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PODCAST

Chasing Dramas

Karen and Cathy

Karen and Cathy explain cultural and historical references episode by episode in popular Chinese historical dramas as well as Chinese pop culture news. The podcast is in English with proper nouns and phrases spoken in Mandarin Chinese. Currently, they are discussing Season 1 of Joy of Life. Completed dramas/movies include: The Story of Yanxi Palace, The Longest Day in Chang"An, The Story of Ming Lan, Empresses in the Palace, Royal Nirvana, Palace (2013 film), and Mulan (2020 Disney movie) among

tv & film

All Episodes

00:22:21

Mar 2025 Chinese Drama Update - The First Frost 难哄,...

Chasing Dramas ·

2025/03/08

Karen and Cathy discuss the latest dramas that have aired in Feb and early March! The First Frost 难哄 starring Bai Jing Ting and Zhang Ruo Nan was one of the most highly anticipated romance dramas. Filter 滤镜 starring Tan Jian Ci and Li Lan Di has been a surprise critical darling. Zhang Ling He rounds out the trio of romance dramas with The Best Thing 爱你 with co-star Xu Ruo Han. Jin Tian pairs up with Zhang Wan Yi for another historical romance revenge drama in Si Jin 似锦. Bai Lu scores a win with a

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00:19:52

Joy of Life - S1 Ep 33: The Road to the Qi Kingdom

Chasing Dramas ·

2025/03/04

In episode 33, Fan Xian is tasked with Operation Hong Xiu Zhao by the Emperor as his mission to the Qi Kingdom. Fan Xian says his goodbyes and begins his journey north with the formidable prisoner, Xiao En. Fan Jian gifts Fan Xian his own personal guard led by the hilarious Gao Da who takes big issue with the thieving Wang Qi Nian. Fan Xian must keep his guard up as the envoy makes its way north to the Qi Kingdom.

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00:20:44

In The Know - Separation and Arrests

Chasing Dramas ·

2025/02/21

It's been a busy week in the Chinese entertainment world. Chen Xiao and Chen Yan Xi officially announced their divorce after 8 years of marriage. This is after several years of speculation of trouble in paradise, most notably Chen Xiao's absence from Chen Yan Xi's father's funeral back in December. Other celebrities have also been arrested including Wang Da Lu for escaping military service, Li Ming De for trashing a car, and an actress from Empresses in the Palace causing a stir

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00:22:55

Joy of Life - S1 Ep 32: Work Trip

Chasing Dramas ·

2025/02/19

Fan Xian is essentially forced to lead the diplomatic envoy to the Qi Kingdom and exchange Xiao En for Yan Bing Yun. Even though he didn't want to go, the Emperor threatens his marriage to Wan'Er to get him to comply.

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00:27:16

In The Know - Da S / Barbie Hsu and Box Office Returns

Chasing Dramas ·

2025/02/13

The top trending topic over the past 2 weeks has been the shocking death of Da S or Barbie Hsu. The Taiwanese actress shot to fame in the early 2000s in the Romance Idol drama Meteor Garden and has stayed in the public eye ever since. She died while on vacation in Japan in early February, shocking everyone. The online speculation and vitriol towards different parties has been rampant. We discuss what happened and the recent aftermath.In other news, today marks the end of the Lunar New Year holidays

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00:22:10

Joy of Life S1 - ep 31: Kicked Out

Chasing Dramas ·

2025/02/11

The Princess Royal is ultimately kicked out of the capital for overstepping her boundaries. We say goodbye (for now) to this fan favorite - an unapologetically ruthless and ambitious woman.

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00:25:37

Feb 2025 Chinese Drama Update - Moonlight Mystique,...

Chasing Dramas ·

2025/02/06

A fresh slate of dramas began airing around the Lunar New Year holidays with some surprise hits and duds. Bai Lu led Moonlight Mystique (白月梵星) with co-star Ao Rui Peng to middling success. Drifting Away (漂白) starring Guo Jing Fei and Zhao Jin Mai was a surprise hit for iQiYi. Angelababy, after being soft blacklisted for over a year, returned with Everlasting Longing (相思令) with Song Wei Long. Unfortunately the poor script and wooden acting couldn't save the ratings. Perfect Match (五福临门) is the

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00:23:04

Joy of Life S1 Ep 30 - The Comet Falls

Chasing Dramas ·

2025/02/04

The Princess Royal believes she was able to throw suspicion of treachery back onto Fan Xian and is ready to take over the Overwatch Council, only to realize that her ally, Zhu Ge, is caught in Chen Ping Ping's trap.

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00:27:53

In The Know - Welcome to the Year of the Snake!

