"Young Blood 2", "Strange Tales of the Tang Dynasty" lead the way as 12 new costume suspense mystery dramas kick off a new trend

Last September, when "Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty" was just launched, the industry said "costume suspense mystery drama, long time no see". Unexpectedly, only a short interval of ten months, more than ten ancient costume mystery drama lineup ready.

 

In the history of Chinese dramas, costume suspense dramas have had quite dazzling results. From the 1990s series "Justice Bao", to the millennium Hong Kong drama "Witness To A Prosecution" series, to "Young Justice Bao", "Detective Dee", "Judge of Song Dynasty", this genre can be said to wade out of a straight path not losing the historical drama.

 

Unfortunately, in recent years, the ancient costume suspense detective drama has always been lukewarm. The emergence of dramas such as “Youngblood” and “ancient detecive” has brought the genre back to the forefront of the industry. The achievements and hotness of "Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty", on the other hand, let people see the ancient costume suspense mystery drama thick and thin.

 

And so, here comes everyone.

 

 

Currently, costume suspense mystery dramas present four sub-genres: chi-fi, romance, female-oriented and historical legends. Among these sub-genres, the comedy element is again an essential presence.

 

Why do costume suspense mystery dramas need to be deeply bound to other elements? Because the traditional suspense mystery model has entered a dead end. The audience wants more and more. Just like the Tang Dynasty's "Records of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty", the story of the Tang Monk's quest for the scriptures is still based on the strange stories of his journey to the west; in the Song and Yuan Dynasties' "Poems of the Tang Dynasty’s Sanzang on his quest for the scriptures", the gods, demons, and monsters are all gathered together.

 

This is also in line with the trend of "genre+" that is popular among platforms. In the current trend of more and more obvious categories and diversification, one more element may pull in a group of viewers. The movie and TV industry can never have too many "hits". We have counted 12 pending costume suspense mystery dramas, and their performance in the coming years may influence the fate of the entire genre.

 

A new variant of the traditional detective: walk or stay

 

Traditional costume detective dramas, represented by dramas such as "Detective Dee", are somewhat similar to Western road movies.The biggest difference is that the former is about going somewhere to solve something, while the latter is about solving something in passing on the way to somewhere. At present, the costume suspense mystery drama, is also gradually shifting to the road movie.

 

The most typical representative of this type of work, namely, "Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty's Journey to the West". As you can tell from the name, this drama takes place on a westward journey. The previous Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty was an eastward banishment, traveling from Chang'an to Nanzhou, Ninghu and then Luoyang. This time it goes west, and three thousand miles west of Chang'an is the Hexi Corridor.

 

Westward Journey of the Tang Dynasty is also written by screenwriter Wei Fenghua. The main characters are still Lu Lingfeng (played by Yang Xuwen) and Su Wuming (played by Yang Zhigang) from the previous movie, and the road ahead is dangerous and fearless. The concept poster shows men and horses running through a sandstorm.

 

Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty

 

Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty is not a costume suspense drama in the traditional sense. Screenwriter Wei Fenghua said the initial script didn't even have a detective element. It was originally going to be adapted into a four-part movie, focusing on the chi-fi monster genre. However, the story of the monster is naturally compatible with suspense and crime detection, so the integration is half the battle.

 

The previous work was initially scheduled for nine cases, and after the script was finalized, Guo Jingyu and Wei Fenghua discussed taking out "Hell Changes", which was not in the right direction. If there is no accident, this unit will become the opening chapter of the "Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty's Journey to the West".

 

Su Wuming, the protagonist of Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty's Journey to the West, is Dee's disciple, while the protagonist of The Case of Dee Dee in the Great Tang Dynasty is Dee. Adapted from the novel of the same name by Dutch writer Robert Hans van Gulik, the book consists of 24 stories about Dee's work in solving cases in the states, counties and the capital, so numerous that it surely can't be shown all at once. In the past, there have been a handful of movie and television productions featuring Dee as the protagonist. Whether or not it can push the boundaries is the key to breaking the mold.

 

Wu Gang, the producer of "Judge Di's Mystery", has introduced in an interview that there are 15 cases in this drama, and the main characters of each case will be starred by famous actors and actresses, which makes the whole drama a very powerful lineup. Hopefully, the story rhythm, image texture can create a "China’s Sherlock Holmes" effect.

 

Judge Di's Mystery

 

According to sources, this is also a headline project which warps up as a copyrighted drama.

 

In addition to the "Big men travel around and do justice to the commons" type of investigation, the “fixed office” has also become a new feature of the ancient costume mystery drama. This is, in a way, much like the Ma Boyong style mystery drama. The “Luoyang”, "The Wind Blows From Longxi" and the first half of the broadcast of the "Under the Microscope", are "stationed" type of case. A typical example of this is "Ripe Town".

 

“Ripe Town" is about a murder case in the county of Du in the 37th year of the Wanli reign of the Ming dynasty. Its protagonist is Qu Sanguan (played by Bai Yufan), a constable in a small southern county during the Wanli period, who decides to cleave through the wind and rain in order to find out the truth about the unsolved case twenty years ago. This drama still follows the path of a small man shaking up a big system, with solving the murder case as the main mission, which then leads to the characters from all walks of life.

 

Ripe Town

 

The White Cat Casebook, on the other hand, is stationed in Luoyang. This drama is based on the highly rated national manga "The Young Secretary of the DaLisi", whose original protagonist was a cat. The drama tells the story of Li Bing, a white cat appreciated by the Queen, who is appointed as the Secretary of the Da Lisi. Under the leadership of Li Bing, all the people of the DaLisi are able to clear the mysteries of the capital, and adhere to the inner justice in the support of each other.

