Salute, comrades!

In my attempt at getting more familiar with the Chinese culture, I stumbled across a few series that I grew very fond of, other not so much but are still a solid recommendation. It wasn’t free of hassle though, there’s the culture shock and some trouble with getting more recent media, even though it’s considerably easier than Western shows, as a good number of them are available on YT. Finally, the most natural path for me were the non-romantic C-dramas, which are more akin to the series I’m used to. Non-romantic doesn’t mean free from any form of human affection lol. So, I hope this helps someone, without further ado:

• Detective L (2019) - my first contact with Chinese shows. Set in 1930’s Shanghai, it follows the routine of a Sherlockian-style detective and his female assistant. The show is very entertaining and their chemistry is very fun to watch. It’s maybe a bit romantic, but the series isn’t centered around that. Watch for free on YouTube

• Reset (2022) - Based on a novel. Video game architect and a college girl’s life are keep being reset after encountering a bus-bomb explosion. Currently watching, it hooked me up! No romance so far. Watch for free on YouTube

• Medical Examiner Dr. Qin (2016) - This one is not for the faint-hearted! The show follows a coroner and his team during several cases. I didn’t get too acquainted with the series because it’s really gruesome and disgusting and I didn’t get past the first two episodes. Apparently it has some spin-offs too. The original is only found on Viki, I think. (Read the bottom)

• Three-Body (2022) - Based on a Chinese novel and soon to be a show on Netflix, the Chinese are ahead as always. The show focuses on how humans deal with the incoming invasion of a highly-advanced alien civilization called Three-Body. (Read the bottom)

Bottom: for exchange of ideas, I’ll mention alternative sources. Today there’s great ease of getting information compared to the past. For shows that don’t have a link, it’s possible to watch them through platforms like Stremio, while I do not recommend anyone to do that. A great platform for downloading subs, which people also use and offers full downloadable episodes from sites like WETV and Viki, along with downloadable subtitles in various languages, is Downsub. While they’re perfectly safe from malicious software and work better than Netflix, I don’t recommend you get content from these sources, and if you’re going to use them for educational purposes, please use a VPN. You can always use a paid subscription to Viki or whatever site that is offering the content.

Bonus: YoYo’s YT channel has on their videos descriptions recommendations for series that are similar to the ones you are watching.

What are your favorite non-romantic Chinese series (or C-Drama)?