My Roommate is a Detective Drama Recap

by Jadaine, April 23, 2020

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This article contains NO SPOILERS!

My Roommate is a Detective (民国奇探) is a 36 episode web drama that was aired on IQIYI focused on an investigation during the Republican Era. It just finished airing as the show premiered on March 24 on IQIYI. The ratings have been fairly decent; it's not doing badly as overall it's had positive feedback. (According to Viki and MyDramaList)

This show is action-packed as I promise that you won't get bored watching this series. I've always been a person that enjoys these types of shows when they go from case to case throughout the episodes. I was fairly pleased with it as I watched every episode while it was airing without skipping any scenes.

Set in the mid-1920s. A resourceful young police officer named Qiao Chu Sheng is on the trail of a brutal but devious killer. Realizing that the police force will need some extra help with this difficult case, he decides to form an elite crime-busting detective team. He reaches out to a young man who has recently returned from studying in Great Britain, Lu Yao. Qiao Chu Sheng has learned that Lu Yao has remarkable powers of deduction and a brilliant mind – and believes he can help crack this difficult case. To round off the team, he enlists the help of Bai You Ning, a focused young female reporter for a daily newspaper. A free-thinking, independent young woman, she has a strong sense of justice – and pledges to help catch the killer. The trio form a small detective squad that specializes in solving strange and unsettling murder mysteries. (viki.com)

Genres: Action, Adventure, Thriller, Detective, Mystery, Comedy

Leon Zhang as Qiao Chusheng

Former gangster, Qiao Chusheng was promoted to chief inspector due to his boss, Bai Youning's father. He has basic deduction skills, but it can't be compared to Lu Yao's. He has a talent for fieldwork such as chasing criminals, interrogation, fighting, etc. He ends up seeking the help of Lu Yao to help him with cases.

Hu Yi Tian as Lu Yao

Lu Yao recently returned from Britain, and you could say that he's the eccentric male lead of the series. Whenever he goes to a crime scene, he acts distracted, but he's the only one that knows what happened. He has a strong sense of deduction, which he proves throughout the series.

Shane Yan as Bai Youning

Bai Youning is the daughter of a gang boss which basically means that she grew up spoiled. She ran away from home and decided to work at a news firm. She tags along with the main cast to get information on it to write the news. At first, I was annoyed by her, but she started to grow on me surprisingly.

Opening Theme Song: Puzzle (谜): After Journey (艾福杰尼)

Ending Theme Song: Awake (醒): Juno Su

I personally love the opening theme song! At first, I was confused. I was wondering why they would ever put a rap song with a republican show, but this changed my perception. I now even listen to the artist AfterJourney. This is definitely not an opening to skip!

The show was overall an enjoyable show. While it was airing, I remember waiting every week for the next episode, not due to the suspense but the entertainment. This show just made me excited for the next case, one after another. I'm usually a fan of antagonists, but the protagonists outshined him for sure, in my opinion.

At first, I was really annoyed at the character Bai Youning, as many people were. Over time she started to prove that she had intelligence in the series by comprehending some things faster than Qiao Chusheng. There are also some subtle hints in the series that she has some intelligence. An example is when it says that she got a degree in business, but that was never brought up again. Overall, you will either hate her or she will start to grow on you.

Lu Yao and Qiao Chusheng were both very well done, in my opinion. There weren't really any loopholes as their personalities matched the actions they did. Whoever cast them got them perfectly right as I enjoyed Leon Zhang and Hu Yi Tian in this show!