The Long Night is a sequel (or sorts) to Burning Ice--it features the policeman Yan Liang solving a different case. The story of The Long Night is set a few years after the story of Burning Ice. Nevertheless, Yan Liang is a much more charismatic character in Burning Ice. While Liao Fan does a decent job of portraying Yan Liang, there isn't really any depth or nuance to the character. The character who is the most interesting in The Long Night turns out to be Jiang Yang, and Johnny's Bai's performance is impressive in this series. (It's not the first time I've watched a series with Johnny Bai, but I could hardly recognize him in this one at first.)

Unfortunately, the characters in The Long Night are generally not portrayed with much complexity or nuance, and I think this isn't really because of the acting but because of the writing. At times, the series even feels almost like a sort of propaganda for the police force and legal system of China, with barely disguised motherhood statements about them. (Perhaps this is obligatory, given that there is at least one corrupt policeman in the series?)

This series really stands out in terms of its compelling story, with twists that are interesting without being over-the-top. What seems to be a simple case of murder at first turns out to be an elaborate last-ditch attempt to expose crimes committed by powerful individuals who have managed to cover up their crimes by silencing those investigating them and destroying practically every bit of evidence that is found against them.