This 
The one who took the bus and shouts out すみません!
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Apart from having watched pretty every Mainland Chinese TV show there is on Netflix (The Rational Life! <3), I really enjoyed the variety show 向往的生活 from HunanTV which is available with Subs on YouTube (“Back to Field ENG SUBS”). The first couple of seasons are SO funny… but then it’s getting a little downhill, probably pandemic-related. Can also recommend the first 2 or 3 seasons from 极限挑战 (Go Fighting!) from Dragon TV.
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Loved “Reset”!
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I have discovered that while I’m not into e-sports, I am into dramas about e-sports. Who knew?! I’ve been hooked on Falling Into Your Smile (你微笑时很美) for about 2 weeks now. I’m pretty sure that that e-sports players don’t commonly look like 许凯 or 程潇, but it’s pretty addictive.
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I am just finishing “The Victim’s Game” 誰是被害者 which I like, quite interesting and well-thought through, although a little graphic sometimes. Plot: “After discovering his estranged daughter’s link to mysterious murders, a forensic detective with Asperger’s syndrome risks everything to solve the case”.
A really good motivator is that I remember trying to watch this last year without English subtitles and failing and abandoning the series. Now I am watching all in Chinese subtitles 
although my pleco dictionary now has a weird amount of vocabulary about dead people/ investigating dead bodies 
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Great question - I think this very much depends on what level your Chinese is at!
For beginners, there’s definitely no shame in watching Chinese Peppa Pig on Youtube (trust me, not as bad as it sounds! The characters always talk about what’s going on right in front of them which can be really helpful when you’re starting out, as there’s virtually no abstract cultural references/niche language)
For anyone who is feeling braver, Light the Night on Netflix has been my favourite this year and to be honest, I’d have enjoyed this murder mystery it even if I couldn’t speak any Chinese! This show is also great for anyone in Taiwan who wants exposure to language that is used more commonly here than in the mainland.
Aaand finally, it’s a bit of a niche one, but if anyone is learning Korean and Chinese, I can’t recommend Twogether any more strongly! It’s a travel documentary/reality show filmed before the pandemic about a Taiwanese and Korean actor who have to work together to travel across Asia and complete challenges to meet their fans in real life. It’s maybe a little more Korean heavy but it’s a super funny show - which I’ve watched all the way through twice 
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We just started watching 天橋上的魔術師 on Netflix. It’s set in Taiwan and is about a group of families who live and have stalls in a street market. It’s hard to describe what it’s about, but I’d say it’s about the everyday life of the kids and families who live there, with some imagination and magic, with storylines about Taiwan during the “white terror” period and a generally more conservative society (so there are stories that confront people being gay in those times, etc).
Also just watched the movie 月老 on Disney+. It is so good, I cried during the film . It’s about the idea of an afterlife where two people need to serve as 月老 (roughly translated as the god of love and matchmaking) in order to allow themselves to regenerate as humans.
Both these are quite high level Chinese. Watching with Chinese subtitles on its own has been a challenge and sometimes I missed things or needed to rewatch it. Also there is small amounts of Taiwanese conversations so had to pay attention to Chinese subtitles. But I really liked both of them, they are really well produced and thought provoking.
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I’ve been going through a phase lately. The Rise of Phoenixes, Ashes of Love, The Untamed, errrrrrr… But I couldn’t watch Eternal Love or Handsome Siblings. It was too Meteor Garden sentimental. I got through the others and currently on Who Rules the World. My favourite of these so far is The Rise of Phoenixes but 最后我也想知道为什么，为什么，为什么。。。啊啊啊 
I liked The Untamed as well, for the same reason: the actors themselves have stronger personalities, they are allowed to show pimples or snot running out their noses, and don’t have such heavy makeup. Actually, I did get through Meteor Garden and Well-Intended Love (series 2 became boring) but eventually got bored with The Rational Life.
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Enjoyed Handsome Siblings and Ashes of Love. My personal favorite is The Untamed. A lot of its literary references and classical grammar, I found to be very interesting, and I learned a lot from both studying the dialogue as well as the series’ visual language. It was a fun “project” during the holidays. Plan to watch The Rise of the Phoenixes at some point when I have the mental bandwidth for it 
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This shorter documentary about Li Bing’s work on the Minjiang River (or should it be just Min River? 江 being River) is an interesting adjunct to watching “Who Rules The World"： The Legendary Li Bing - YouTube because WRTW has many episodes that echo the same plot: constructing a dam and irrigation system in Jingzhou to assist Yongzhou to unify warring states. Apparently the documentary’s costumes are historically accurate. I found it on the Brisbane Chinese Conversation Group’s facebook page.
I am one drama addict for 20 years, I recommened these slice-of-life/family shows as immersion material. For sure costume dramas and romance there are sooo many, so only posting these, which should be easier as immersion without ENG subs:
- Delicious Romance (don’t let the name mislead you, one of my most favourite shows about 3 female friends, this show was one hidden gem in 2021 also very liked by my study male buddies, movie coming this year)
- Go Ahead (family drama)
- Vacation of Love (family drama)
- All is well (family drama, trigger warning, abuse)
- The Bond (family drama)
- Remembrance of Things Past (trigger warning, suicide)
- The First Half of My Life
- Ode to Joy
- A Love So Beautiful
- A Little Thing Called First Love
- Reset (suppernatural, time)
- Someday or One Day (Taiwan, supernatural, time, but very complex story, not easy but wonderful romance)
- Nothing But Thirty
- Go Go Squid! (also some special gaming vocabulary)
- More than Blue (Taiwan, tearjerker)
- Dear Diary (fantasy/modern, hidden gem 2021)
Some crime dramas:
- The Bad Kids
- The Long Night
- Burning Ice
- Hunter 猎狼者
- Under the Skin
- Danger Zone (Taiwan)
- Be Reborn
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Welcome to the Flexi Forum and thanks for that great list!
If you ever want to write a review about your favourite drama, let @Max know. 
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Superb list! Might need to update our Dramas Blog with some of these.
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@Kelly-Mandarin-HSK_3 Very interesting! “Li didn’t build a dam to fight the water … utiliz[ed] force generated by the turn of the river and angle of the cliff.” Can see the parallels. At first glance, the dam-building narrative seems like a side plot in 且试天下, but it’s actually world-building within the show; there is historical precedence written into it/alongside it, that does work to build the credibility of Yang Yang’s character. There are certain cultural touchstones that I often miss out on when watching Chinese media, so it’s always interesting to seek out and fill in the blanks. For the same reason, I enjoyed Dec 2021’s “Luoyang.” Thanks again for the enlightening share!
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