"Do you see if I still have a chance?" Last year's fire suspense web drama "The Hidden Corner" in the male protagonist Zhang Dongsheng's fiery question seems to be just right in this year's suspense drama market... Last week, iQiyi, one of the three major domestic head video websites, announced 7 plays of the second season of its "Misty Theater" in one breath, as if opening the curtain on this year's suspense drama PK.
I don't know if this year's suspense drama will also give birth to a blockbuster similar to Qin Hao's same model?
The upstream news Chongqing Morning Post reporter combed a little and found that although compared with the realistic urban theme and the costume idol drama that often hugs fans before and after, the suspense drama can still only be regarded as a "little brother", but in fact, in the list of online drama films released this year, its eye-catching degree can be said to be no less impressive. "Ice Rain and Fire", "Cloister Pavilion", "Gate of Rebirth"... This year's battle is on the verge of breaking out.
Wang Yibo and Zhang Yi were already on the road
If divided according to the broadcast platform, the most likely to compete with the "Mist Theater" in the field of suspense is Youku, and the birth of its "Suspense Theater" is even earlier than the "Mist Theater". In the annual film list released by Youku a month ago, it is also similar to "Mist Theater", which is an independent circle for this unit, and its attention can be seen.
Whether "Ice Rain and Fire" can continue the glory of "Icebreaker Action", netizens are looking forward to it
Among them, "Ice Rain and Fire", "Cloister Pavilion" and "Gate of Rebirth" can be called leading works. The producer includes the Yunnan Provincial Public Security Department and the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture Public Security Bureau's "Ice Rain and Fire" has no need to say much, Chen Xiao and Wang Yibo's circle of fan strength is beyond doubt, and Fu Dongyu, the director of "Icebreaker Action" who won numerous awards the previous year, took over the guide tube and invisibly increased its gold content. Also what fans have long been talking about is how Wu Zhenfeng, played by Chen Xiao, went from being the best student in the police academy to a drug dealer suspected of murder, and how he completed his self-redemption.
"Cloister Pavilion" and "Gate of Rebirth" have strong Chongqing elements included in them. "Cloister Pavilion", which was already filmed in Chongqing before the Spring Festival last year, has Keigo Higashino's original novel "Cloister Pavilion Murder Incident", and the quality of the story does not seem to be too worried. After Jiang Yuanxing, played by Deng Jiajia, is severely burned, the sunny and handsome Cheng Cheng (Zhang Xincheng) begins to enter her life, and also begins to uncover the hidden feelings behind the fire. Of course, for Chongqing audiences, "Cloister Pavilion" also has a layer of significance is a number of landmarks, from the film flowers exposed a year ago, the South Bank Haitang Creek Tube Building, crown escalator, etc. are all exposed in the play.
"Rebirth" led by Zhang Yi has been developed into a series, and "The Gate of Rebirth" is the second work
And the title of the play tends to be flat "The Gate of Rebirth" is actually not small. As a series of suspense dramas "Rebirth", which was broadcast last year and filmed in Chongqing, it follows many original team members, including lead actor Zhang Yi. This time, Zhang Yi will incarnate as luo jian, the head of the criminal investigation team, who met the genius college student Zhuang Wenjie (Wang Junkai) in the process of investigating the theft of ancient paintings, and then the two began a journey to work together to solve strange cases.
On the side of the "goose factory" Tencent, it is not surprising that Pan Yueming and Zhang Yuqi will continue to sit in the "Yunnan Worm Valley of the Ghost Blowing Lights" will meet with the audience during the year. With the intervention of the Guan Hu team, the quality of this series has no need to worry. Duan Yihong and Dapeng's "Double Detective" starring as the double male protagonist is already eye-catching just because it is adapted from real people and real events. At the same time, "Babel Tower" starring Qin Junjie and Deng Jiajia and the costume detective "Zhang Gong Case" starring Jing Bairan and Song Weilong have also been stared at by fans for a long time.
Resources are increasing and competition is intensifying
If you compare the episodes that have been broadcast last year, some viewers may feel that this year's suspense drama market is somewhat flat. Halfway through 2021, a work that has been called has not been said, and the high-heat IP in the list of to be broadcast is also every two. Not necessarily...
Youku's "suspense theater" this year has "Cloister Pavilion" and Zhang Yi sitting in town
First of all, judging from the list of "Misty Theater" films released by iQiyi and the starring lineup, although it remains to be seen whether there can still be works like "The Hidden Corner" and "The Silent Truth", one thing is confirmed: it continues the tradition of high-heat casts. Looking at the 7 plays, Zhao Liying, Duan Yihong, Hao Lei, Li Yifeng... Which one is not a first-line level? And Youku has thought of making last year's well-known "Rebirth" into a series, and there are movie cafes such as Zhang Yi, who has the acting skills of "Fengshen Shen", which is really a bit of a dimensionality reduction for other online dramas.
Through the screen, it is not difficult to find that the competition of suspense themes has extended to the background; and the practice of "dimensionality reduction" is also reflected in the team behind the scenes. Needless to say, the "Ghost Blowing Lights" series has harvested a wave of word-of-mouth last year. In this year's upcoming drama, the director invited by "Who is the Murderer" is Sun Hao, and his last highlight masterpiece is the costume drama "Qing Yu Nian", which almost brushed the screen in 2019, and Cao Dun, the director of "The Twelve Hours of Chang'an", should also have a new work "Wild Hunting" to be broadcast this year. There is also a "Rose Walker" in the Youku film list, and the executive producer writes Han Sanping.
At the same time, due to the popularity of the entire theme, the copyright competition for good suspense stories and novels is also becoming increasingly fierce. According to industry insiders, although the producers have regarded it as a trade secret and have never been disclosed, the copyright fee of a single work is as high as tens or millions of dollars, which is almost an open secret in the industry.
Compared with last year's overnight hit, this year's suspense drama PK may not be so eye-catching, but the "spark" of the duel bursting out is definitely not to be underestimated.
Upstream News Chongqing Morning News reporter Qiu Jinyi