More fantastic news for Tong Yao fans! The Shanghai TV Festival continues to be a source of exciting announcements. First, we got direct confirmation that Nothing But Thirty 2 is in the works. Now, the news we've all been waiting for on Ball Lightning (球状闪电) has arrived in a one-two punch of confirmation.
After a long and confusing silence, Tong Yao herself has confirmed it: the sequel to the smash-hit drama Nothing But Thirty is officially back on track and expected to begin filming in 2026!
For fans who have followed this journey, it's been a bit of a rollercoaster. To understand why this new confirmation is so significant, let's look at the full story.
Exciting news for Tong Yao fans! The upcoming series Si Xi (四喜) just dropped new posters, a trailer, and a listing on Tencent Video in China over the past few days.
Since there don't seem to be any official English subtitles available yet, I took some time to create them for the new trailer. As of now, as far as I can tell, the series isn't listed on Tencent's international YouTube channel or on WeTV, so many fans outside of China may not have seen it. It's also worth noting that there is no official English title yet. While it was once announced with the working title Those Days, the official Weibo account for the drama series has never used that name, so I'll be sticking with Si Xi for now.
I followed a lens mod hack I saw on YouTube and adapted a 17mm threaded ring onto the front of my Chuzhao camera, which lets me use some of my other lenses with it. I didn't film the process, but I did snap a few photos along the way.
In this adaptation of Qu Bo's novel Qiao Longbiao, Tong Yao co-stars in a key role as Xiao Bailong, the fiercely loyal adopted sister of the protagonist, Qiao Longbiao. The series charts Qiao Longbiao’s transformation from a charismatic bandit leader into a dedicated communist guerrilla fighter. Set against the turbulent backdrop of the Anti-Japanese War (1937–1945) and the subsequent Civil War, it’s a story of heroic struggle against foreign invaders and reactionary forces. It’s worth noting that this drama is a prime example of revolutionary romanticism, a genre where patriotic politics are central to the narrative. To fully appreciate the story, it helps to approach it on its own terms, with an understanding of this specific historical and cultural context.
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CCTV held a 开机 (start-of-production) event for The Miracles on 25 May, where they unveiled a more complete cast and crew list. The newly announced actors linked to the project are impressive, including names like Bai Yu, Lei Jiayin, and Song Jia.
They also released official promotional stills and video clips featuring the cast and crew expressing their congratulations, although I wasn't able to find many instances where they discussed the script or their characters.
