Light the Night
Light the Night (traditional Chinese: 華燈初上; simplified Chinese: 华灯初上), previously known as Blue Hour, is a 2021 Taiwanese Netflix original series written by Ryan Tu and directed by Lien Yi-chi. The series stars Ruby Lin, Yo Yang, Cheryl Yang, Rhydian Vaughan, Derek Chang, Puff Kuo, Esther Liu, Cherry Hsieh and Nikki Hsin-ying Hsieh.
| Light the Night | |||||||
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| Also known as | Blue Hour | ||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 華燈初上 | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 华灯初上 | ||||||
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| Genre | Drama Mystery Suspense Thriller | ||||||
| Developed by |
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| Written by |
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| Directed by | Lien Yi-chi | ||||||
| Presented by | Mark Chang Sammy Yang Jason Chen | ||||||
| Starring |
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| Country of origin | Taiwan | ||||||
| Original language | Mandarin | ||||||
| No. of seasons | 3[1] | ||||||
| No. of episodes | 24 | ||||||
| Production | |||||||
| Executive producer | Aben Lee | ||||||
| Producers |
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| Cinematography | Ming Wang | ||||||
| Editor | Chen Chun-hung | ||||||
| Running time | 45-55 minutes | ||||||
| Production companies |
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| Budget | NT$250,000,000[2](~US$8.97 million) | ||||||
| Release | |||||||
| Original network | Netflix | ||||||
| Original release | 26 November 2021[3] – March 18, 2022 | ||||||
Synopsis
Season 1
In 1988, teenagers find a dead body in the woods; months before, two madams at Light Bar struggle with the men in their lives.
Season 2
At the end of the second season of Light the Night, Chiang Han is shown listening to a tape recorder that was handed over to him earlier by Rose. It had a recording of a woman panicking about another woman's death. Just as Chiang Han is on his way to meet Rose, he is hit by a speeding car and collapses on the road
Season 3
We learn that Rose came to work at Light after being released from prison, having taking the fall for her unscrupulous husband (Joseph Cheng). While serving time, Rose befriended Hana (Esther Liu), who also comes to work at Light upon her release.
Cast
Main starring
- Ruby Lin as Lo Yu-nung a.k.a. Rose, the manager of 'Hikari'
- Yo Yang as Pan Wen-cheng, a detective
- Cheryl Yang as Su Ching-yi a.k.a. Sue, the owner of 'Hikari'
- Rhydian Vaughan as Chiang Han, a famous television screenwriter
- Derek Chang as He Yu-en, a college student
- Esther Liu as Li Shu-hua a.k.a. Hana, a hostess of 'Hikari'
- Cherry Hsieh as Chi Man-ju a.k.a. Ah-chi, a hostess of 'Hikari'
- Nikki Hsin-ying Hsieh as Huang Pai-he a.k.a. Yuri, a hostess of 'Hikari'
- Puff Kuo as Wang Ai-lien a.k.a. Aiko, a hostess of 'Hikari', Yu-en's classmate
Co-starring
- Cammy Chiang as Lin Ya-wen a.k.a. Yaya, an accountant and a hostess of 'Hikari'
- Hu Wei-jie as Ting Chia-hao a.k.a. Hsiao-hao, a waiter of 'Hikari'
- Nash Zhang as Li Chien-ta a.k.a. Ah-ta, a detective
- Dora Hsieh as Yen Chiao-ju a.k.a. Mei-mei, a detective
- Jim Liu as Wu Tsu-wei, Yu-nung and Shao-chiang's son
Guest-starring
- Wallace Huo as Ma Tien-hua a.k.a. Hinoki, Ching-yi's sworn brother, a notorious gangster
