The Long Season

Synopsis

"The Long Season" is a 2023 life suspense drama directed by Xin Shuang, starring Fan Wei, Qin Hao, and Chen Minghao. Set against the backdrop of the reform of state-owned enterprises in Northeast China in the 1990s, the series connects three different time periods through a dismemberment case, telling the story of the fate of Wang Xiang, a worker at Hualin Steel Plant, and his family amidst the tides of the era. It has a Douban rating of 9.4, the highest score for a domestic drama in nearly eight years.

Overview

"The Long Season" is a Chinese life suspense web series that premiered on Tencent Video on April 22, 2023. Directed by Xin Shuang, it was written by Yu Xiaoqian, Pan Yiran, and Chen Ji. The series stars Fan Wei, Qin Hao, and Chen Minghao in leading roles, with special performances by Li Gengxi, Liu Yitie, and Jiang Qiming. With a total of 12 episodes, it holds a Douban rating of 9.4, making it the highest-rated domestic TV drama in the past eight years and the undisputed best Chinese drama of 2023.

Xin Shuang, who previously directed "The Bad Kids," delivers an even more stunning work with this, his second television series. "The Long Season" is not a traditional suspense drama. Using an unsolved case as a thread, it truly tells the story of the rise and fall of an industrial city in Northeast China amid the tide of state-owned enterprise reforms and the fate of countless ordinary people caught in the sweeping changes of the era. As the title suggests, it is a long and inescapable season.

Plot

The story unfolds across three timelines, interweaving narratives from 1997, 1998, and 2016. These three timelines gradually converge, ultimately piecing together a cruel and sorrowful truth.

In 1997, in the small northeastern city of Hualin, the Hualin Steel Plant is at its peak. Wang Xiang (played by Fan Wei), a locomotive driver at the steel plant, is a model worker—diligent and devoted to the factory as if it were his home. His son, Wang Bei (played by Liu Yitie), is a young worker at the plant. Wang Xiang's friend, Gong Biao (played by Qin Hao), works in the factory's security department and is cheerful and glib-tongued. Police Captain Ma Desheng (played by Chen Minghao) is another close friend of Wang Xiang.

In 1998, dismembered body parts are discovered in the Hualin River, causing citywide panic. Ma Desheng is tasked with solving the case, and Wang Xiang becomes involved due to his son's connection to the incident. Meanwhile, the Hualin Steel Plant undergoes state-owned enterprise reforms, leaving many workers facing layoffs. Wang Xiang goes from being a model worker to a laid-off employee, and his life completely collapses in the year the case occurs.

In 2016, the elderly Wang Xiang and the aged Gong Biao accidentally discover a vehicle related to the old case and decide to reopen the investigation. Ma Desheng, who has been retired for many years, also joins them. The three old partners reunite, attempting to uncover the truth hidden during that long season eighteen years ago.

Cast

Cultural Impact

After its release, "The Long Season" sparked significant social resonance. Its Douban rating of 9.4 made it one of the most critically acclaimed domestic dramas in recent years. The portrayal of the rise and fall of a northeastern industrial city resonated deeply with many who lived through that era—the ordinary workers who lost their jobs and sense of direction during the state-owned enterprise reforms found their stories expressed with utmost authenticity and emotion in this series.

Fan Wei's performance is widely regarded as the most powerful element of the series. He masterfully portrays Wang Xiang's immense transformation from a spirited model worker to an aged, persistent old man. Particularly in the final episode, the scene where the elderly Wang Xiang walks through a golden cornfield and shouts to his younger self to "look forward, don't look back" moved countless viewers to tears, becoming one of the most iconic moments on Chinese screens in 2023.

The series also sparked discussions about the "Northeast Renaissance." In recent years, the literary works of northeastern writers such as Shuang Xuetao, Ban Yu, and Zheng Zhi, along with northeastern-themed films and TV series like "The Piano in a Factory" and "Black Coal, Thin Ice," have collectively formed a trend known as the Northeast Renaissance. "The Long Season" is considered the pinnacle of this movement.

References

1. Douban Movie: https://movie.douban.com/subject/35588177/
2. Baidu Baike: https://baike.baidu.com/item/漫长的季节/58414704
3. Wikipedia: https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-cn/漫长的季节