✿ Favorite Dramas of 2020 ✿
With the pandemic this year, I found myself jumping from drama to drama hoping for something that would break my restlessness. Thanks to the Twitter community, I discovered many dramas that I wouldn't normally consider!
As someone who is drawn to stories about women, most of my favorites this year surprisingly featured male protagonists. Nevertheless, the female supporting characters in each of them were multi-dimensional and unforgettable (like Li Yitong's Lu Wenxi, Liu Lin's Zhou Chunhong, and Jin Chen's Shen Qinghe). Of course, Nothing But Thirty and A Murderous Affair in Horizon Tower featured a wealth of female characters that I connected with and am grateful for.
These are the ones that resonated with me the most, listed in order of release date.
Honorable Mentions: I Will Find You a Better Home (安家), Love in Between (少年游之一寸相思), Hikaru no Go (棋魂)
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1. Royal Nirvana
Chinese Drama - 2019, 60 episodes
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2. Joy of Life
Chinese Drama - 2019, 46 episodes
Such a joy to watch! And probably the only drama on this list that got me laughing out loud quite a few times. Fan Xian, with his charisma and sense of righteousness, is a classic example of the wuxia protagonist that I haven't seen in a while. I loved all the colorful supporting characters, especially Fan Xian's hilarious family and friend-turned-family Teng Zijing. Some other favorite things about this drama:
- Wuxia-esque adventures! humor! use of anachronistic music!
- Wrestling with justice through different worldviews
- Mystery of Ye Qingmei and sci-fi mechanics
- Montage of Fan Xian reciting hundreds of poems and becoming the god of poetry
- Actually pulling off getting a second season (I'm still scarred from Tribes & Empires)
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3. The Bad Kids
Chinese Drama - 2020, 12 episodes
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4. Nothing but Thirty
Chinese Drama - 2020, 43 episodes
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5. A Murderous Affair in Horizon Tower
Chinese Drama - 2020, 16 episodes
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6. Royal Nirvana Special
Chinese Drama - 2020, 12 episodes
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7. Fearless Whispers
Chinese Drama - 2020, 51 episodes