It's good to that see that Blossoms of Power is doing well on MDL. The character she portrays is supposed to be cold and aloof which is how she appears. Princess Gambit was a bit of a disappointment. It was directed by Yi Jun, the same director whose current drama Overdo (with Zhang Ling He and Wang Chu Ran no less) is being heavily criticized and has an initial MDL rating of 7.6 from 488 users. Maybe the director should stick to military and war dramas. When an actress shows that she can act, like Meng Zi Yi in Blossoms, they don't suddenly forget how to act in subsequent dramas.
Some more tidbits on Bai Lu's departure from Huan Yu from "Marcus here!" Industry reports indicate that Bai Lu generated about 60% [!] of Huan Yu's revenue. That's up from around 50% several years ago. Yu Zheng said that it is likely they will collaborate or co-invest in future projects. It's probably why he was careful not to burn bridges with Bai Lu - at least on the surface. We know it's not beneath him to make crude and insulting remarks. Marcus put it mildly when he a said Yu Cheng is "outspoken-to-a fault."
Here's some details on Facebook about Bai Lu's departure from Huan Yu and her new company:
"#BaiLu’s profile has officially transitioned to "Bai Lu Studio," and her independent enterprise, Qingdao Lu Yan Cultural Media Studio, is now operational. Reports indicate that she is set to star in the upcoming urban emotional suspense drama "Kai Dao Tu Mi," directed by Li Mu Ge."
"Huan Yu Film and Television shared her post with a warm tribute, wishing her well as she embarks on this new chapter. Yu Zheng also penned an emotional message, comparing the departure to "marrying off a daughter" and expressing his full support as she spreads her wings to soar to new heights."
A report I read some time ago said that Bai Lu accounted for as much as half of Huan Yu's revenue.
I started watching Keep Running a while ago when Bai Lu first joined. I started because of Bai Lu, and every single…
Nice thoughtful post.
Most cast members have changed over time, except Li Chen and Zhang Kai, and probably will continue to do so. One of my favorites was Angela Baby who was super smart and competitive. I enjoy all the cast members, new and old, except maybe "scoundrel" (his term) screen hog FCC. But he does have his fans. User ratings for this season was an 8.5 until the last few episodes. Now it's 7.9. Are fans really that fickle? The rating is based on only around 200 users though.
One pet peeve is that the Show doesn't bother to translate the written clues and notes. So some of the games are harder to follow. Other shows like Hello Saturday do a good job with the written translations - as do most C-dramas, except those that use auto-translate.
It's great to see that Bai Lu's law firm is suing screenwriter Meng Qiqi, as well as others, for making false…
Screenwriter Meng Qiqi has now issued an apology to Bai Lu and a clarification. The "clarification" is nonsense though. Basically she made an assumption and stated it as fact. Others simply make stuff up. Her legal team has mentioned those responsible for maligning her should bear responsibility though public apologies and financial compensation. So an apology is probably not enough. https://youtu.be/NF4Apq6faW4?t=336
It's great to see that Bai Lu's law firm is suing screenwriter Meng Qiqi, as well as others, for making false accusations. https://youtu.be/NF4Apq6faW4?t=336
As an aside, it's funny that Yu Zheng in defending Bai Lu makes a disparaging remark himself claiming Meng Qiqi (a screen writer) doesn't even read Chinese.
Agree! FYI for fans who were unaware, Meng Zi Yi was hospitalized recently and there's been a number of health issues in the past, at least in part, due to her work load (e.g. she was given an IV drip during filming of Wonderland). She mentioned that in the past 2 years the longest consecutive break she has had was 2 days for the Lunar New Year. "Fans express concern over Meng Ziyi's health" https://sg.style.yahoo.com/fans-express-concern-over-meng-041600937.html
Noticed the new profile picture and looked at the comments and I am the opposite of everyone, I think it's awful…
Totally agree, lol. The photo is from Synear Foods. A lighter makeup would highlight her natural beauty better. Maybe a photo from one of her many fashion photo shoots
Meng Zi Yi and Dylan Wang are rumored to star in a new costume drama "The Only Daughter of a Military Family." https://youtu.be/4XxFL3nQXCs?t=424 BTW, they have worked together in the variety show Wonderland for several seasons (she is an original cast member, now in season 5, and Dylan was in seasons 2, 3 and 4). They also appeared together in an episode of Keep Running earlier this year.
