
Few actors like Bai Yu, with two plays, have completed the transformation from an unknown person to a traffic star to a powerful actor.
After coming out of the circle with "Town Soul", Bai Yu began to go to the acting school, and it was thankless for a while, but a "Silent Truth" changed everything, and Jiang Yang played by him not only did not lag behind, but even was still dazzling in a group of acting schools such as Liao Fan, Ning Li, and Zhao Yang.
If his performances in this drama are not considered powerful, how is it a powerful person.
After that, he still took steps step by step, from the kind and responsible Qiao Yicheng in "Children of the Qiao Family" to the painful and persistent Xun Xu in "Feng Qi Longxi", each role was played at a very high level.
This time he played Zheng Xidu, gentle, responsible, and with a sense of relaxation, looking a little similar to the eldest brother of the Qiao family, but Qiao Yicheng is the backbone of his brothers and sisters, and the whole role is full of rigidity.
And Xi Zhi is a harbor in the heart of the family, and the role is full of softness.
Yirou and Gang just show his changeable and excellent acting skills, and I expect this will be the second most popular role in the whole show.
Who is the first? Here's the one.
Second, Liu Lin
Liu Lin is an out-and-out powerhouse.
Her strongest point is that she plays a supporting role every time, and every time she comes out of the circle with a supporting role.
She is Jiang Dehua, a kind and hardened rural woman in "Parental Love", Wang Ruofu, a cute and confused lady in "Do You Know", Zhou Chunhong with a complex personality in "Hidden Corner", or the touching Zhao Qulan in "The Age of Awakening".
What she plays, it is.
Need her to be the funny responsibility of the grand lady of the Sheng family, she interprets the characters with a sentence of "my father deserves the temple", let her play the annoyance of the role, she can get it with a look.
The third aunt of the Zheng family she played this time is a very warm character in the original work.
Virtuous and kind, he made up his mind and made a decision. Zheng Xi decided that her parents died since she was a child, and she raised her, and Xi was unwilling to leave Dragon City, just to repay her kindness.
The two scenes in the trailer have already shown Liu Lin's acting skills.
First, when the children go home, she is simple in shape, with a warm smile, and she can't wait to poke her head out of the kitchen, which is the standard parental face.
The second is that Xiao Shu took Xi Jue's ex-girlfriend and his current girlfriend Chen Yan home.
The third aunt's secretly rubbing mockery and dismissive eyes made Liu Lin amazing.
I don't need to wait for the series to start, I can now be sure that Liu Lin will play this role exceptionally well.
Third, Gao Xin
This should be the most difficult role played by this powerful man after becoming popular.
Among the actors of the Chinese drama, I think only Gao Xin can play Xiao Shu well.
At the beginning, everyone knew Gao Xin because of Yin Hao in the national drama "Deep Love".
But when he took care of his wife and recovered, he started again, from Su Mingzhe in "It's Good" to Xiao Jingxuan, the prince of the East Palace in "Langya List", all of them are negative characters who make people want to complain.
It is amazing that the rise and fall of the coffee position in the entertainment industry allows Gao Xin to only play these unflattering supporting roles, but it is precisely these roles that make his acting skills shine.
This time, the uncle played by Gao Xin, originally a talented middle school Chinese teacher, was slandered by his wife and had style problems with female student Tang Ruolin, and was snubbed by white eyes and cut off sharply, but he reunited with Tang Ruolin who changed his name to Chen Yan many years later, and finally the two became fake.
There is a scene in the trailer where the character sees the girl who changed her destiny years later, and instantly becomes somewhat emotional.
Gao Xin's acting skills can definitely stand the test of close-ups. How will he play this role that is destined to make the audience love and hate,
It is also a major attraction of the series.
Fourth, Shi Ke
Shi Ke, who competed with Gong Li for the heroine of "Red Sorghum", also reached the age of playing her mother-in-law.
Over the years, she has appeared in dramas such as "Addiction", "Young Doctor", "Niang Dao" and so on, and her acting skills are absolutely no problem.
