Not long ago, news came out that Huang Jingyu's "Lonely War" and "Lonely Boat" starring Zhang Songwen have also been reviewed and entered into the waiting list.
A friend lamented, are there too many spy dramas this year?
I would say, it’s actually not bad.
As a major category of domestic dramas, spy dramas have always been a guarantee of ratings.
Throughout last year, a total of nine spy war dramas, large and small, were broadcast. In the first half of this year, spy war dramas showed a surge as soon as they came out.
Let’s take a brief look at it.
First, "The Storm Chaser" set off a small drama-watching craze in CCTV, followed immediately by Hunan Satellite TV's "When the Stars Shine".
The ratings of the latter were not satisfactory, but it did not stop "Harbin 1944" from having a wave of "Samsung simulcasts".
The quantity is there, but what about the quality?
Compared with previous classic spy games, such as "The Conspiracy", "Insidious", " Cliff ", " Kite ", etc., these dramas seem to be missing something.
Finally, the real "king bomb" in 2024 spy dramas - "Dark Night and Dawn" is finally here.
The drama is expected to premiere on CCTV prime time in June, with a total of 38 episodes. The online broadcast platform is iQiyi.
Are you ready?
First, the confrontation between good and evil
In domestic spy war dramas, according to the time and background of the story, it can be roughly divided into three types.
One is the period of the Anti-Japanese War and the War of Liberation.
Most of the spy dramas on the market took place during this period, such as classics such as "Insidious", "Cliff", "The Pretender" and so on.
The second is the early days of the founding of New China.
The number of spy war dramas that took place in this period is much smaller than the first type. Famous examples include " No Regrets Tracking ", " The Glory Era " starring Zhang Yi, and Last year CCTV's " thrush " and so on.
The third one is the modern era.
is the least numerous among the spy war dramas, and is generally called "national security themed". There are two main works that have become famous in the past two years - " versus " and "Secret Agent Mission".
As for "Dark Night and Dawn", it belongs to the second category.
In Shanghai in 1943, an explosion shocked the world, causing Lu Zhengyang, an underground member of the Communist Party of China, to confront old policeman Lin Shaobai for the first time.
The two of them showed their talents and left a deep impression on each other.
Six years later, Shanghai was liberated.
Lu Zhengyang naturally became a key member of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau's anti-special front.
Faced with the severe anti-special situation, Lu Zhengyang often felt stretched, so with the support of his superiors, he went through strict screening and against all opinions, hired the old policeman Lin Shaobai.
- He has a nickname - "Shanghai Know-It-All".
However, due to many reasons such as personality and acting style, Lu Zhengyang and Lin Shaobai had a lot of friction and contradictions in their anti-special work at first.
But standing in the darkness, still unwilling to give up, is the insidious and scheming Zheng Lanting.
——He is a veteran agent of the Shanghai Special Station of the Secrecy Bureau.
Lu Zhengyang and Lin Shaobai put aside their previous suspicions and jointly solved major cases such as the "Treasury Robbery Case", "Counterfeiting Coin Case", and "Latent Radio Case", completely defeating the enemy's conspiracy.
The two trusted each other and became comrades sharing life and death.
Second, only by joining forces can we create a high-quality product
What exactly is it that makes a good film and television drama?
In my opinion, a good screenwriter, a good director, and a good actor are indispensable.
This is especially true for spy dramas.
For example, the original "The Conspiracy" and "Kite" relied on Liu Yunlong's "specialization" in spy warfare, while the success of "The Conspiracy" stemmed from Jiang Wei's burst of talent.
and "The Pretender", the powerful control ability of the noon sun is so convincing.
So what does "Dark Night and Dawn" need to do to ensure its quality?
First up is screenwriter Weng Liangping.
So far, Weng Liangping's works are not many, but almost all of them are excellent works - " decisive battle " is soul-stirring, and "Ask the Cangmang" has a score of 9.0, which is a rare masterpiece.
As for espionage, "Storm Chaser", which was broadcast not long ago, can be regarded as a work above the standard.
The idea of finance + espionage is refreshing.
Director Huang Nan is not an ordinary person.
He first entered the film and television industry as a photographer.
At the beginning of his career, Huang Nan shot more than a dozen digital movies for CCTV Movie Channel, among which "Love" won the 12th Movie Channel Movie Lily Award for Outstanding Film.
The TV series " Across the Yalu River" and "The Great Battle" are his masterpieces.
I am looking forward to what kind of ups and downs and magnificent work the combination of him and Weng Liangping will produce.
Third, the superb cast, how should you refuse?
The replacement of old and new in the entertainment industry is an eternal proposition.
How to play the role of an old actor in a work and provide necessary guidance to young actors is a science.
The two male protagonists in this drama chose the combination of one middle school student and one young man.
Middle-aged powerful actor Nie Yuan will play the role of Lu Zhengyang.
Nie Yuan, who debuted as a little boy, has played many classic roles in his more than 20 years of acting career.
But what really surprised me was his performance in "Dear Child". It was sincere and natural, without any trace of acting, and directly touched the hearts of the audience.
The young actor Chen Zheyuan plays the role of "know-it-all" Lin Shaobai.
As a post-95s generation, most of Chen Zheyuan’s works are costume dramas or idol dramas.
This time is his best chance to prove himself.
The real highlight is the other leading actors- Wang Zhiwen, Ni Dahong, Wang Jinsong.
These three old people must be familiar to everyone. If any one of them is singled out, they have created countless classic characters.
Of course, what I am looking forward to most is Wang Zhiwen.
In "Dark Night and Dawn", he will play the villain - Zheng Lanting, a veteran agent of the Shanghai Station of the Secrecy Bureau.
Just from the stills and trailers, Wang Zhiwen, wearing glasses, lowers his head, raises his head and opens his eyes, gives people goosebumps all over his body.
In addition to the few mentioned above, the show is also star-studded.
——The young tiger Sun Yan, the old Mo Feng Bing, Yao Anna, Xing Fei, Wang Xiuzhu, Wen Zhengrong, Liu Tianzuo, Ren Zhengbin, Liu Peiqi, Hao Ping, Shi Zhaoqi, Li Mengnan, etc. in "Hurry" are hard to refuse.
2024, the spy war trend has begun.
So, can CCTV's "Dark Night and Dawn" stand out from the crowd and win the title of Drama King of the Year?
Let’s wait and see.