- Joseph Cheng as Wu Shao-chiang, Yu-nung's husband (part 1, 3)
- Wang Po-chieh as Henry, a host of 'Ciao' who is in love with Yu-ri
- Kai Hsiu as Ko Chih-hao, a prosecutor
- Lee Lee-zen as Hsu Kuo-piao a.k.a. Piao-ke, a gangster (part 1)
- Kagami Tomohisa as Nakamura Masao, a customer of 'Hikari'
- Chu Chung-heng as Sun Ming-chang, Wen-cheng's superior
- Ken Lin as Feng, a television producer (part 1-2)
- Lorene Jen as Hsiao Wan-jou, a famous actress (part 1-2)
- Wu Kang-ren as Liu Pao-lung a.k.a. Pao-pao, the owner of 'Sugar', a cross-dressing hostess (part 2-3)
- Wang Ching-ying as Su Mei-yu, Ching-yi's mother (part 2-3)
- Yi Cheng as Chu Wen-hsiung, the neighbor of the Lo family, Mei-yu's ex-lover (part 2-3)
- Gingle Wang as young Lo Yu-nung (part 2-3)
- Tseng Jing-hua as young Wu Shao-chiang (part 2-3)
- Jean Ho as young Su Ching-yi (part 2)
Guest appearances
- Greg Hsu as Yu-en's classmate (part 1)
- Shen Meng-sheng as Lo Chun-sheng, Yu-nung's father (part 1-2)
- Moon Wang as Lo Hsieh Hsueh-ling, Yu-nung's mother (part 1-2)
- James Wen as Lo Li-nung, Yu-nung's elder brother (part 1)
- June Tsai as Lo I-nung, Yu-nung's elder sister (part 1-2)
- Ma Nien-hsien as Tsai Huo-wang, the owner of a izakaya
- Heaven Hai as Ko Hsiu-chih, the owner of a barbershop (part 1-2)
- Hans Chung as Kevin Cheng, the manager of 'Ciao' (part 1)
- Chen Bor-jeng as Shu-hua's father (part 1, 3)
- Fan Jui-chun as Ai-lien's mother (part 1, 3)
- JC Lin as a student of mountain climbing club who found dead body (part 1)
- Edison Song as a student of mountain climbing club who found dead body (part 1)
- Ying Tsai-ling as Zhang Yi-fen, the dean of orphanage (part 2-3)
- Kitamura Toyoharu as a customer of 'Hikari' (part 1)
- Berry Kuo as a cake shop clerk (part 2)
- Vivian Hsu as Chiung-fang, the ex-owner of 'Hikari' (part 2)
- Chang Yung-cheng as president Fang, an advertisers who is Hsiao Wan-jou's boyfriend (part 2)
- Austin Lin as magazine club senior (part 2-3)
- 9m88 a hostess of 'Hikari' (part 2)
- Tang Chih-wei as Li Ssu-ching, a host of television program (part 2)
- Emerson Tsai as a customer of 'Sugar' (part 3)
- Ray Chang as Shu-hua's ex-boyfriend (part 3)
Supporting
- Chien Shao-feng as a student of mountain climbing club who found dead body (part 1)
- Wang Yu-hsuan as a student of mountain climbing club who found dead body (part 1)
- Wu Kun-da as Pai Lung, the owner of cafe (part 1)
Production
Six female leads attended the press meeting held in Taipei on September 11, 2020. Also, unveiled their male actors line up on October 14, 2020.[4] Over 250 million Taiwanese dollars were spent to produce the 24-episode series, which features extravagant sets and costumes.[5] The original series planned to be broadcast only in TVBS, but the high-standard production and unique story themes attracted the attention of streaming platform Netflix, and finally they attained its overseas distribution rights for over 300 million Taiwanese dollars.[6][7]
Release
Light the Night Season 1 was released globally on November 26, 2021 on Netflix. The series' first season was released in three parts. On November 22, 2021, a few days before the series premiere, the first two episodes of the first part was screened at the 58th Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival.[8]
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient(s) | Result |
