Synopsis
"The Long Night" is a 2020 suspense drama with a 9.0 rating on Douban, directed by Chen Yifu and starring Liao Fan, Bai Yu, and Tan Zhuo. Adapted from Zijin Chen's novel "The Long Night," it tells the tragic story of prosecutor Jiang Yang, who sacrifices everything in pursuit of the truth. It ranked first in Douban's annual ratings for 2020, with over 1.04 million reviews, and served as the finale of iQiyi's "Light On" theater.
Overview
The Long Night is a suspense crime drama that premiered on iQIYI's "Light On" theater on September 16, 2020. Directed by Chen Yifu and written by Liu Guoqing, it is adapted from Zijin Chen's novel The Long Night. The series stars Liao Fan, Bai Yu, and Tan Zhuo in leading roles, with powerful performances from supporting actors such as Ning Li, Huang Yao, and Zhao Yang. Comprising 12 episodes, it holds a Douban rating of 9.0 based on over 1.04 million reviews, making it the highest-rated Mainland Chinese drama on Douban in 2020 and one of the highest-rated domestic dramas in the past five years.
The reason The Long Night received such high acclaim lies in its nature as not just a gripping suspense drama, but also a profound work about justice and sacrifice. In the series, prosecutor Jiang Yang pays the price of his youth, career, family, and even his life in pursuit of a buried truth. When the truth is finally revealed, the audience experiences not only the thrill of a suspenseful plot but also a soul-stirring sense of tragedy and deep emotion.
Plot
The story begins with a bizarre scene. In a 2010 Chongqing subway station, a shabbily dressed man drags a heavy suitcase, attempting to force his way into the subway. Security personnel chase after him, and the man claims there is a bomb inside the suitcase. When the police arrive and open it, they find no bomb—instead, it contains the body of the well-known entrepreneur Hou Guiping.
The investigation of the case is assigned to criminal investigator Yan Liang (played by Liao Fan). As the investigation deepens, Yan Liang discovers that behind this seemingly simple subway body-dumping case lies a shocking secret spanning a decade. Ten years earlier, the promising young prosecutor Jiang Yang (played by Bai Yu) took on the case of Hou Guiping's alleged bribery. During his investigation, he uncovered an even darker truth—a sexual assault case involving multiple individuals that had been systematically covered up.
The series employs a narrative technique that interweaves three timelines: the 2000 Hou Guiping case, the 2003 Jiang Yang investigation, and the 2010 subway body-dumping case. These three threads gradually converge, ultimately piecing together a complete truth. Each timeline reveals only a fragment of the truth; only by combining the pieces from all three periods can the audience see the full picture of the events.
Cast
| Actor | Role | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Liao Fan | Yan Liang | Criminal investigator, calm and intelligent, in charge of investigating the subway body-dumping case |
| Bai Yu | Jiang Yang | Prosecutor, a tragic hero who sacrifices everything to uncover the truth |
| Tan Zhuo | Li Jing | Hou Guiping's ex-girlfriend, a key figure in pushing for the truth to be revealed |
| Ning Li | Zhang Chao | Lawyer, suspect in the subway case, actually the mastermind behind revealing the truth |
| Huang Yao | — | Jiang Yang's wife, who supports her husband during his quest for the truth |
| Zhao Yang | Zhu Wei | Criminal investigator, Jiang Yang's comrade-in-arms, who also pays a price for the truth |
Cultural Impact
The Long Night stands alongside The Bad Kids as the twin peaks of domestic suspense dramas in 2020. If The Bad Kids reveals the darkness of human nature, then The Long Night shows the unextinguishable light within that darkness. The character Jiang Yang became the most heartbreaking screen image of 2020—a young prosecutor with a bright future ahead of him, who gave up everything for justice and ultimately fell on the path of seeking the truth.
Bai Yu's performance is the highlight of the series. He masterfully portrays Jiang Yang's transformation from a spirited young prosecutor to a tragic figure who, despite being crushed by reality, refuses to give up. Particularly moving is the scene where Jiang Yang, with tears in his eyes in his final moments, utters the line "I did my best," bringing countless viewers to tears. Liao Fan's portrayal of Yan Liang provides a solid acting foundation for the series with his steady and restrained performance.
The drama also sparked widespread discussion among viewers about social justice. "The long night is hard to illuminate, but someone must light the lamp"—this phrase became the core spiritual essence of the series and a source of strength for countless viewers facing their own difficulties.
References
- Douban Movie: https://movie.douban.com/subject/33447642/
- Baidu Baike: https://baike.baidu.com/item/沉默的真相
- Wikipedia: https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-cn/沉默的真相_(电视剧)
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