Domestic workplace dramas have always been a thorn in the hearts of the audience.
Japanese dramas have a 9.7 score "White Tower" that focuses on the dark side of hospital personnel:
Korean dramas have a 9.2 score "Unborn" about the growth of rookie salesmen:
American dramas have a 9.1 score of "The Good Wife", which turns a desperate housewife into a top lawyer:
What are the masterpieces of domestic workplace dramas?
5.6 points "Dear Translator", the focus is not on the translator, it is just wearing the skin of a workplace drama and telling a bloody love story.
"Negotiator" gave the male protagonist the setting of "mysterious family heir", and 3.5 points are all for the audience's mercy to this drama.
Of course, domestic workplace dramas are not all of the above, but most of them are a breath of difference.
2020 "Ordinary Glory" is a workplace drama worthy of second brushing, but this drama is a remake of the Korean drama "Unborn", and the cultural core is ultimately different.
In 2021, Sun Li and Zhao Youting's "Ideal City" is the drama closest to the ceiling of domestic workplace dramas, but the atmosphere is too heavy, making many audiences feel unsatisfied, and the ratings are not ideal.
Fortunately, CCTV, which used "The Age of Awakening" to pull young audiences into the track of formal dramas, used "The World" to push period dramas to a new peak, and CCTV, which redefined police and bandit dramas with "Crazy", finally started on workplace dramas.
Yangba's newly broadcast "Ordinary Road" was in full swing as soon as it started, winning the first place in national ratings for two consecutive days, and at the same time ranking first in the overall list of Tencent Video hit dramas.
CCTV has brought two surprises to domestic workplace dramas, and found a new way out for domestic workplace dramas, setting a new benchmark.
Surprise 1, the joy of the theme, no longer mythical professionals, return to the ordinary
You must know that "Unborn" and "The Good Wife" attract the audience because they tell the experience of newcomers in the workplace climbing up step by step from the bottom, which resonates with many migrant workers struggling at work.
In contrast, in the past, domestic workplace dramas have given the protagonists an industry-leading setting from the beginning, such as: the ace lawyer who has never lost a case, the gold medal public relations that can be withstood when the sky falls, and the doctor who became the director at a young age, how many people can empathize with this setting?
"Ordinary Road" is not afraid to tell the "ordinary" of people in the workplace.
This kind of ordinary, the director through the first scene of the opening, the story is clear.
In the first episode, it tells everyone that the protagonist Pan Yan (played by Guo Qilin) is an ordinary migrant worker.
The tight space is stuffed with all kinds of sundries, the mother and son use a bunk bed, the toilet to grab in the morning rush, and the bottom clothes of the box that are turned out of the duffel bag... As soon as the opening session began, a stock market well gas rushed in.
Go to the interview, the company is located in the CBD high-rise, surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows, all the top students who came to compete are Harvard and Stanford graduates, everyone is dressed brightly, and there is an English sentence in their words from time to time.
Wait a minute! Where is this ordinary?
Don't worry, it's just that the protagonist ran the wrong company, and the place where he really wants to interview is the small law firm downstairs.
The small law firm at the bottom of the building has less high ceilings, dim light, and no modern office space, replaced by familiar cubicles.
Even the people inside are not as glamorous and smooth as upstairs.
The two companies are in sharp contrast, upstairs is filmed idol dramas, downstairs is the daily life of most workers.
And when Pan Yan joined the company on the first day, it was even more ordinary.
The imaginary law firm career with his head held high and laughing was disillusioned on the first day.
The first thing to do at work is to be pulled by the front desk to take fingerprints, and then told that the lawyer must also clock in to work, and cannot be late and leave early.
On the first day of work, I was dragged to work overtime, worked hard for the company all night, and did not even have time to go home to change.
The next day, instead of praising your efforts, the leader grabbed you for not changing your clothes and made a big fuss to vent your anger at work.
I finally followed the young-timers to leave the company's customers, and as a result, the old-timers took all the credit as soon as they came up, and what performance, bonuses, all had nothing to do with you.
Gas? Of course gas!
But after a few words with colleagues, I can only honestly continue to work and work overtime.
Anger at leaders, throwing face at leaders, and losing resignation letters only happen in hot searches, and the vast majority of people still have to bend their waists for five bucket meters.
"Ordinary Road" finally abandoned the 0.1% of the elite group in society, and focused the camera on the remaining 99.9% of ordinary wage earners, shooting the helplessness and grievances of the workers.
The style has come down, but the intention has risen, which is what everyone wants to see, reflecting the social reality of the workplace drama.
There are not so many goldfingers in life, the workplace is not a place for people to play handsome and fall in love, work and customers come first in the world of workers, and everything else can only give way.
Surprise two, the joy of actors, the two generations of middle and young people have fully blossomed
Good dramas need the support of good actors, and small people are more difficult to play than big heroes.
In the previous workplace drama, the elites in the workplace were all dressed exquisitely and high-spirited, and the fat powder on their bodies even overshadowed the capable temperament of the professionals.
But "Ordinary Road" is different, and the image of professionals it creates is varied.
