Audiences Want Female-Centric TV Dramas to Be More Realistic

“Remembrance of Things Past” has been praised for steering away from stereotypes, but some viewers say the genre still has room for improvement.

Chinese television channels have been flooded with dramas with female-centric roles in recent years, some drawing rave reviews from critics and viewers alike. However, many such shows have also been called out for not doing enough to flesh out women characters.

“Remembrance of Things Past” seems to have cut through the crowd, emerging as a crowd-pleaser with its strong female cast and shunning of obvious stereotypes. Already a hit, the new drama, set to conclude next week, has been hailed as offering a “realistic” portrayal of four women living and working in Beijing.

The 12-part series first aired on July 19 on state-run Hunan Television and Mango TV focuses on the young quartet as they navigate their work and life in the Chinese capital. The characters are seen jostling in packed subways, complaining of eviction due to housing fraud, struggling to keep up with exhausting work culture, and facing unexpected layoffs — all while stressing over their appearances and trying to put off blind dates set by parents.

Their stories are all too familiar, and both the characters and the plot have resonated with millions of others who traveled to Beijing hoping to accomplish their dreams. As of Monday, “Remembrance of Things Past” has been watched 950 million times on Mango TV — an online subsidiary of Hunan Broadcasting System — while a dedicated hashtag page has 1.4 billion views on microblogging platform Weibo.

Meanwhile, on review site Douban, the show has a favorable score of 8.3 out of 10. Continue to read the full article here

– This article originally appeared on Sixth Tone.