Time passed quietly, and in the blink of an eye, the first quarter of 2024 has come to an end. Unlike the grand occasion when phenomenal dramas such as "The World" and "Hurricane" emerged at the beginning of the new year in the past, this year's domestic drama market seems to be a little lonely, and no real hits have been born so far. Although Wong Kar-wai's "Flowers" has attracted much attention, most of the expected hit dramas have not sparked widespread buzz after they were broadcast.
Recently, a suspense detective drama called "The Legend of Tang Di Gong" was once pinned on high hopes because of its multiple highlights such as classic character IP, acting lineup and top creative team, but unfortunately due to the broken narrative rhythm and unsatisfactory handling of reasoning clues, many viewers quit halfway**.
It is worth mentioning that although the period drama "South to North" launched by CCTV has made a breakthrough in ratings, it has not replicated the phenomenal popularity of "The World" that breaks the boundaries of audiences. People can't help but ask, after "Flowers", when will the next domestic drama that is expected to detonate the market appear?
The answer does not seem far away. On the evening of February 29th, Hunan Satellite TV is about to launch a masterpiece with a realistic theme - "The River is on the Sun", which is likely to become a bright pearl of the year with its deep-rooted content and strong production team. CCTV also strongly supports this, and its official Weibo account "CCTV TV Series" has also been specially promoted for the show.
"River Day" takes environmental protection as the core topic, telling the story of Qijiang City, after suffering a serious water pollution incident, Zheng Hanjiang (played by Huang Zhizhong), a provincial deputy department-level inspector and professor of Qijiang University, was appointed as the deputy mayor in charge of environmental protection, leading the whole city to jointly deal with the environmental protection crisis and strive to completely solve the environmental pollution problem. As can be seen from the trailer, the three core challenges faced by Zheng Hanjiang constitute the climax of the play: the first problem is how to properly handle the relationship with the masses. Environmental protection issues directly refer to people's livelihood and well-being, and Zheng Hanjiang first has to face conflicts with citizens in the process of remediating environmental pollution.
Second, Zheng Hanjiang also had to face differences with the leadership when implementing environmental protection policies. Liao Yuzheng (played by Zhang Guoqiang), secretary of the Qijiang Municipal Party Committee, once gave gentle advice: "We must not only achieve results, but also avoid right and wrong." ”
When Zheng Hanjiang revealed that there were serious underground sewage and garbage pollution problems in Qijiang City, he resolutely took a series of tough measures, which not only caused dissatisfaction among some colleagues, especially Liu Gengye (Su Ke), the deputy mayor in charge of investment promotion, directly complained to his superiors and accused Zheng Hanjiang of his radical approach.
Moreover, the third dilemma facing Zheng Hanjiang revolves around the irreconcilable contradiction between economic development and environmental protection. In view of the fact that the main source of pollution in Qijiang comes from the sewage discharge of local enterprises, he proposed a plan to temporarily suspend production and rectify the enterprises, but this means that a huge compensation of up to 11.4 billion yuan will be triggered, which will seriously affect the operation of enterprises and local economic development.
Faced with criticism that "shutting down enterprises is an economic shock", Zheng Hanjiang had to explore how to effectively promote environmental protection without harming the economy.
The highlights of River Rising go far beyond the gripping plot setting, and the production team and lavish cast behind it are equally impressive.
Director Han Xiaojun has served as an assistant director of high-quality historical dramas such as "Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty" and "Ming Dynasty 1566", and his salt merchant-themed drama "Salt Merchants of the Qing Dynasty" has been nominated for many important awards. Screenwriter Zhang Ting is known as an all-rounder, who can not only arrange high-quality historical dramas such as "The Long River Under Heaven", but also write word-of-mouth business war scripts like "The Wind Blows in the Summer".
In terms of actor selection, "The River Sun" has brought together many powerful celebrities, according to statistics, there are no less than five national first-class actors alone.
The leading actor Huang Zhizhong won many emperors including Feitian and Magnolia with his superb performances in works such as "Ming Dynasty 1566" and "New Bright Sword".
Whether it is the heavy worry in the face of environmental degradation, or the severe rebuke of entrepreneurs who fail to perform their duties in environmental protection, Huang Zhizhong interprets the emotional level of the character vividly, and his solid line skills and professionalism are even more commendable.
Another heavyweight actress, Mei Ting, also has the status of a national first-class actor, and her masterpieces "Don't Talk to Strangers" and "Parental Love" have been widely acclaimed. In the new drama, although the doctor Xiao Xue played by Mei Ting does not have many shots, with a few delicate eye scenes, the inner charm and depth of the characters have jumped on the screen.
In addition, the joining of veteran actors such as Jiang Wu, Zhang Guoqiang, Su Ke and Li Qiang also added a lot to the play. Jiang Wu plays Qian Qi, a profit-seeking business owner, whose character has a distinct personality, and his arrogance in the face of environmental protection rectification requirements and his cunning response in the investigation of the case have shown his excellent acting skills.
Zhang Guoqiang plays Liao Yuzheng, secretary of the Qijiang Municipal Party Committee in the play, and he is calm in the trailer, and in the behind-the-scenes footage, an emotional scene that broke out due to water pollution shows his profound acting skills. The deputy mayor Liu Gengye, portrayed by Su Ke, has a fiery temper and has a fierce conflict with the protagonist Zheng Hanjiang;Li Qiang plays the role of Mayor Li Ziping, who has both sharp criticism and decisive decision-making in the face of environmental protection problems.
In addition to the above-mentioned ones, the crew also invited Zhao Liang, Guo Xiaoting, Zhao Qi, Du Yuan, Dong Yong, Full Stop, Song Jialun and many other acting schools to participate in the grand event, and they jointly created a visual and emotional acting feast.
It is worth noting that "The River is Up" is the first environmental protection suspense drama in China, breaking the traditional suspense drama model of criminal investigation as the main line, focusing on the theme of environmental protection, and uncovering the mysteries of environmental pollution in Qijiang City through the bizarre ** of a deputy mayor in charge of environmental protection.
Just like Jin Fu, played by Huang Zhizhong in Hunan Satellite TV's previous broadcast of "The Long River of the World", he incarnated Zheng Hanjiang in "The River is on the Sun", although the object of treatment has changed from the Yellow River to sewage, but both are revealing a profound theme: behind the water control is actually the treatment of people.
Whether it is corruption in "The Long River of the World" that hinders the governance of the Yellow River, or the umbrella of acquiescing to the illegal discharge of pollutants by enterprises in "The River is Rising", it highlights the importance of remediating the government if you want to be flooded.