The Evidence filming schedule is 180 days
While I must admit I am partial to Liu Yu Ning in a period costume or martial arts outfit, it will be interesting to see him star in the upcoming contemporary action/crime drama Evidence, which just kicked off filming this month.
Yu Ning stars alongside Sun Hong Lei, Elvis Han and Zhang Yi Fan, and this one is a completely new thing for our boy as he’s been stuck in historical and wuxia dramas for so long he’s probably forgotten what his legs look like in trousers.
Although, whether it will do as well as his historical dramas A Dream Within a Dream and The Prisoner of Beauty is anyone’s guess as, let’s face it, fans like an actor in a specific type of drama and, when they switch to a different genre, it’s not always a success for them.
Look at Wang Hedi’s recent contemporary mystery Light to the Night, which didn’t receive anywhere near as much attention as his previous wuxia dramas, while Gong Jun’s crime series The Truth was a bit of a flop, if the truth be known.
After all, when fans like their best boys in flowing robes, they tend to continue to want that more often than not, so I guess we will see how well Liu Yu Ning does with Evidence, eh?
Why is filming for Evidence so long?
Filming will also, apparently, be a grueling one for him and the rest of the crew as much of the filming takes place in Yunnan Province, and it will last for 180 days.
Why so long for a contemporary (well 2008) crime drama, as they usually wrap up much faster than wuxia or xianxia series, don’t they?
Apparently, it’s because the production company has made the unusual decision of filming each scene in chronological order.
That means a lot more work, and filming that is far more expensive than it needs to be. But, someone involved in the production must have decided doing it that way will make the crime drama seem more authentic, right?
The cast and crew of Evidence
Like I said, Evidence announced filming was underway this week (May 21st) with the usual red envelopes, incense and good luck bringing rituals, and also confirmed the C-drama’s director, screenwriter and cast list (which is huge!)
Directing is Wu Bai, who also helmed last year’s The Narcotic Operation, with screenwriter Chen Yu Xin (The Burning) creating the scripts.
The pair also worked together on The Narcotic Operation, and I always think dramas tend to be even better when some of the main staff are familiar with each other’s work, so this one should definitely be checked out when it drops.
Well, that and it’s Liu Yu Ning paired up with Sun Hong Lei, who is one of China’s most iconic and most award-winning actors, and just as standout as Yu Ning in just about all his roles.
Throw in we’ve also got Elvis Han as the third male lead, and they really pulled out the big guns for this one.
And a heads up, yes, Wang Yu Wen was supposed to star in Evidence but, according to her agency, scheduling conflicts surfaced and she just wasn’t able to reschedule what she’d already signed up for to accommodate a drama with a very long filming period.
The full cast list released by Tencent Video looks like this:
Lead Actors
- Liu Yu Ning as Gao Yuan
- Sun Hong Lei as Han Yongqiang
Special Guest Actor
- Elvis Han as Han Yongjun
Lead Actor
- Zhang Yi Fan as Han Yongyu
Starring
- Wang Jin Song as Deng Qi
- Zhang Zi Xian as Zheng Jianshe
- Yu Ai Lei as Yan Baolong
- Ying Er as He Hongxia
- Alan Aruna as He Shuo
- Li Qiang as Li Xuedong
- Liu Huan as Feng Zhigang
- Yang Shuo as Sun
Special Guests
- He Yu Hong as Lin Lu
- Wang Jun Di as Gao Yan
- Su Xiao Ding as Fan Yaguo
- Liu Shuai Liang as Bi Mingliang
- Huang Xiao Lei as Feng Tou
Supporting Cast
- Wang Jian Xin as Yan Ping
- Fu Miao as Lü Zhixin
- Rong Zi Xi as He Xue
- Xing Han Qing as Hai Dongqing
- Wan Pei Xin as Hong Dali
- Lu Tong as Xiao Wen
- Du Juan as Li Mei
- Kai Xuan as Liu Zhuo
- Sun Xiao Jun as Ma Dachun
- Wu Qiang as Cui Wu
- Zhao Ran as Fu Jinwei
- Guo Jun Wei as Zheng Zhi
Friendship Guest Appearances
- Liu Tian Zuo as Lao Wu / Old Wu
- Kong Lin as Jiang Mingzhu
- Zhao Xuan as Gou Bin
- Yuan Man as Zhou Shouyi
A huge number of booting ceremony photos were also released for the full cast, while I am showing you just the main ones here. Enjoy!
More promos will probably be on their way soon, especially considering the filming schedule is epic. Meanwhile, the premiere date for Evidence will likely not be before early to mid 2027, as the crime drama doesn’t even finish filming until some time in late October or early November this year.
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