ARTS / TV
‘Our Times’ focuses on young people’s difficult journey to success in the 1990s
Published: Sep 16, 2021 07:02 PM
Promotional material for <em>Our Times</em> Photo: Ran Ran

Promotional material for Our Times Photo: Ran Ran

A new TV series starring Wu Lei and Hou Minghao is taking audiences back to the 1990s, a time when millions of Chinese people were working hard to achieve a better life amid tremendous social and economic changes in China.

Our Times, which debuted Tuesday on Chinese streaming giant Tencent Video, follows the careers of two talented young men who start as PC salesmen after graduating from a top Chinese university during the early stages of China's reform and opening-up. 

The first several episodes of the show have received positive reviews for its depiction of the 1990s, a time when everything seemed slow with no cell phones or fast internet, and the positive attitudes of the lead roles toward the future and their willingness to chase their dreams. 

The hashtag for the series has earned nearly 200 million views and sparked more than half a million discussions on Sina Weibo. 

Show director Liu Chang said that he hopes to "represent the best of the 1990s to today's audiences with a fresh and sweet take." 

The show is also gaining ground from overseas streaming audiences, as many foreign viewers are tuning in to catch Wu, who also starred in the popular period drama The Long Ballad. 

According to the show's scriptwriter Zhuoyue Paomo, the series aims to tell the stories of the pioneers who dared to try and make it big then.