The premiere of "When the Stars Shine" is approaching, starring Lee Xianmin, and the spy war drama at the beginning of 2024 is coming

"I have to know the truth".

"It's true that the world is not black and white, but there is always right and wrong."

As soon as this pair of whites came out, combined with Li Xian, who was dressed in a Republic of China costume, he was hidden in the fog, gunshots rang out, and life and death were decided.

An atmosphere of spy competition has come to the face.

Another 34-episode spy war drama is coming-Hunan Satellite TV, "When the Stars Shine".

I know what you want to say - spy war drama, can you still look forward to it?

Indeed, this is no longer the beginning of Liu Yunlong's "Secret Calculation", the era of spy war dramas competing against each other.

After "Kite", the spy war of the Republic of China, the win-win situation of word-of-mouth ratings is only "Rebel" and "Hidden and Great".

Although there are many spy war dramas on the market, most of them have overturned their reputation.

Even the anti-spy war drama "Thrush" on CCTV has surpassed "Hurricane" in the same period, and it is difficult to recover the lost reputation of the 2023 spy war drama.

However, Zhang Songwen's "Lonely Boat" has been confirmed to be on Jiangsu Satellite TV next year, and CCTV's powerful "Night and Dawn" is also ready to go. The spy war drama in 2024 is still lively.

And the first to appear is likely to be Hunan Satellite TV's self-made "When the Stars Shine".

A youth spy war drama featuring young actors, can it find a place for a domestic spy war drama?

Many viewers say that the one who ruined the reputation of spy war dramas is not a traffic idol?

Wrong, what ruined the reputation of spy war dramas was the bad traffic and foolish spy war dramas.

The question now is, is this drama the star shining in the dark night sky of a spy war drama?

01, change the "direction" to shoot spy warfare, this drama has found the flavor of "Secret and Great".

Why do you have expectations for "When the Stars Shine"?

Because what domestic spy war dramas lack most now is the most stable story of the show.

The screenwriters who sat for the play are: Pu Wei and Huang Chen.

The last work of the two screenwriters was "Hidden and Great" with a Douban score of 8.0, which is also the highest-rated spy war drama of the Republic of China after "Kite".

followed by "Huan Yan" starring Zhang Yi with a score of 7.9, "Mask" starring Zu Feng with a score of 7.9 and "Rebel" with a score of 7.7.

And the inspiration for "When the Stars Shine" comes from the role of Xia Jicheng in "Secret and Great", that is: If Xia Jicheng has a prequel, what should it be?

The time background of the story is set during the Anti-Japanese War, and Hua Zhen (played by Li Xian), who was born in a high-ranking official family, was originally going to join the navy and realize his dream of becoming a captain.

A trip to Shanghai made him change his name to Xiang Yuansheng and become a police officer in Shanghai No. 4.

Here, Xiang Yuansheng got acquainted with Communist Party members Chen Hao (played by Zhou You) and Luo Minmin (played by Ren Min), and under the guidance of the two, he joined communism and found a new direction in life.

Combined with the trailer, let's talk about the three major highlights of the show:

First, there is a suspicion of identity.

It can be seen that the identity change of Li Xian's character will be the highlight of the first half of the series, why did the children of high-ranking officials become insiders?

It seems to have something to do with a little girl on a steamer.

"There was a kid who hired me to help her investigate the case with a necklace and twenty-three dollars. In the trailer, as soon as the camera turned, gunshots rang out, a man died tragically, and the little girl's lollipop fell to the ground.

Next, the little girl Li Qiushi said to Hua Zhen with tears on her face, "Take me with you."

In the next shot, the girl and the male protagonist stood at the door of the newspaper office and asked the male protagonist, Brother Hua Zhen, where do you want to go with this identity?

This identity should be Xiang Yuansheng.

What crisis did the male protagonist get involved in? Suppose the girl's family was murdered, and he protected the little girl, but why did he change his name? And why did he change from a passer-by to an insider?

Compared with the endless No. 76 undercover agent, this story has a new idea.

The second is spy warfare.

became the male protagonist of Xiang Yuansheng, who was obviously involved in a new conspiracy.

That's why Wang Zixuan's character will say, "Xiang Yuansheng is already an insider."