Several days ago Bai Lu discussed a complicated disease she had been dealing with in July-August when she was filming Mo Li. She says she is fully recovery now which is a good to hear. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehaELDCpKn8&t=303s
Omg finally they subbed this episode! This is Bai Lu's first ever KR appearance: https://youtu.be/JsHC0MYQTdc?si=9lpEjS3S3Km8sh5w
Great!
One of Bai Lu's funniest KR segments was when she first became a regular cast member in 2021 (Yellow River S2) and Qin Xiao Xian intentionally caused her to be dunked in the pool saying that she needed to be punished. But Bai Lu got her revenge, and then some. And at the end of the segment Qin Xiao Xian said he didn't want to play anymore 😂 Don't mess with the queen! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xgxq5sxXUb4
Lately, more and more actors seem to be falling ill, and it’s hard to ignore the role their management companies…
Article from yesterday: Zhao Lusi wages war against her agency... https://news.mydramalist.com/article/zhao-lusi-wages-war-against-her-agency-refusing-to-stay-silent-any-longer Excerpt: "Because of unexpectedly falling ill, I was forced to cancel part of my brand endorsements and reduce filming workload. They kept saying they would take responsibility for my sudden illness, yet in the end, I was the one who had to pay. How can you just take money from my studio? Then [you] even tricked my finance person into signing off on the revenue split statement."
In an episode of Wonderland this season Meng Zi Yi said she was sick and feeling terrible but that someone was coming over to give her a shot. And that she'll be okay after the shot 😟
I think they count it as 13 episodes because the "first" episode is in two parts maybe?
Yes, MDL counts each airdate as a separate episode. The first episode, according to ZJTV's counting, aired on April 25th and May 2nd.
This can also be confusing with variety programs that air its episodes in several parts, such as twice a week. An MDL staff member said they were going to add a box clarifying how it counts episodes for programs that have this issue.
For this program, if someone was looking for "Episode 13," they won't find it. Chen Zhe Yuan is listed on MDL as appearing in Ep.13, but can actually be found in ZJTV's Ep.12, the season finale.
Can't really judge... most viewers tend to hold out their rating until the season ended before giving their rating…
Fair point. The influx of raters could've moved the average rating by a lot. It doesn't explain why they gave this season a low rating though. This season had some very exciting and entertaining segments. What is top of mind for raters though is usually the most recent episodes. It probably didn't help in Ep 11 to show Zhou Shen being flung around like a rag doll by the pro basketball player in the blindfolded name tag ripping game. He has a huge fanbase and many watch KR just for him. A user told me that the fake PD episode was a belated birthday gift to Fan Cheng Cheng. If so, they shouldn't have done it in the last episode. Bai Lu, Yuqi, Zhang Zhen Yuan, among others, also have large fanbases, and watching the season finale they might be wondering why the special focus on Fan Cheng Cheng? "Doesn't *my* star also deserve special attention and more screen time?"
👍Yes, kudos to the director for being a good sport. He gets a lot of abuse from certain members, e.g. in Ep11…
If it was a belated birthday gift for FCC it shouldn't have been done in the season finale where he was given special attention among his fellow cast members. Although Bai Lu made the intro in her home town the episode didn't revolve around her.
Didn't Zhang Rou Nan receive the black rose from Zhang Kai as a result which would've meant she and FCC would've received the punishment, except for the fact that Zhang Rou Nan was able to subsequently rip another player's name tag and save the team. It was FCC and Zhang Rou Nan against Song Yan Fei and Zhang Kai. FCC is 6'1" Zhou Shen 5'3" would stayed and fought. Yuqi 5'4" would've also stayed and fought... ("girls always help girls!").
