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Karen and Cathy explain cultural and historical references episode by episode in popular Chinese historical dramas as well as Chinese pop culture news.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 Season 1 of Joy of Life. Completed dramas/movies include: The Story of Yanxi Palace, The Longest Day in Chang'An, The Story of Ming Lan, Empresses in the Palace, Royal Nirvana, Palace (2013 film), and Mulan (2020 Disney movie) among others.
Episodes
Jan 2026 airing Chinese dramas include: Shine on Me 骄阳似我 ft Song Wei Long and Zhao Jin Mai , The Punishment 罚罪2 ft Huang Jing Yu and Wang Chuan Jun, The Unclouded Soul 逍遥 ft Tan Song Yun and Hou Ming Hao, Glory 玉茗茶骨 ft Hou Ming Hao and Gu Li Na Zha and many others!
3 days into 2026, the Chinese entertainment industry was abuzz with the latest bombshells from an influencer "iamroosie". She claims that she has had dalliances with many popular Chinese actors and idols including Lu Han, Lin Geng Xin, Tan Jian Ci, and others. Listen to our latest podcast episode on this explosive news and how it progressed over the past 48 hours!
In our last podcast episode for 2025, Karen and Cathy go over their subjective list of the Chinese actors that were the winners, losers and everything in between in 2025.
In The Know - Chinese Pop Culture News: 2025 C-ent Women's Winners, Losers and Everything in Between
Karen and Cathy go over their subjective list of the Chinese actresses that were the winners, losers and everything in between in 2025.
In episodes 23 and part 1 of episode 24 of S2 of Joy of Life, the Chancellor resigns from his post and leaves the capital towards retirement. However, this journey is not a simple as it seems. Fan Xian must make moves to protect his father-in-law's life but it seems like everyone has been played as a pawn by the Emperor. Listen to our latest podcast episode to learn about the pop culture and history found in this episode!
Zhao Lu Si's Love's Ambition was 2025's top Cdrama both in terms of popularity on Tencent and overall views per episode. We recap what were the other top Chinese dramas this year though we note that the quality and popularity of these dramas lagged prior years.
In episodes 21 + 22 of Joy of Life S2, Fan Xian ensures some fairness for this years Spring Exam results. However, just as he thought all was clear, the conniving He Zong Wei appears with a mysterious woman who accuses Chancellor Lin with the murder of her husband. Fan Xian must confront these accusations only to find that everyone was but a pawn in the Emperor's master plan.
Nov/Dec 2025 Chinese dramas currently airing include season 3 of the gruesome but thrilling Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty: To Chang An which has dominated the streaming charts in November. Dilraba brings us her new modern day supernatural drama, Love on the Turquoise Land alongside Chen Xing Xu. Ren Jia Lun and Peng Xiao Ran starred in Love In Crown but no one really watched it. Chen Xiao stars in Legend of the Magnate in this late...
Fan Xian swaps out candles, water and even builds new latrines to ensure the safety of the students for the Spring exam. He also inspects the officials who are evaluating the exam papers to prevent them from enacting various cheats. However, after all that, there is still one person's paper who was swapped.
X / Twitter caused quite an uproar recently with enabling the feature to disclose the location of the where the post originated. Interestingly, that feature has been a staple of all Chinese social media apps for a few years. Listen to our latest podcast episode on the 2 main unique features of Chinese social media application that meant a completely different viewing and engagement experience between posters and viewers. Happy Than...
The spring exams start under Fan Xian's watch and there are plenty of traps he has to watch out for.
We're back with more movie gossip and tea! The 2025 Golden Rooster Awards were recently held and there was a huge uproar with the winners. Meanwhile, Zootopia 2 is poised be a juggernaut in China but fans are deeply disappointed with the newly announced cast of voice actors. Listen to our latest podcast episode on the latest news and drama about these movies!
Fan Xian ultimately decides to fight for fairness at this year's imperial entrance exam which goes against years of unspoken norms. He asks the Emperor to be his shield for his endeavor and starts to enact his plan
In our latest In the Know episode, we discuss the latest scandals surrounding famed Hong Kong Director Wong Kar-Wai and potential plagiarism during the creation of the 2023 hit drama Blossoms Shanghai. Actress Bai Bai He also caused quite a stir for her cryptic posts during the Tokyo Film Festival. Listen to hear Karen and Cathy latest gossip about these events!
Right now, there is a plethora of Chinese male idol led costume dramas. Gong Jun leads Blood River, Luo Yun Xi leads Whispers of Fate and Cheng Yi leads Sword and Beloved. There are several other dramas we highlight for Oct/Nov 2025 airing Chinese dramas!
In episode 17 of Season 2 of Joy of Life, Fan Xian investigates the new crop of scholars that are preparing themselves for the imperial entrance exams. He uncovers the blatant corruption throughout the process and finds himself the recipient of many bribes as a proctor of the exam. He must decide if there's anything that can be done. Listen to our latest podcast episode on the fun pop culture references found in this episode!
We're moving away from fashion to talk about the top headlines of the past few weeks! 19 year old Rong Zi Shan made a name for himself and not in a good way as he was summoned by police about his physical altercation towards his girlfriend. Hong Kong Actor William Chan announced a surprise baby boy with supermodel He Sui. There's potential martial troubles with Dou Xiao and Laurinda Ho only two years after there multi-milli...
In episode 16 of S2 of Joy of Life, Fan Xian is interrupted by a gang of young aristocrats seeking revenge for the closure of Bao Yue Lou in the name of the 3rd Prince. He waves them off as petty challengers. The Emperor appoints Fan Xian as a new overseer for the upcoming imperial civil service exams, which poses new challenges for Fan Xian. Listen to our latest podcast episode on the history and behind the scenes discussion on th...
Vogue China's Forces In Fashion Gala in Shanghai didn't necessarily wow on the fashion side but had plenty of conversation topics both pre and post event. Liu Yi Fei wowed on the red carpet while actress Zhong Chu Xi is currently being blasted online for her position in a group photo.
Censor Lai brings numerous reprimands and reports of people at court, starting from Fan Xian then moving all the way up to the Emperor. However, actions of Censor Lai stepped over the Emperor's boundary and was given a shocking punishment for his actions.
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