Saturday, 29 May 2021

Ace Troops

Drama: Ace Troops
Chinese Title: 王牌部队 / Wang Pai Bu Dui
Broadcast Network: Jiangsu TV
Broadcast Website: iQIYI

Broadcast Date: December 26, 2021

Air Time: Daily Primetime Drama 19:30 (2 eps) except Fri-Sat (1 ep) with 4 eps released early for VIP, next day 24:00 (1 ep) for non-VIP (See Viewing Calendar)
Genre: Military
Language: Mandarin
Episodes: 40
Director: Liu Yan, Tian Yi
Screenwriter: Zhou Zhifang, Liu Yan, Hu Jian
Production Company: iQIYI, Jetsen, Times
Executive Producer: Ji Daoqing
Origin: China
Watch Episodes On: Youtube

Love Meter

Synopsis and Plot Summary

During China's reform and opening-up, the military evolved over the span of forty years beginning from the early 1980's. The story follows the lives of Gao Liang, Gu Yiye and Jiang Nanzheng who represent the hot-blooded men and women of the army.

From the moment they joined the army, Gao Liang (Huang Jingyu) who came from humble beginnings and Gu Yiye (Xiao Zhan) who came from a military family competed with each other like rivals and brothers. They also fell in love with the same girl. However, Gu Yiye let go of his love for Jiang Nanzheng (Zhong Chuxi) for the sake of chivalry and married A Xiu, the widow of their old squad leader who died in the war.

As time passed, Gao Liang stayed true to his heart and shouldered the duties and mission of a soldier. Gao Liang and Jiang Nanzheng formed a family in 2003. Gao Liang returned from further studies in Russia in 2008 and was transferred to a new post as the Acting Commander of the Blue Army Brigade. Gao Liang began to look into many aspects. In an exercise organized by the headquarters, he persisted in actual combat training and led a group of soldiers to make a breakthrough in informatization tactics. Together with Gu Yiye and Jiang Nanzhen, they jointly expose the fraudulent practices in the army. Through their action, his team eventually became the ace troop that "dares to fight and emerges victorious."

Fun Facts

It was shot in Shenyang, Nanjing, Changzhou and other locations.
It is a drama to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China.
Much of the material used come from true stories about army life and are based on real people.
There were issues over who should get first billing between the two male leads. At the end, it was ordered alphabetically based on their last names.
Huang Jingyu and Xiao Zhan both rose to fame after starring in the BL adaptations "Addicted" and "The Untamed" respectively.
Shooting began quietly in 2020. There were leaked photos of Xiao Zhan filming his next drama as people waited to see his next steps after the AO3 scandal.
It was announced on December 26 that it will premiere the same night.
It received a lot of buzz online. However, Douban ratings were never revealed even as the series ended.

Cast

	Johnny Huang Jingyu as Gao Liang
	Xiao Zhan as Gu Yiye
	Elaine Zhong Chuxi as A Xiu
	Li Youbin as Zheng Yuan
	Nikita Mao Linlin as A Xiu
	He Zhengjun as Wang Tianming
	Fu Chengpeng as Qin Hanyong
	Xu Honghao as Song Jianshe
	Sun Xun as Zhang Fei
	Hou Mengsha as Han Chunyu
	Liu Xiaojie as Zhao Hongying