This time she plays Zheng Dongni's aunt.
One look is all drama, expecting this powerful person to shine again.
Fifth, Wang Weiwei
Because she has co-starred with Zhang Jiayi in dramas such as "Heart Technique", "My Wife is a Post-80s" and "Floating and Sinking", this beautiful actress was also ridiculed as "Zhang Jiayi's professional wife".
But the entertainment industry is like this, so many big dramas are not popular, but it is Fang Hui, who is not very likable in "Our Day", so that her acting skills are seen by the audience.
In this play, she plays Chen Yan, who makes Xijiao and Xiaoshu fall into emotional entanglement, which is seriously older in terms of the age of the actor, but looking at her state in the trailer, it makes people believe that the two men will be obsessed with her.
The character's appearance is persuasive, and then it depends on the actor's performance.
Sixth, Tu Songyan
Just played a perfect stepfather in "Love Only", Tu Songyan is going to play the bad guy in "Dragon City" again.
The national first-class actor has been Teng Huatao's old partner since the beginning of "Double Sided Tape" that year, and in recent years, the drama has been open, from the warm father of "In the Name of the Family" to the bad ex-husband of "Xiaomin's Family", Tu Songyan's performance is like a car shifting gears, repeatedly jumping between good men and bad men, which can be called a real face-changing acting skill.
This time, Fang Jinghui, played by him, is Dongni's husband and the source of the heroine's pain.
A domestic violence scene, Tu Songyan's eyes shot a cold light, I knew that this role could not be wrong.
Finally, there is the old drama bone festival ice.
Jie Bing, who played the villain Li Lanqun in "A Generation of Heroes", has performed almost all positive roles in recent years.
His acting skills are delicate and solid, and he is good at shaping the complex emotions of the characters, and he lost his son in "Home of the Heart", but he is very touching to the daughter-in-law played by Haiqing as the old father in the past.
This time, he continued to be recruited by Teng Huatao to play the third uncle of Dunhou and kindness, and the chance of acting badly could only be zero.
4. Can family ethics dramas rise again? It's up to her
If a drama wants to be popular and successful, it must not only have excellent quality, but also have a good schedule. "Dragon City" just chose an excellent schedule.
Although the big drama has been going on recently.
At the end of "The Road of Life", "Infernal" starring Jin Dong, Wang Zhiwen and Zhang Zhijian, Peng Guanying, Fu Dalong, Wu Yue, Wang Jinsong's "Thin Ice" continues to dominate the screen, but the audience has been watching suspense dramas for several months, and it is time to change the taste of family emotional dramas.
The theme of family ethics is naturally an appetite for the Central Eight viewership group. Many previous dramas with bloody content have been broadcast on Yangba and have set peak ratings, and "Dragon City" should be no exception.
But what I care more about is word of mouth.
Family ethics dramas have always been a popular genre of domestic dramas.
But in recent years, it has been a little tarnished, and "Dragon City" came at the right time.
Compared with many other genres, good family ethics dramas not only give full play to the personal characteristics and charm of the actors, but their rich life experience is more conducive to understanding the role and developing depth for the performance.
The richness of the storytelling of the series also makes it have a wide audience base.
As the plot unfolds, the topic of "Dragon City" is not limited to middle-aged emotions, but also involves the original family, sisterhood and so on.
The story seems to be the character of the wayward self, but this is what makes this character move many people. Because she is a living person, she has ambiguous feelings for her brother but can do nothing, she is a human self, but not a bad person, but a mortal.
Human nature is not black and white.
This complex emotion is precisely the biggest feature of "Dragon City", behind the complex entanglement is the eternal bond of the family.
Constantly running in the stumbling, sweetness, pain, tears, this is the true meaning of family life.
These family ethics drama explosive passwords have always been there, but not many can be photographed in the hearts of the audience.
The story with its own topic, the all-powerful star lineup, and the best ratings platform of Yangba make "Dragon City" the most likely to explode in domestic family ethics dramas in recent years.
I hope Teng Huatao, Lin Yan and Ma Yili will not waste this good hand.