 

However, from the released stills and previews, the real cat should become the kind of chamberlain. In the special feature, director Wang Wei said that the drama is about a group of young boys who are trying to overcome evil.

 

Also taking the route of teenage growth, there is the "Young Blood 2", the screenwriter is still Wang wei. The storybook of this drama picks up where the last season left off, with the protagonists still being the six teenagers of the Seventh Lodge of the Secret Pavilion. Only, this time the location of the office has changed from the former Secret Pavilion (a school drama) to a tougher and more brutal enemy country (a spy drama).

 

Young Blood 2

 

Pan-suspense: Fantasy and Romance march hand in hand

 

Among the 12 costume mystery dramas, there are many involving mysterious forces.“The Demon Hunter's Romance"focuses on demon hunters.The one that hides deeper is “Tiger and Crane”. The name of  “Tiger and Crane”  it reminds people of Hong Kong's "dragon and tiger martial arts master", but more than the martial arts master, the demon master can really catch ghosts and demons. Romance". This drama also “The Demon Hunter's Romance"focuses on demon hunters.

 

Adapted from the national manga “Tiger and Crane Demon Master Records”, “Tiger and Crane” presents a moving story of a group of teenagers who fight against a legion of demons that seek to destroy the earth for the sake of dreams, love, and responsibility, at the risk of self-sacrifice.

 

Coincidentally, it's about teenagers’ growth again.

 

This is not to say that there are a lot of followers after "Young Blood" go viral, but the main perspective of national comics, which has young boys and girls as its main audience, is originally linked to teenage growth. Thus adapted from the movie and television works, naturally will not easily change course. This year's martial arts drama about teenagers growing up, "The Blood of Youth", is also very hot in Youku.

 

Based on the novel "Half Summer" by Half Ming Half Mei, “The Demon Hunter's Romance" tells the story of demon hunter Xuan Night (played by Ren Jialun) and a young girl, Half Summer (played by Song Zu’er), who experience strange and unsolved crimes in a world where humans and demons coexist. As you can tell from the introduction, this is a romance-based drama, with mystery detection being only one element.

 

The Demon Hunter's Romance

 

Other "suspense+" dramas that are also based on love are “Mysterious Lotus Casebook” and “Follow Your Heart”. The former is adapted from Fuji Ping's novel "Lotus House with Auspicious Tattoos", which tells the story of Li Xiangyi (played by Cheng Yi), the master of the Sigu Men, who is seriously injured and goes into hiding, becoming doctor Li Lotus, who is indifferent to fame and fortune, and then becomes involved in the jianghu after encountering a new acquaintance and an old enemy.

 

A team of three people cracking jokes and working together to solve crimes is a kind of "new wine in old bottles" game that has emerged in recent years. In the past, Gu Long also wrote this kind of work, the most representative is "Lu Xiaofeng Legend" series. The setting of the martial arts master returning to the jungle in anonymity and hiding again is also a bit of “Nirvana in Fire”, "The Untamed" flavor.

 

“Follow Your Heart” tells the story of the king of the court and the chief constable Jiang Xinbai (played by Luo Yunxi) accidentally met Jianghu wandering doctor Yan Nanxing (played by Song Yi) when investigating the case, and the two of them went through a "three times being together, three breakups" of the marvelous marriage.

 

There are no ghosts or demons in "The Mutations", but there is a plague that is even more frightening. The story centers around a strange disease in Liaodong during the Tianqi period of the late Ming Dynasty. Royal Guards Chu Sijing (played by Huang Xuan) goes north alone to investigate the truth. From the trailer, it looks like a "zombie siege". No wonder some people are calling it a domestic version of “The Kingdom”.

 

The drama is adapted from Ma Boyong's novel of the same name and directed by Lu Yang, the director of “A Writer's Odyssey” and “The Wind Blows From Longxi”. While Ma Boyong's costume suspense dramas are characterized by a high density of detail and a strong sense of image, Lu Yang's style combines a strong dark flavor with anti-utopian references. The combination of the two is still quite promising.

 

The Mutations

 

Among the costume suspense mystery dramas waiting to be aired, the theme of female growth is worth mentioning. Although the female perspective has long been a staple of urban and costume dramas, putting it into the realm of suspense mystery is still new. 2021's costume suspense drama “The Imperial Coroner” features a female coroner, Chu Chu (played by Su Xiaotong).

 

The story of “Under the Moonlight”is about Luo Shu (Hu Bingqing), an ill-fated female constable, who teams up with Qi Menglin (Zhai Zilu), a playboy who wants to travel the world, to solve strange cases, and grow up knowing and loving each other.

 

Interestingly, most of the cases they work on involve women, and every time they see a poor woman in distress, Luo Shu does his best to bring them justice. It's a projection of modern values that fits in with contemporary aesthetics.

 

“Faithful” is based on the novel of the same name by Douban reader Li Thin Cocoon. This is an ancient embroidery building version of the "The Long Night h" style story: the embroidery girl Lin Rulan sued the owner of the embroidery building to no avail, and had no choice but to kill herself to prove her innocence. Her best friend has been working undercover for seven years, and has saved up the "Nine Righteous People" to assemble a revenge team, swearing to return her best friend's innocence.

 

The prosperity of the genre does not necessarily bring success, but quantity is the key to quality. We look forward to the costume detective drama this former "top stream", can return to the heyday.