Judging from the information given in the trailer, Xiang Yuansheng entered the game in order to find the truth, and for the sake of this truth, he did not hesitate to give up his dream of becoming a naval captain.

Clues are unraveled layer by layer, and there are many crises in them.

For example, a burned male protagonist's file.

For example, there are many shady scenes behind the scenes.

For example, a desperate struggle in the dark night.

The sense of suspense and conflict is full, and the flavor of spy war comes out.

The third is the choice of the big era.

This time, the main stage of the story is during the Anti-Japanese War, but judging from the scene, the Japanese puppets have not yet occupied Shanghai.

That is, the drama uses another angle to examine this changing history.

The kind of vigor that overflows the faces of a generation, as well as the aggressiveness that overflows the screen, are also in the aesthetic fatigue of the audience who have been swiped by the Anti-Japanese War spy war in recent years, which makes people see a trace of "newness".

Pay attention to the lighting in the trailer, the male protagonist is born far away, and he is almost always shrouded in darkness, and from the direction of the light, you can almost predict the direction of the plot.

And the mysterious characters behind the scenes, every line of dialogue, are hidden in the black curtain, and the changes of light and shadow provoke the emotions of the audience, sometimes tense, sometimes suspenseful.

The director of this drama obviously wants to play some new tricks in the mode of the inherent spy war drama.

In the past, the protagonists of spy war dramas were always very mature, and this drama chose some young faces to make more attempts, but at the same time, the images that spy war dramas should have are deep and compact, and the trailer can also be seen.

The taste of spy war dramas has come out, and it depends on whether the actors can hold it?

02, young actors can't bear the play? Let's see if Li Xianmin can justify the name of the youth spy war drama

After talking about so many advantages, this "When the Stars Shine" is not without hidden dangers.

Even, its hidden dangers are extremely intuitive, and it is a big problem that "the answer to the mystery is hidden on the mystery".

It's very simple, many spy war dramas are old dramas that are piled up, and the ability of the male and female protagonists is not enough.

Hunan Satellite TV's style of play is: put all the treasures on the young actors, and don't use any old drama bones.

Although, the old drama bones and acting schools did not save the declining reputation of spy war dramas.

The success of dramas such as "Secret and Great" and "Rebel" also proves that young actors may not be able to pull across.

But the game of "When the Stars Shine" is a bit big after all.

The biggest key to success or failure lies in Li Xian.

First of all, I don't agree with Li Xian and those young actors who are tireless in ruining spy war dramas.

Evaluating whether a young star is pure traffic or an actor is very simple, look at the role.

And Li Xian has played at least three roles: Han Shangyan, the e-sports god in "Dear Love", Guo Deyou, the little river god in "River God", and Xie Zhiyao in "Going to a Windy Place".

Although he has a bit of traffic, Li Xian has never pursued the road of traffic, and took the initiative to change his acting path, trying different themes and different styles of roles, such as "If Life Is Like First Seen".

In recent years, Li Xian has lacked a big traffic drama, and it is precisely because he is still continuing to seek progress, seek transformation, and hone his acting skills, which is rare in the current domestic entertainment industry.

And the next thing that will decide whether Li Xian can complete the breakthrough is "When the Stars Shine" and "If Life Is Like First Seen".

Judging from some of the scenes in the trailer, Li Xian's performance seems to be at ease, pay attention to his eyes - from the confusion on the dock to the firmness of walking in the rainstorm with an umbrella.

The kind of righteousness that naturally exudes is not too compatible with the style of youth spy warfare.

Looking for him to be the starring role, Hunan Satellite TV chose the right person.

second place, Ren Min.

As the acting leader of the new generation of 95 flowers, Ren Min's most out of the circle before was always her crying scene.

In "Sadness Flows Into a River", Yi Yao, played by Ren Min, was crying by the river.

In "Qingping Le", the crying scene of Princess Zhao Huirou losing her lover.

In "The Days of Chasing the Light", Ren Zhen collapsed and cried helplessly because of the failure of the college entrance examination.

But what Ren Min needs now is a breakthrough in acting, especially a breakthrough in the past role types.

In this play, she plays Luo Minmin in a cheongsam, her style is clean and neat, and several scenes in the trailer are in crisis, her performance can make me feel a sense of crisis rather than playing at home, which is better than many traffic actresses.

