WK1

The 3W3L trope, especially, way over used by many authors. Latest two xianxia dramas, NPE and MTC, performed below expectations. All signs of Xianxia fatigue.

With each Xianxia drama, viewers' expectations of good CGI also keep
rising.

I will not say it is a dying genre. Just going to be harder and harder to please viewers.

There will be xianxia novels out there, but producers will be more cautious in attempting adaptations.

I am bit concerned, if his air time is minimal. As this is Reba's first foray into this genre, if too much burden is placed on her relatively young shoulders, whether this will cause her too much stress. Also, I remember that Crimecrackdown was virtually 'carried' by many of the well known veterans. And Da Wei is definitely more of a veteran, compared to Reba.

I don't think the scriptwriter will allow Da Wei to over shadow Reba. Even the main poster shows 4 females as main characters, so yah, it should definitely give the limelight to all the ladies, Reba chief among them.

I am hoping for at least around 20% air time to be given to his character (and many of other veterans), so that it will draw in the older viewers. Especially, since this drama will be shown on national TV in China. Reba and the younger cast can have 80, and it would still be heavily female-centric.

Anyway, we do not know what the actual numbers will be like, as all our discussion is based on conjectures.

Just a short note to all Reba fans. After TBW, we should be waiting for Legend of Anle.

A few days ago, some of us just knew of her new project. We waited on that page for more than a month, before it was finally confirmed that she would take the role. It is modern drama of the legal/investigative genre, something totally new to her. We are naturally very excited, as it signals a new direction she wishes to take, new challenges she embraced.

Here is the link. You can join us there, if you wish. The drama just had it booting ceremony two days ago, so some of you may only wish to join us several months down the road.

https://kisskh.at/714313-gong-su-jing-ying

I see! All the more, if Una You's character is a lawyer, she could well be the defense lawyer. While Reba and her assistant try to bring the culprits to justice, Una and her assistant could be defending them. That could be how the scriptwriter will try to generate some drama both in the courtroom and outside of it? Just guessing.

Interestingly, Ball Lightning went to Tong Yao and Wang An Yu. Tong Yao had a number of big hits in 2021 and Wang An Yu was the ML in To Fly to You and did well in that drama.

Not sure if the offer was actually made to Reba; if it was, she must have preferred Prosecution Elite. And, it is a good decision, as this will be on national TV in China. Lots of exposure.

I thought Reset did very well? Very high score in MDL as well as Douban. If they wish to do a sequel, they should keep the leads, since they did well in Reset.

And yes, Una You is likely another lawyer. Perhaps Reba's assistant, or even the defense lawyer. If defense lawyer, their arguments in the courtroom will be very interesting to watch.

Fairly minimum? And he is the ML? That will be quite a shame. Reba should be getting most screen time, going by the title and focus of this drama. But, if Tong Da Wei's character is one that does the investigative work, he should get some decent time.

I totally do not expect any romantic sparks to fly between the two. Their interactions should be the kind we would expect to see in a Law and Order series. As a prosecutor, An Li (Reba's character), will want evidence to prove guilt and win the case in court. Da Wei's character could be one whose probe will provide the evidence. They will need to work together, to bring justice to the victims, so their interaction should be work related, and not of a personal nature.

Totally agree with you. If the script is good, she will still do a Xianxia drama. But, as a genre, Xianxia could well be reaching the end of its popularity. Not sure if there is another good script like TBW. We shall see what is her next project, after this one.

That may still be the case. The airing date of Prosecution Elite in Oct is just a target, even if it is set by CCTV. In the event that they cannot make it on time, which could well be the case, we may only see this in early 2023. And another Reba drama in later part of 2023.

Right now, no need to worry. We see how the filming of this drama goes. See when they wrap up up filming and when they get the airing license. Post production work for a modern drama is much shorter than historical. If they do indeed managed to get airing license by late August or early September, then airing in Oct may indeed come true.

We also wait for Reba's next project, and may not have any news about it, till this one is finished filming.

They should. And lots of people are waiting for a verdict. Especially all his victims.

We can see that Reba is brave enough to do something different. And now, we see a producer who is willing to take that risk with her. This may have a domino effect, and another producer with another 'serious' modern drama may approach her after this.

She needs to a few of such modern dramas, before she can perfect her skills in doing serious modern dramas. Many veterans of this genre, they acted in 4-5 of such dramas before they excel in it.

Reba is a fast learned. Maybe just 1-2 will be enough. It will open up lots of acting opportunities for her and help her gain lots of respect in the entertainment industry.

She needs to pick up the next project quickly, and avoid doing Xianxia. We can see what happened to TBW. Got stuck in post production. As long as the next one is a modern or pure historical drama (not Xianxia), we can still have it by middle or third quarter of next year.

Serve him right, if he is guilty. They have held him for 8 months already? Should have enough time to collect all the evidence and formally charge him and sentence him? But, so far, no updated news on him.

Very useful information.

Ok. Thanks so much! Hope Soangel is reading this as well. I think once this drama is out, there will be clickable Youku icon in "Where to watch" section. And that will lead to the instruction how to subscribe to Youku.

There is a rumour that this will be shown on WeTV as well, which should be free. Let's see if the rumour turns out to be true.

Yes, I do recall you mentioning that you subscribed to Youku. Maybe you can teach Soangel above how to do it? Should not be too difficult.

And Youku does have lots of great dramas this year!

$ 3 a month isn't much at all, even in US $. And yes, we will be having quite a lot of great dramas this year, apart from those that Reba will be acting in. So, well worth it.

Yes, there is no question that Reba is making tons of money just from endorsements. Huge amount. Which is why, it is great that she is buying a house (not sure if we have confirmed she is indeed doing that). With the kind of money she has, she should be getting a personal investment advisor to advise her where best to put her money. Perhaps she already has one.

If the max that an actor can get is 50M RMB per drama, if Reba acts in two dramas a year, that is 100M RMB, which is still a huge amount of money. Plus her endorsement deals, you can imagine the pile of money she is sitting on.

I totally understand your preference. But, if you look at the cast above. All of them are veterans, save for Una You. They likely needed an actress to play Reba's assistant, and Una You will fit the bill just nicely. as compared to a younger actress in her early 20s or someone in late 40s. I am only guessing the role of Una You.

Already, this mix is very different from what Reba is used to. She plays the role of a prosecutor and Tong Dawei is a police inspector, meaning there will be close interaction between the two. At 43, he is far older than Yang Yang or Deng Lun (Sweet Dream). Also, her role is vastly different from all her previous roles. So, that would already guarantee us something different.

Liu Ye, the previously rumoured ML, is a more distinguished actor compared to Tong Da Wei, with a more impressive resume, having even worked with Hollywood A-lister like Meryl Streep. But Tong is the same age as Liu, and is as much a veteran as Liu.

This drama itself is totally different from all previous modern dramas that she has done. So, the interactions between her and her fellow cast members will be totally different from all her previous acting experience. We are bound to see something different.