Becky

If you mean TW dramas that are slice-of-life and less intense, Someday or One Day is a good start. It is a very well balance drama with romance, friendship, mystery, etc.. Other dramas that you can check out are A Thousand Good Nights, The Making of an Ordinary Woman, and Meet Me @ 1006.

If you like romance, In A Good Way (that has been mentioned), Back to 1989, Bromance, A Taiwanese Tale of Two Cities, and Refresh Man.

Hi, original network should be HBO Asia, but as this selection is unavailable, I have chosen one of the partner platform: Viu. The director, screenwriter and executive producer are not in MDL database too -_-" May ref https://www.filmpolicereviews.com/the-taiwanese-crime-drama-trinity-of-shadows-is-making-its-way-to-hbo-asia for the drama details.

Thank You for the additional dramas rec!! I probably used the wrong approach to source on good Taiwanese dramas, should have checked comments posted at some YT drama reviews instead... Just found Meet Me @ 1006, The Fearless, which seems just as good.

I was thinking to do a separate article on Taiwanese movies, which includes the ones that you have mentioned (except for Your Name Engraved Herein... not sure if MDL guidelines allowed this), The Silent Forest, Who Killed Cock Robin... etc.

Thank you for pointing this out! I was relying on The Ghost Bride MDL page that states it as Taiwanese production, and an online article that included Ghost Bride in its list of recommended Taiwanese dramas... thought they had only shoot it on location in Malaysia ^^"

I grew up on Taiwanese serials too, those days were mostly angsty romance and melodramas. It is refreshing to watch these new dramas that focus less on romance and more on life. TVG is my personal fav not for the plot, but for what production is trying to say through it... Hope you would like it too! :)

Thank you, when there are no more new comments, I will list down all the additional recommended titles into 1 comment post to add at the top. Unfortunately once an article is published, we can't make further changes.

To answer your question, I have only got back into watching TW dramas about 6 months ago. I'm probably more familiar with the older works than the recent ones, so the list in my article is not exhaustive nor comprehensive.

I am a big fan of fantasy and have watched all the Novoland dramas and mini-movie. Even so, I'm only vaguely aware of its origins. Thank you for this very detailed researched article ^^

Welcome! Ah, Cat's Cradle is actually "The Bad Kids" (MDL gave it a different url name).

Since you like thrillers, can check out The Long Night, and Burning Ice too. These 2 are good investigative mystery dramas.

Yes, that is a good drama too!

Ahh you gave some different recs! Haven't heard of A Boy Called Flora A and Close Your Eyes Before It's Dark, will check these out. Thanks!

I read your comment about an hour ago and still thinking about it ^^ I have always preferred their melodramas and tragedies more than comedy.... There are 2 rom-coms that I saw 3, 4 yrs back that I really like, but they are not in the popular list and I cannot remember the titles... So I would go with the popular recommendations for light-hearted Taiwanese dramas:- The Making of an Ordinary Woman (a heartwarming, realistic slice-of-life drama), Bromance (a girl who was brought up as a boy because of a fortune teller's prophecy), Murphy's Law of Love (the love life of a matchmaking company's love guru), A Taiwanese Tale of Two Cities (2 friends who swapped homes with each other), and Refresh Man (cold-face CEO ML and sweet FL-- I saw a few eps of this and it is not bad).

And while searching online, I chanced upon Baby Daddy. Looks like a heartwarming, slice-of-life drama with comedy, but I don't think this has subs.

Yes, I agree with you ^^ Taiwan local productions are usually quite raw, but there is an earnestness in their storytelling. Thanks to partnering with international networks, we get to see the above 4 mentioned dramas-- better polished and still keeping the sincerity, dedication in the storytelling.

Ah ^^" yes, I really should have used Traditional Chinese for the titles. Am more comfortable with Simplified Chinese, that my brain automatically translates Traditional characters to Simplified (like how I have missed the fact that the drama posters are in Traditional Chinese)... Will take note should I write any more articles on Taiwanese dramas and films. Thanks for pointing this out!

I watched it on Netflix :)

Hi! For those who have seen Someday or One Day, do check out this movie Miao Miao. It features Alice Ke in similar high school student role, and most of the scenes take place in a music shop too! I have been hunting for this movie since last year but it is only recently uploaded at DramaCool (with Eng subs). It is fun to see Alice Ke in a high school student role, but 10 years ago ^_^

Although the MDL rating is quite bad, my opinion is the viewers were expecting some big love story... This movie is about first loves-- that first attractions, that sweet and lost feelings, that getting to know each other moments, and the movie did this quite well.

https://kisskh.at/1860-miao-miao (I posted a review too, but be warned it is full of spoilers)

It is true that the productions quality are quite uneven, but I guess that applies everywhere, not all kdramas are great too ^^"
I haven't seen Gloomy Salad Days and Black & White. Thank you for the recommendations!

Thank you ^^ You should give these dramas a try. Unlike cdramas, they are short, 13 episodes and less (the 4 that I mentioned), and approximately 1 hour per ep (except for On Children, which is 1.5 hr per ep). Enjoy!

Hi se0ulmate!! ** hi-5 ** glad to find someone like-minded \o/

I completely agree to what you say on k, cdramas, and would like to add that although jdramas has very good storytelling and have some relatable slice-of-life stories too, they tend to be touch-n-go.

Good contemporary Chinese dramas from China... Have you watched Hikaru no Go (2020)? I know this is based on a Japanese manga, but the director and scriptwriter have adapted the story well into China's context. It is a very good youth and coming of age drama, about 2 unlikely people, how they accepted each other (due to the forced situation) and learn from each other. The mentor-student relationship and character developments are very convincingly portrayed https://kisskh.at/45437-qi-hun

Some others that I like (but I haven't watch them all.... I have a weakness for fantasy and historical dramas, and been spending time in these genres)

https://kisskh.at/29068-imagine-me-without-you (this is based on a real life couple)
https://kisskh.at/33767-crossfire (gaming + time-traveling + friendships)
https://kisskh.at/65373-minning-town (... love the acting and art direction)
https://kisskh.at/51571-cat-s-cradle (it won over The Victims' Game at Busan awards)
https://kisskh.at/37243-a-murderous-affair-in-horizon-tower (mystery suspense)
https://kisskh.at/49879-living-toward-the-sun (this is a good combo of slice-of-life + medical stories + relationships + romance)

They are several other good cdramas too, which I can't really recall rn ^^"

I can only find it with Eng, Malay subs at CatchPlay.com
CatchPlay is for South East Asia viewers, if you are not here, you would have to use VPN to access the site. You can watch it free after creating user account.

Thanks! Btw, all 4 dramas have Eng subs, although only Someday or One Day and The Victims' Game are available at free sites. The World Between Us is a HBO Asia production... I downloaded it off a torrent site which has unfortunately been closed. The Victims' Game and On Children are Netflix productions.