Chasing Dramas
Karen and Cathy explain cultural and historical references episode by episode in popular Chinese historical dramas as well as Chinese pop culture news. The podcast is in English with proper nouns and phrases spoken in Mandarin Chinese. Currently, they are discussing The Story of Yanxi Palace. Completed dramas/movies include: The Story of Ming Lan, Empresses in the Palace, Royal Nirvana, Palace (2013 film), and Mulan (2020 Disney movie) among others.
Episodes
Karen and Cathy introduce the other 18 ladies competing in Season 5 of Ride the Wind/Sisters Who Make Waves for 2024.
In episode 43, Xiao Gui successfully kidnaps the Emperor. The remaining factions, especially the Right Chancellor, begin plotting to seize power and begin moving their pawns in the city of Chang An. Only the Crown Prince is genuinely worried about his father's safety. Xiao Gui discovers that deceit from Tan Qi and threatens to kill everyone but is distracted by guards searching the city. The Emperor manages to escape and is now...
Season 5 of Ride the Wind (formerly Sisters Who Make Waves) started airing on April 19. This popular reality tv show airing on Hunan tv/Mango Tv brings together a diverse group of women who compete to create a "girl group" at the end of the competition. We introduce 18 of the 36 contestants in this episode and will follow up with the remainder next episode.
In episode 42, Xiao Gui finally slaughters his way to the Emperor where he confronts the man on whether he remembers the 8th squad. The Emperor stands his ground and almost persuades Xiao Gui to abandon his mission. The Emperor shoots his arrow, but thanks to Zhang Xiao Jing, the explosion does not go off as planned.
Now that we know what "hua" or "hua dan" means for Chinese actresses, who are discussed on the various lists of flowers? Karen goes over some actresses most generally discussed as part of the 85 flowers, the 90 flowers and 95 flowers for Chinese actresses.
Tensions rise at the Emperor's banquet as Director He finally confronts the Emperor on how he is running his empire. Director He tries to kill the Right Chancellor, exclaiming that he is a corrupt presence. The Emperor though dismisses all of these claims. Zhang Xiao Jing part ways with Xiao Gui as the latter heads to the Palace to confront the Emperor. Li Bi escapes and persuades the Crown Prince to protect the Emperor
Karen and Cathy are here with the latest Chinese dramas in April! We have Blossoms in Adversity starring Hu Yi Tian and Zhang Jing Yi. There's Best Choice Ever with Yang Zi and Xu Kai. We have a remake of the original Chinese Paladin game with Paladin Legend. Zhang Bin Bin stars in this new medical drama Live Surgery Room. A new drama with Li Xian called Shooting Stars will begin airing in the middle of the month. Listen more f...
Zhang Xiao Jing finally heads up to the Lantern tower and sees the true identity of Long Bo - his fellow soldier from the 8th squad, Xiao Gui. Swiftly, Zhang Xiao Jing chokes Li Bi to death before discussing with Xiao Gui why he's on today's path. Meanwhile, the Emperor is making the Crown Prince's life difficult again and Cheng Sen is discovering more clues about Xu Bin's involvement in tonight's events.
We're providing an introduction to the Flowers or Hua in the Chinese entertainment industry. Why are certain actresses called Flowers and others aren't? What's the history of this name and who are the top Flowers? Listen to our latest episode to find out!
Wen Ran finds Zhang Xiao Jing in the Lantern Tower and she implores him to leave Chang An with her. He, however, is adamant he wants to stay in Chang An to protect its people. He wishes for Wen Ran to stay because it is what his fallen brothers hoped for on the battlefield.
We get flashbacks now of when Zhang Xiao Jing was a soldier defending the border. He and his fellow soldiers were faced with low morale, no food and no reinforcements. But ultimately, they decided to not retreat or give up.
A slew of new dramas just began airing in March so we wanted to do a mid-month update!
- Burning Flames starring Ren Jia Lun and Xing Fei.
- In Blossoms starring Ju Jing Yi and Liu Xue Yi.
- Simple Days starring Tong Yao and Chen Xiao.
- The Legend of Shen Li starring Zhao Li Ying and Lin Geng Xin
- War of Faith starring Wang Yi Bo and Li Qin
With so many stars gracing our screens, listen to our thoughts on these drama...
Zhang Xiao Jing is making his way up the lantern tower but is met with an tough decision. Who does he save? The civilians in the square? Or the Emperor.
Zhang Xiao Jing finally makes it into the grand lantern and is closer to see his adversary of the night. The Crown Prince and the Right Chancellor square off in front of the Emperor in the Flower Sepal Tower. Meanwhile, back at Jing An Si, Cheng Sen offers his services to investigate the case in order to not be a scapegoat for today's events.
A slew of new dramas began airing in February and March including Eternal Brotherhood, The Hunter, Always on the Move, Judge Dee’s Mystery, White Cat Legend, Pegasus, Detective Chinatown 2, and Everyone Loves Me. Karen and Cathy have begun chasing several of these dramas. Listen to our latest episode to see what we think about them!
Karen and Cathy discuss the the critically acclaimed sci-fi drama Three Body or 三体. As one of the first mainstream Science Fiction dramas that aired in China in 2023, it boasts a great source material, strong cast, and heavy investment. We discuss how the drama faired when it first aired and our thoughts about the drama itself. Listen and let us know your experience with Three Body.
This podcast is sponsored by JubaoTV
The Emperor holds court and asks about an embassy for the ambassador from Little Patola. Here, the Prince of Yong and the Right Chancellor start a verbal spat with the Crown Prince and Director He on the true nature of how the land was procured. We finally learn what happened that bloody day months ago that landed Zhang Xiao Jing on death row. Meanwhile, Tan Qi requests aid from Yan Yu Huan to save Zhang Xiao Jing while he travels ...
The Spring Festival Gala had plenty of winners but there was one big loser caught everyone's attention. Bai Jing Ting's shenanigans during his performance with Wei Da Xun and Wei Chen drew ire from social media and he has since been flooded with negative press. Listen to our latest podcast episode to find out what he did! Elsewhere, the Chinese box office has been chugging along with one big breakout in Jia Ling's lates...
Zhang Xiao Jing learns that Long Bo's true target might be the giant lantern tower built for the Emperor for the Lantern Festival. Meanwhile, we finally get to meet the famed Yan Tai Zhen aka Consort Yang Yu Huan of history and the Emperor Tang Xuan Zong at Hua E Tower during the strike of midnight.
Karen and Cathy share our thoughts about the most recent cultural phenomenon of Blossoms Shanghai (繁花) starring Hu Ge (胡歌), Ma Yi Li (马伊利), Tang Yan (唐嫣), and Xin Zhi Lei (辛芷蕾). The drama was hit as viewers flocked to the screens to see the first TV drama helmed by famed director Wang Kar Wai. He presents a beautiful vision of Shanghai that admittedly took us some time to fully immerse ourselves in. Listen to our thoughts and go wa...
Popular Podcasts
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.
Anna Sale explores the big questions and hard choices that are often left out of polite conversation.
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people.
A straightforward look at the day's top news in 20 minutes. Powered by ABC News. Hosted by Brad Mielke.