As I mentioned before, subterfuge adds an interesting element to the games. But FCC was serving as a (temporary) PD. If this was an audition it would be a fail - including stacking the team in his favor.
We really don't know if a star's on-screen-persona is different than how they are in private life. We only see what they present to the public - unless there's a scandal of course (e.g. Lucas)
Checking to see if the site added a box clarifying how it counts episodes (which is different than ZJTV's, 13 vs. 12). Not yet.
Wow, show's user rating dropped four points from 8.4 to 8.0 in one week!? Viewers, at least international ones on MDL, must've really not like the recent episodes including the season finale.
👍Yes, kudos to the director for being a good sport. He gets a lot of abuse from certain members, e.g. in Ep11…
LOL, if it was up to you the show would be re-titled FCC and his supporting cast. The show was fine before him and will be fine if he left - and I'm not suggesting he should leave. FCC is kind of obsessive about getting his screen time bringing it up on many occasions. I don't think the rest of the cast cares nearly as much. But it's kind of shameless to openly talk about it (in one episode he said "I've already gotten enough screentime...").
You completely missed my point. The show didn't need to have a fake PD episode. The writers probably thought it would be fun though given how FCC was always griping and complaining about PD Yao and the staff - that he could do a better job. In one episode he said everything about the show was bad
Princess Gambit was a bit of a disappointment. It was directed by Yi Jun, the same director whose current drama Overdo (with Zhang Ling He and Wang Chu Ran no less) is being heavily criticized and has an initial MDL rating of 7.6 from 488 users.
Maybe the director should stick to military and war dramas.
When an actress shows that she can act, like Meng Zi Yi in Blossoms, they don't suddenly forget how to act in subsequent dramas.
Industry reports indicate that Bai Lu generated about 60% [!] of Huan Yu's revenue. That's up from around 50% several years ago.
Yu Zheng said that it is likely they will collaborate or co-invest in future projects. It's probably why he was careful not to burn bridges with Bai Lu - at least on the surface. We know it's not beneath him to make crude and insulting remarks. Marcus put it mildly when he a said Yu Cheng is "outspoken-to-a fault."
https://youtu.be/LUeBeZBZy6Y?t=267
"#BaiLu’s profile has officially transitioned to "Bai Lu Studio," and her independent enterprise, Qingdao Lu Yan Cultural Media Studio, is now operational. Reports indicate that she is set to star in the upcoming urban emotional suspense drama "Kai Dao Tu Mi," directed by Li Mu Ge."
"Huan Yu Film and Television shared her post with a warm tribute, wishing her well as she embarks on this new chapter. Yu Zheng also penned an emotional message, comparing the departure to "marrying off a daughter" and expressing his full support as she spreads her wings to soar to new heights."
A report I read some time ago said that Bai Lu accounted for as much as half of Huan Yu's revenue.
https://www.facebook.com/MyDramaclip/posts/bailu-has-officially-announced-that-she-will-not-be-renewing-her-ten-year-contra/1010764371797174/
Most cast members have changed over time, except Li Chen and Zhang Kai, and probably will continue to do so. One of my favorites was Angela Baby who was super smart and competitive. I enjoy all the cast members, new and old, except maybe "scoundrel" (his term) screen hog FCC. But he does have his fans.
User ratings for this season was an 8.5 until the last few episodes. Now it's 7.9. Are fans really that fickle? The rating is based on only around 200 users though.
One pet peeve is that the Show doesn't bother to translate the written clues and notes. So some of the games are harder to follow. Other shows like Hello Saturday do a good job with the written translations - as do most C-dramas, except those that use auto-translate.
https://youtu.be/NF4Apq6faW4?t=336
https://youtu.be/NF4Apq6faW4?t=336
As an aside, it's funny that Yu Zheng in defending Bai Lu makes a disparaging remark himself claiming Meng Qiqi (a screen writer) doesn't even read Chinese.
