Becky

Completely agree with you on the kdramas selections:- You Who Came from the Stars, Hotel Del Luna, Mystic Pop-up Bar *hearts* But still, I've only gave these dramas 9.5 ratings (there are a few episodes which are a bit boring, hence -0.5). My watched cdramas are very different from yours... I've only made 1x 10 rating at MDL so far, and that is for The Long Night. It is a very heavy drama, but highly recommended to watch for the acting and story (only 12 episodes).

Have you watched any detective, mystery dramas? I like Miss S and Maiden Holmes (light-hearted with good mysteries). My Roommate is a Detective is not bad too.... Any recommendations? ^_^

Wow...... since I joined MDL, this is the first 2 star rating *_*

221 dramas in 2 years! Impressive! But curious, which are your favorite dramas?

Same, I almost drop the drama at ep 2 or 3. Then I watch some BTS and interviews on YouTube. They are a real-life couple! With that knowledge, I continue to watch and realize the way they look at each other, esp at the intimate scenes, are very revealing! Really like a young couple in love with each other. At 1 interview when he was asked to name a negative trait on the FL, but could only think of positive words for her, that was so sweet~~ Besides the annoying part of FL is actually the high pitch screaming (voice dub), her acting is okay.

I came upon this drama by accident last Dec. Was searching for something for my mother to watch, chance upon this on Netflix. She was laughing so hard that I stopped my work to check it, and I was hooked! This drama reminds me of Go Princess Go-- similar exaggerated acting with a much better plot and script. This drama has everything! There's BGL, BL and GL, and even a brief transvestite scene. It included all the tropes about falling in love in cdramas, and managed to include in a concert too.
Yet, it has its serious parts as well. With the strong acting cast, the serious scenes are well executed. Like the love between Ling-er and Boran.
Just waiting for season 2 :)

I'm at ep 7 :) love the drama so far, just a bit annoyed with the way the present and past timelines overlap. I understand this style of editing is to maintain the suspense and tension of the narrative, but it might have overdone it.

If you understand chinese, can watch the drama at 胖子视频 https://m.pangzitv.com/vod-play-id-75756-src-1-num-1.html
In 1080p and no ads

From the reviews that I've read so far, the main attractions of this drama are 1) good acting and 2) realism. Other then the shocking beginning, plot seems predictable and slow moving. Not everyone's cup of tea ;)

===EDIT===
Just binged 4 episodes, excellent drama **heart emoji** Much credit should go to the directors and editing team! The drama narrative is in 2 timelines (Present and Past) and these are not shown in chronological order. If you are not a native Chinese, it is best that you write down the characters' names and their relationships with each other, like a mind map. So that you are not lost in the narrative, as the editing team mixes these up. I guess the drama is shown in this manner to maintain the suspense of the plot.

You probably prefer the light-hearted dramas... Me too. Thinking to watch this, but also thinking it might be too heavy for my liking....

Thank You. Will save this drama for later

Hi, this is on my "to watch list". Just hesitating because the premise seems like a very heavy and serious mystery thriller.... I adore Miss S and Maiden Holmes, which are more light-hearted. Is there any comedy in the script?

Detective L.... it is okay. It gets 6.5 rating because of Bai Yu, I think. I didn't like the format in Detective L, they make every case 3 episodes which gets draggy for some cases (some cases were sooo obvious who is the killer and how it was done, but they dragged it to fill up 3 episodes). And having watched the FL in The Heiress, she was under-utilized in Detective L. The Heiress has got a bad 2nd half, but the first 16, 18 episodes are still worth to watch :)

For other crimes/mystery dramas, if you don't mind heavier focus on romance, the recently ended Maiden Holmes is worth a watch. The murder cases are not bad and has a happy ending with full closure :)) I'm also thinking to watch Light on series: Crimson River (this is a mystery thriller). Mainly for Una You, she was impressive in The Heiress and the character she plays here is complete opposite to The Heiress ;) But the reviews have been quite bad, and it is said to have a slooow start.