Chasing Dramas ·

2025/01/30

Happy Lunar New Year and welcome to the Year of the Snake! We will talk about this year's annual spectacle that is the Spring Festival Gala! While not as drama-filled as last year's show, the event was still an extravagant affair with a dizzying cast of celebrities and stars from China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Heck, One Republic even performed this year! The 4 cities featured included Chongqing, Lhasa, Wu Xi, and Wu Han. Listen to our latest podcast episode on our thoughts about the

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00:28:20

Joy of Life S1 ep 29: Flying Under the Radar

Chasing Dramas ·

2025/01/28

Fan Xian gets some help from Wan'Er in sneaking back into the palace to replace the key he stole from the Empress Dowager's palace. Fortunately, he is able to avoid detection. Meanwhile, he makes a ruckus in the capital by exposing the Princess Royal's traitorous activity

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00:21:40

In The Know - Upcoming Chinese Movies for the Lunar...

Chasing Dramas ·

2025/01/24

We share 6 movies that are hitting Chinese movie theaters for Lunar New Year next week. They include Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Gallants, starring Xiao Zhan and Zhuang Da Fei. Creation of the Gods 2: Demon Force, NeZha 2, Detective 1900, Operation Hadal, and Boonie Bears: Future Reborn.

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00:22:31

Joy of Life - S1 - Ep 27 pt 2 + Ep 28: Mom's Mysteries

Chasing Dramas ·

2025/01/21

After successfully stealing his mother's key from the Empress Dowager's residence, Fan Xian finally opens his mother's mysterious case. The details reveal significant answers to Fan Xian and his mother's origins.

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00:36:40

In the Know - Chinese Pop Culture News: Weibo Night...

Chasing Dramas ·

2025/01/17

On January 11, 2025, the Chinese entertainment stars largely attended two events. The annual Weibo Night, including headliners such as Zhao Li Ying, Xiao Zhan, Wang Yi Bo, Wang He Di, Yu Shu Xin, Ni Ni, and many many more, had the stars walking the red carpet and making slight jabs at Weibo. Shen Teng was crowned Weibo King while Zhao Li Ying took the crown of Weibo Queen. Down in Macau, Youku managed to organize a whole Empresses in the Palace reunion, the largest in the 13 years since its original

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00:34:02

Joy of Life - S1 - Ep 27 pt 1: A Star is Born

Chasing Dramas ·

2025/01/14

In our favorite episode of Joy of Life, Fan Xian stuns the world with his output of hundreds of poems during his drunken monologue during the foreign banquet in episode 27. Seeing through the trap set by Zhuang Mo Han, Fan Xian immediately recites hundreds of poems including many of the most famous poems in the Chinese canon. Listen to our latest podcast episode as we dissect many of the poems mentioned by Fan Xian including our translations and the context for the poems!

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00:33:30

In the Know - Chinese Pop Culture News: A Chaotic New...

Chasing Dramas ·

2025/01/10

The end of the holidays and into the new year saw quite a bit of chaos on social media. First was the revelation that Zhao Lu Si, who was filming a drama, was very ill and in the hospital. More stories came out afterwards about her illness, different causes and other trauma she suffered int he past. Afterwards, relatively unknown actor Li Ming De blasts the cast and crew of his drama, stealing all the social media thunder from Tencent's All Star Night. Tune in to listen in to what happened!

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00:22:55

Joy of Life - S1 - Ep 26: The Banquet

Chasing Dramas ·

2025/01/05

Fan Xian is invited a grand diplomatic banquet. He's tapped to showcase his literary skills in front of legendary scholar Zhuang Mo Han, something Fan Xian is worried about. Zhuang Mo Han comes forward and calls out Fan Xian for plagiarizing, causing drama at the banquet.

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00:24:43

Jan 2025 Chinese Drama Update - Guardians of Da Feng,...

Chasing Dramas ·

2025/01/02

Welcome to 2025 and the new slate of dramas that will kick off the new year! Dylan Wang He Di's highly anticipated drama Guardians of Da Feng began airing to much fanfare but hasn't met expectations. Yang Zi and Li Xian reunite in the upcoming Tang Dynasty drama Flourishing Peonies after their 2019 smash hit Go Go Squid. Zhang Bin Bin launches the fantasy romance dramas this year with The Blossoming Love alongside Sun Zhen Ni. Meanwhile, Tan Jian Ci had a decent hit with Under The Skin 2 that did

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00:20:26

In The Know - Chinese Pop Culture News: 2024 Men's...

Chasing Dramas ·

2024/12/30

Our final episode of 2024 features our discussion on the Chinese actors that were the winners, losers and everything in between this year. Ding Yu Xi saw success this year with Love Game in Eastern Fantasy while Zhang Wan Yi and Bai Jing Ting saw their popularity wane. Listen in for our commentary!

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00:27:58

In The Know - Chinese Pop Culture News: 2024 Women's...

Chasing Dramas ·

2024/12/26

Check out our entirely subjective view of the 2024 Chinese actresses. Listen to our take on who were the winners, losers, up and comers, the controversial and more!

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00:31:55

In The Know - Chinese Pop Culture News: 2024 Drama Recap

Chasing Dramas ·

2024/12/19

As 2024 winds down, Karen and Cathy share the most viewed dramas and most popular dramas, winners, and losers of the second half of the year. Then we discuss the top dramas of 2024, some interesting trends, and finally our top dramas of the year! Listen to hear the stats and our thoughts on the Chinese dramas of 2024.

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