But whether you can hold up the drama or not, you have to watch the drama.

The third place, traveling.

Zhou You is the kind of actor who is highly favored, but has never been popular.

After becoming famous with the role of Liu Wenqin in "The Sky of the Wind Dog Boy", I have been looking forward to his performance, but in the domestic entertainment where the traffic is in charge, a powerful young actor like him is not taken seriously.

But the advantage of traveling around is that his lines and acting skills are solid enough, as long as he has the right role, he can get out of the circle.

Hopefully this time.

fourth place, Wang Zixuan.

Wang Zixuan's most out-of-the-circle role is the little goddess in "River God" with Li Xian.

She is the kind of actress who can play with good looks and good acting skills, and her appearance is eye-catching in Republic of China dramas.

Shi Junyu's character doesn't seem to be our person, is that the enemy's person? The mysterious beauty character is easy to shine, and I look forward to Wang Zixuan's outbreak again.

Finally, Wang Maolei and Song Ningfeng.

Both are powerful actors whose acting skills are underrated.

Wang Maolei played the villain in "Yanxi Raiders" and was scolded by netizens, and Song Ningfeng played two roles in "Bionic World", which is impressive.

This time, their role positioning is most likely the role assumed by the old drama bones in the past, that is, to build the foundation for young actors, this kind of role will often be played, in other words, this is their opportunity.

03, domestic spy war dramas need to solve these two problems if they want to go through the cold winter of word-of-mouth

The domestic spy war drama in 2023 is actually very lively.

It is true that word-of-mouth collectively hit the streets, and it is also true that there is only one "Plum Blossom and Red Heart" with a score of 6.4.

But it's also true that the ratings are not low.

"Infernal", "Thin Ice" and "Plum Blossom Red Hearts" have all set good satellite TV ratings, and "Hive" and "Stalker" were broadcast on CCTV, and the ratings were extremely good.

"Thrush" has a chance to compete for this year's national drama ratings championship.

The reason is also very simple, the suspenseful attributes and highlights that spy war dramas come with make the audience Xi watching while scolding, and low word-of-mouth will not affect high ratings.

The production idea of traffic actors + drama bones has proved its feasibility in the market and its value to young mainstream audiences. Judging from the ratings, the morale of spy war dramas is flourishing, and there is no cold winter.

But in order to solve the cold winter of word-of-mouth, you need to solve 2 problems:

The first is the crisis of script routines.

The current domestic spy war theme does not seem to have gotten out of the routine of "latent" and Liu Yunlong, the plot is basically that the male protagonist is in the military command, fighting against the Japanese puppet, and he has repeatedly performed miraculous feats but is desperate for the corruption and darkness of the system, and finally throws himself to the bright side.

The formation of this path has its own reason, and routines may not fail to tell a good story, but the story logic and character charm of most episodes are extremely limited.

Compared with other dramas, spy war dramas often have higher requirements for the characters' careful thinking and plot logic.

To break the game, first get out of the routine.

The second is the crisis of traffic-based acting.

Including CCTV's ratings drama "Thrush", the acting skills of young actors and their own idol drama makeup have been complained by the audience many times that they are too much like a playhouse, and the acting skills of young actors are even more difficult to see compared with those of powerful factions.

"Rebel" stands out in spy war dramas because it portrays a protagonist with flesh and blood and feelings, but not every young actor is actor Zhu Yilong.

It's not that spy war dramas can't use young and popular actors, but if they are cast correctly, they won't smash the signboard of word-of-mouth.

It can be seen that the story of "When the Stars Shine" does not follow the routine, and the young actors who are also the most capable Li Xian and Ren Min can be selected, and the ambition of Hunan Satellite TV to break through can be seen.

Some viewers said that what else can Hunan Satellite TV broadcast besides idol dramas? But don't forget that "In the Name of the People" and "Daming Dynasty" are also dramas of Hunan Satellite TV.

When domestic spy war dramas come to the current "narrow road", what is needed is a breakthrough.

The general direction of the content of spy war dramas is framed, but the "new" content that can be explored, I hope that Hunan Satellite TV this time can really take a new path for domestic spy war dramas in the night, look up, "when the stars shine".