I don't really remember much about the cases in Detective L (it was last year), only that the murderers are quite obvious in a few of the cases because it got draggy. And I really didn't like the ending in Detective L :( it better have a 2nd series because too many loose ends. However it is still worth a watch because of Bai Yu , so handsome and in similar Guardian dressing ;p

To answer your question, if you want similar mystery dramas that are released recently, I would recommend Maiden Holmes. It has a nice balance of mysteries, romance and comedy. There's others too, but I haven't watch them all. Oh oh, you should check out A Murderous Affair in Horizon Tower. Reviews have been good. Here's the drama review by AvenueX https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlMFYJDh6TQ&t=251s She makes it sound very exciting :) and the drama got an 8.3 rating in China, impressive score

Try at DramaCool https://www3.dramacool.movie/drama-detail/my-roommate-is-a-detective this site doesn't have region restrictions, just annoying pop-up ads

They will release it with eng sub on HBO

HBO is a cable channel, and HBO Go is their mobile app for video streaming. It mainly shows Hollywood productions, but it has extended to include Asia shows in recent years. It bought the rights to Miss S for international telecast. Maybe this news article will help to understand better ==> https://www.lionheartv.net/2020/08/new-hbo-asia-original-miss-s-to-premiere-later-this-year/

Lol, 90s is still the time of the 56k modem ;p

Appreciate your comment! Totally agree with you ^_^ Just starting on this drama now..... Having watched other detective cdramas that are set in Old Shanghai times, I have to remind my mind to overlook alot of the inaccuracies in this drama. I enjoy this drama for the fast pace and outlandish crime scenes. But honestly, the fast mystery solving and complicated crime scenes do not fit in those times at all!! And I've not seen such a young police superintendent and young headlines journalist, not in that era.... I understand Chu Sheng was promoted to that position because of Boss Bai, but surely, such a big boss would have other capable subordinates who are older, putting such a young man in such a high position would create too much talk

Since they have taken such drastic artistic decisions (creative license), I have tuned my brain off the smaller errors and focusing on the mysteries, if I can solve it before they reveal the answers.

I recommend you to watch Miss S. It is similar detective drama set in old Shanghai era, and the production team and cast made a better effort to incorporate the culture and nuances of those times into the script.

Me too, at least in the initial episodes. But now I'm at ep 10, and she is getting on my nerves.... I hope there is character development soon and she would stop the "my way or the highway" spoiled brat behavior

Then get HBO Go subscription (Miss S license rights for overseas is sold to HBO , that's probly why Eng subs are excluded in the China release).

Having watched Detective L, Miss S and now watching My Roommate is a Detective (didn't watch it earlier as I was not familiar with the 3 leads), I would rate Miss S as the best, follow by Detective L and My Roommate.

Yet, yet, yet...... The 3 dramas ratings in China:- Detective L is 6.5, Miss S is 6.7 and My Roommate is 7.2 *speechless emoji*

Hi Hi! Thank you for replying back! It is very courageous to watch the drama w/o a good grasp of Chinese. FYI, Ding's female student is not the mother of the deceased daughter. This was not stated in the drama but the implication is there.... Still they could have done better in the finale. The way he escaped from the mortuary, that is so insane! I want to see the action sequence for that, lol! His aunt came to verify his dead body, and he got up and killed her and escaped?? So many factors could have gone wrong: if aunt came too early and he had not woke up from the drug, or he miscalculated the dosage and was burned alive?? And the aunt never screamed when he murdered her? He had no tools on him too, just waking up from comatose, yet had strength to twist her neck and kill her?? And Ding kept saying his daughter was only asleep, so I was expecting to see her mummified body.... Most part of the drama cases are logical and believable, except this grand finale *facepalm* But still, overall it is a very good detective drama. When compare to My Roommate is a Detective, Miss S has much, much better actors who worked on how to talk, walk and behave like someone in Old Shanghai times. It is also better than Detective L, becos Detective L restrict itself to 3 episodes per case, so some cases dragged unnecessarily. WASFIL.... I like it until the last few episodes >_<

Let's hope the production team will do a 2nd Miss S series! The poster seems to imply so.... if you look at the Chinese words, after 探 there seems to be a 1? (well, it looks like a woman figure but can also be read as 1) Besides, that closed room murder with ML's mentor, there is definitely more to it!

Oh yes, I was disappointed too, that it got only 6.7 rating in China...... The crazy part is My Roommate got 7.2 ??!! I guess a younger cast with a faster plot pace is more attractive to the viewers.... plus BL is trending in China, and My Roommate has 2 young & handsome male leads.