 |
| source: Weibo |
I usually don't list series that Tong Yao or Sun Li are rumored to be in unless they've been officially announced. I've seen speculation about Tong Yao starring in an iQiyi thriller/crime series titled 陌路 (Mòlù, literal translation: Unknown Road) for a while now, but I’ve long learned to ignore most of these rumors.
However, in the past couple of weeks, while browsing Xiaohongshu and Weibo, I’ve come across clips of Tong Yao and Pan Yueming on set in Chengdu. Although the project hasn’t been officially announced, signs point to them working on a series now titled 隐秘的对决 (Yǐnmì de duìjué, literal translation: Secret Confrontation).
Curious, I did some digging and found a placeholder page for what appears to be the official Weibo account for 隐秘的对决, but since nothing has been posted, its authenticity is uncertain. There’s also a plot description floating around Chinese social media and I found a Douban entry for the series.
According to this description, the story takes place in Jiangzhou City, which may be a fictitious location since I couldn’t find a 姜州市 online. Given that filming is happening in Chengdu, it might be loosely based on 姜州镇 (Jiangzhou Town) in Sichuan, or the name could have been used without basing it on an actual place.
 |
| screen cap: video source XHS |
The plot follows a city struggling with frequent car thefts in recent years, threatening public safety. Pan Yueming will likely play Tu Yong, the deputy captain of the city's anti-car-theft squad. Under his leadership, the team successfully arrests members of the theft ring, but Tu Yong senses that there’s a deeper network of interests at play.
Meanwhile, Chen Lu, who is likely played by Tong Yao, moves into a rental house near Tu Yong’s home and quietly opens an unassuming mahjong parlor nearby. As Tu Yong investigates further, he discovers that the upper ranks of the car theft ring are linked to a kidnapping-murder case from ten years ago. The real twist? Chen Lu turns out to be the kidnapped child's mother.
This sounds like a promising story, and I’m excited that Tong Yao will be in another thriller/crime series. I absolutely loved her in Tender Light, and I’m looking forward to seeing her in another suspenseful project.
According to the Douban entry, the director for this series is Zhang Tong 张彤. I'm not familiar with his work, and I don't believe Tong Yao has worked with him before. I took a quick look at his work as a director and it seems like he's been around for a while but he's made a lot of military and romance stuff. I'll be the first to admit that I don't generally like pure romances especially Asian drama series romances because they are so often fluffy, silly and ridiculous which isn't quite my cup of tea. So I'm a little cautious.
However, I like Tong Yao and Pan Yueming a lot in the 2020 series Get Married or Not which is a romantic comedy but more in the vein of the Nancy Meyers/Nora Ephron type romantic comedies which I quite enjoy. I thought their unlikely pairing was quite funny and I enjoyed watching the series quite a bit.
Zhang Tong was one of two directors responsible for the 2022 series The Power Source which I may actually attempt to watch just to see what he's worked on and also because it stars Yang Shuo whom I really liked in Like a Flowing River and Jiao Junyan whom I really liked in Medical Examiner Dr. Qin (2016) and Caught in the Heartbeat (2018).
The Douban entry also links Wu You 吴优 and Zhu Jiaqi 朱嘉琦 to the project, though I'm unfamiliar with their work.
 |
| screen cap: video source XHS |
Of course, take all of this with a pinch of salt. Nothing is set in stone yet—we don’t know if this will be the actual plot, if these are the final character names, or even if 隐秘的对决 (Secret Confrontation) will remain the title. We won’t know for sure until an official announcement is made.
The only thing we can be certain of is that Tong Yao and Pan Yueming are working on something together in Chengdu. At the very least, fans of Tong Yao and Pan Yueming have something to look forward to. 🙂
For links to other series featuring Tong Yao, please CLICK ME.
No comments:
Post a Comment