Bai Lu wins defamation and reputation rights lawsuits against netizens
https://news.mydramalist.com/article/bai-lu-wins-defamation-and-reputation-rights-lawsuits-against-netizens
FYI for fans who were unaware, Meng Zi Yi was hospitalized recently and there's been a number of health issues in the past, at least in part, due to her work load (e.g. she was given an IV drip during filming of Wonderland). She mentioned that in the past 2 years the longest consecutive break she has had was 2 days for the Lunar New Year.
"Fans express concern over Meng Ziyi's health"
https://sg.style.yahoo.com/fans-express-concern-over-meng-041600937.html
https://www.reddit.com/r/Bai_Lu/comments/1prxffa/bai_lus_official_pictorial_for_tencent_video_all/
https://youtu.be/4XxFL3nQXCs?t=424
BTW, they have worked together in the variety show Wonderland for several seasons (she is an original cast member, now in season 5, and Dylan was in seasons 2, 3 and 4). They also appeared together in an episode of Keep Running earlier this year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehaELDCpKn8&t=303s
One of Bai Lu's funniest KR segments was when she first became a regular cast member in 2021 (Yellow River S2) and Qin Xiao Xian intentionally caused her to be dunked in the pool saying that she needed to be punished. But Bai Lu got her revenge, and then some. And at the end of the segment Qin Xiao Xian said he didn't want to play anymore 😂
Don't mess with the queen!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xgxq5sxXUb4
https://news.mydramalist.com/article/zhao-lusi-wages-war-against-her-agency-refusing-to-stay-silent-any-longer
Excerpt:
"Because of unexpectedly falling ill, I was forced to cancel part of my brand endorsements and reduce filming workload. They kept saying they would take responsibility for my sudden illness, yet in the end, I was the one who had to pay. How can you just take money from my studio? Then [you] even tricked my finance person into signing off on the revenue split statement."
In an episode of Wonderland this season Meng Zi Yi said she was sick and feeling terrible but that someone was coming over to give her a shot. And that she'll be okay after the shot 😟
This can also be confusing with variety programs that air its episodes in several parts, such as twice a week. An MDL staff member said they were going to add a box clarifying how it counts episodes for programs that have this issue.
For this program, if someone was looking for "Episode 13," they won't find it. Chen Zhe Yuan is listed on MDL as appearing in Ep.13, but can actually be found in ZJTV's Ep.12, the season finale.
For more information see discussion below.
It probably didn't help in Ep 11 to show Zhou Shen being flung around like a rag doll by the pro basketball player in the blindfolded name tag ripping game. He has a huge fanbase and many watch KR just for him.
A user told me that the fake PD episode was a belated birthday gift to Fan Cheng Cheng. If so, they shouldn't have done it in the last episode. Bai Lu, Yuqi, Zhang Zhen Yuan, among others, also have large fanbases, and watching the season finale they might be wondering why the special focus on Fan Cheng Cheng? "Doesn't *my* star also deserve special attention and more screen time?"
Didn't Zhang Rou Nan receive the black rose from Zhang Kai as a result which would've meant she and FCC would've received the punishment, except for the fact that Zhang Rou Nan was able to subsequently rip another player's name tag and save the team. It was FCC and Zhang Rou Nan against Song Yan Fei and Zhang Kai. FCC is 6'1" Zhou Shen 5'3" would stayed and fought. Yuqi 5'4" would've also stayed and fought... ("girls always help girls!").
As I mentioned before, subterfuge adds an interesting element to the games. But FCC was serving as a (temporary) PD. If this was an audition it would be a fail - including stacking the team in his favor.
We really don't know if a star's on-screen-persona is different than how they are in private life. We only see what they present to the public - unless there's a scandal of course (e.g. Lucas)
Wow, show's user rating dropped four points from 8.4 to 8.0 in one week!?
Viewers, at least international ones on MDL, must've really not like the recent episodes including the season finale.
You completely missed my point. The show didn't need to have a fake PD episode. The writers probably thought it would be fun though given how FCC was always griping and complaining about PD Yao and the staff - that he could do a better job. In one episode he said everything about the show was bad