Hit suspense drama evokes nostalgia for Northeast China

The Long Season — the highest-rated Chinese drama within five years on the popular review aggregator Douban — has natives from Northeast China as a majority of its cast and crew members, who have a deep love of the land that is set as the story's backdrop, revealed actor Qin Hao during a symposium held in Beijing on Wednesday.

Set in the fictional industrial city of Hualin in northeastern China from 1997 to 2016, the suspense crime story follows a long journey to discover how three people's fates have been changed by the "accidental" death of a young man.

Qin, who plays a taxi driver in the drama, revealed that the creators aimed to portray the resilience of ordinary people in Northeast China who, despite facing hardships and unpredictable fate, remain optimistic and fight against their destiny.

Director Xin Shuang, shot to fame from the smash hit The Bad Kids, said he has been on board with the project since 2020, spending a total of three years polishing the script.

"We hope to explore the relationship between people, time and fate through this story and inspire our audience to reflect on their own lives more deeply," said Xin.

According to the streaming site Tencent Video, the drama's recommendation index has reached 96.7 percent, the highest of all series this year. Currently the drama has earned 9.4 points out of ten on the review site Douban.

Li Jingsheng, vice-president of the China Radio and Television Association for Social Organizations, said the drama breaks through the limitations of the suspense genre by portraying several characters that have little to do with the case but are very touching.

"This not only deepens the theme but also reveals the more delicate side of human nature, setting a direction for Chinese suspense dramas to strive toward in the future," added Li.