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| 2021 | Yahoo Asia Buzz Awards | Popular Television Series | Light the Night[9] | Won |
| 2022 | 57th Golden Bell Awards[10] | Best Television Series | Light the Night | Nominated |
| Best Actor | Yo Yang | Nominated | ||
| Best Actress | Ruby Lin | Nominated | ||
| Cheryl Yang | Nominated | |||
| Best Supporting Actor | Nash Zhang | Nominated | ||
| Best Supporting Actress | Esther Liu | Nominated | ||
| Cherry Hsieh | Nominated | |||
| Best Director | Lien Yi-chi | Nominated | ||
| Best Writing for a Television Series | Tu Cheng-che, Hong Li-yen, Lin Shao-chien | Nominated | ||
| Creative Award for a Drama Series | Light the Night | Nominated | ||
| Best Score for a Drama Series | Wen Tzu-chieh | Nominated | ||
| 2022 | 5th Asian Academy Creative Awards | Best Drama Series | Light the Night | Nominated |
| Best Actor In a Supporting Role | Wu Kang-ren | Won | ||
| Best Actress In a Leading Role | Cheryl Yang | Nominated | ||
| Best Direction (Fiction) | Lien Yi-chi | Nominated | ||
| Best Screenplay | Tu Cheng-che | Nominated | ||
Soundtrack
| Light the Night Original Soundtrack (OST) | |
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| Soundtrack album by Various artists | |
| Released | 1 Jan 2022 |
| Genre | Mandopop |
| Language | Mandarin Taiwanese Hokkien |
| Label | B'in Music |
Light the Night Original Soundtrack (OST) (華燈初上影集原聲帶) was released on January 1, 2022 by various artists. It contains a total of 9 tracks. The OST album is available for streaming on various music streaming platforms
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Singers | Length |
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| 1. | "The Moon Represents My Heart" (Opening song) | Sun Yi | Weng Ching-hsi | Ashin | 03:48 |
| 2. | "Finally" (Ending song) | Pan Yun-An | Pan Yun-An | Accusefive | 04:55 |
| 3. | "Love, Loved, Loving" | Wu Sheng-hao | Lin Che-an | Mixer | 04:02 |
| 4. | "Rainy Night Flower" | Chiu Thiam-ong | Teng Yu-hsien | Jiajia | 03:21 |
| 5. | "Shattered" | Fran Chen | 04:05 | ||
| 6. | "Don't Love Me, Please" | Wu Sheng-hao | Blackie Wu | Ruby Lin | 04:49 |
| 7. | "Alone" | Ring | Ring | Ring | 03:45 |
| 8. | "Place of First Love" | Sun Yi | Liu Chia-chang | Jiajia | 02:56 |
| 9. | "How Are You" | Kidding Chiu | Kidding Chiu | Arrow Wei | 04:28 |
References
- "In Star-Studded 'Light the Night', a Unique Taipei Subculture Comes Alive". netflix. November 21, 2021.
- "還原1988年林森北路 Netflix 3億台幣買下《華燈初上》獨家播出權". Ctee Taiwan (in Chinese). 2021-08-04.
- "Here's Everything New on Netflix in November 2021—and What's Leaving". Time.com. October 31, 2021.
- "台劇《華燈初上》超狂「酒店小姐」陣容公開！林心如、楊謹華、郭雪芙6位女星同台飆戲". ELLE Taiwan (in Chinese). September 17, 2020.
- "Netflix Acquires Rights to Ruby Lin's "Blue Hour"". Jaynestar.com. August 7, 2021.
- "《華燈初上》Netflix 獨家播映，開播前你必須知道的 3 大重點". Tatler Asian (in Chinese). 2021-08-03.
- "【獨家】婚後首揪霍建華合演 林心如《華燈初上》3億賣出台劇新高". Mirror Media (in Chinese). 2021-08-02.
- "Light the Night: Ep.1-2". GoldenHorse.org.tw. November 22, 2021.
- "Yahoo Asia Buzz Awards 2021". Yahoo TW (in Chinese). February 14, 2022.
- "【金鐘獎入圍公布】《華燈初上》林心如、楊謹華搶視后 《茶金》溫昇豪、郭子乾爭視帝". Up Media. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
External links
| Studio albums |
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| Film produced |
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| Television produced |
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