Guo Qilin, who does not look eye-catching, represents ordinary professionals.
In the entertainment industry where handsome guys and beauties gather, Guo Qilin can only be regarded as mediocre, but it is precisely because of such an ordinary appearance that he has become the best candidate for various salted fish turning over themes.
From "Qing Yu Nian" to "Son-in-law", the audience loves to watch the story of his counterattack.
And in "Ordinary Road", Guo Qilin's performance did not disappoint.
He didn't wear a formal dress fake elite fan, a hanger hoodie to go around the world, after all, he is just a newcomer to a small law firm.
Down-to-earth image, add one point first.
As the young owner of Deyun Society, Guo Qilin gave full play to his strengths and added many comedy elements to his performance.
For example, in the scene of sneaking into a high-end community to find a party, he first dressed up as a decoration worker in an attempt to blend in.
Unable to make a plan, he simply mixed in with the elementary school students returning home from school, treating himself as an older child, and finally being held out by security guards.
Guo Qilin filmed his crosstalk talent, transforming his grounding into the temperament of the character itself.
Yan Zidong played by Shu Yinan, his father runs a big law firm, his mother is an executive of a large company, he himself graduated from a prestigious university, and he has a car and a house as soon as he graduates, which is simply an idol drama full of male protagonist attributes, where is ordinary?
But Shu Yinan actually represents the epitome of contemporary young people, who come to the workplace with a full of books, black and white.
I feel proud and proud that I have to rely on myself for everything, and I don't want to stain the light of my parents.
When I learned that I could enter a high-level law firm because my mother found someone to support him, I was immediately embarrassed and angry, but after being educated by my elders, I regretted it because I was angry with my mother.
Yan Zidong performed the simple and naïve side of this character, which made people think of the new group of post-95s and post-00s in the unit.
Therefore, the character of Shu Yinan has an extraordinary appearance, but Yan Zidong still pulled the role back to the "ordinary theme" and returned to the new setting of the workplace drama from the male protagonist of the idol drama.
Jin Chen's performance is also remarkable, Zuo Na's character does not have Pan Yan's humor and worldliness, nor Shu Yinan's pretentiousness, she is a hard-working, responsible and excellent worker.
But Zuo Na's conscientiousness, diligence and obedience to the rules can be said to be the most true portrayal of the vast majority of people in the workplace.
The excellent employees in the company are not like workplace idol dramas, who come out through the limelight, and the vast majority of those who are promoted are practical and performant employees like Zuo Na.
When Jin Chen played this role, he covered up all the light on the female star, as if he was really just a working boy.
The performances of the three young actors are remarkable, and several middle-generation actors are also eye-catching.
Du Feiyu, played by Zhang Zixian, not only has the aura of a leader, but also personally works hard for performance, which is a rare middle-level leadership image in domestic dramas.
Niu Li, a regular guest of the Spring Festival Gala, has a bubble noodle roll, a body of fireworks, playing a single mother who drives an online car, and her plastic surgery acting skills are almost unrecognizable, too grounded.
Sui Junbo, who has always been gentle, showed her edge this time, and the strong woman was just right, sharp, confident but not greasy, and looked like a mixed workplace.
Li Naiwen, as the villain in the play, also performed the sense of being a villain who is sophisticated and mercenary.
The two generations of young and middle-aged actors can be said to have contributed good performances in "Ordinary Road", which can be clearly distinguished from workplace idol dramas, and cannot be separated from their simple, non-greasy and down-to-earth acting skills.
CCTV has found a "new way out" for domestic workplace dramas
The high ratings of "Ordinary Road" make people see the hope of domestic workplace dramas, because it seems to have found a new way out for latecomers.
In the past, professional puppet dramas, on the one hand, wanted to use various high-end occupations to elevate themselves, on the other hand, they were reluctant to let go of the most dramatic and conflicting emotional dramas, and finally became vulgar dramas that fell in love under the banner of the workplace.
And like "Ideal City", the unfamiliar unpopular industry, the sense of workplace oppression brought by the pursuit of reality, also makes the audience generally acceptable.
"Ordinary Road" happens to be in between, neither detached from reality like a professional puppet drama, nor set a high threshold for the audience like "Ideal City", and it is easy to miss the plot when watching the drama with a little distraction.
It chooses the lawyer profession that the audience is more familiar with as the unfolding, sets the protagonist as an ordinary person, lowers the threshold for watching the drama, and is more likely to arouse the audience's goodwill.
And the play is not a legal drama, it does not revolve around the case, but tells the story of lawyers' growth and returns to the core of workplace dramas.
The play is also mixed with various elements such as novice counterattack and comedy, which makes the watchability of the whole drama skyrocket.
Because the deceit and open and secret battles in the workplace are exciting enough, "Ordinary Road" does not need to have too much ink on the feelings of men and women, and gets rid of the fate of workplace drama blood.
It can be said that "Ordinary Road" has indeed created a good road for domestic workplace dramas and brought hope.
I hope that this drama is a new starting point for domestic workplace dramas, not a culmination, and the subsequent dramas can continue to make efforts.
(Movie Rotten Tomatoes Editorial Office: Yangjing)