Dylan Wang Charms in “Light to the Night”

(Above) The drama has broken 4 records including Youku’s most popular mystery drama premiere in history, the highest-ranking mystery drama premiere of the year, and the second-highest mystery drama premiere in Youku history.

Dylan Wang (王鶴棣), Pan Yueming (潘粵明) and Ren Min’s (任敏) new mystery drama Light to the Night <黑夜告白> has seen its ratings and popularity continue to rise – the series has broken four records on China’s Youku platform to date, and outperformed its same-timeslot rival The Epoch of Miyu <蜜語紀>, starring Zhu Zhu (朱珠) and Wallace Chung (鍾漢良).

In the drama, Dylan Wang plays rookie detective Ran Fangxu, who works hard to solve cases. From delivering his lines in his own voice, to action scenes, to portraying the passion and humor of a rookie police officer, the idol’s standout performance has helped the character’s popularity quickly surpass 100 million, making Ran Fangxu the fastest Youku character in recent years to reach that milestone.

Here are the three key reasons why Light to the Night has topped the ratings:

Dylan Wang’s original voice lines add humor

Dylan Wang uses his own voice for his lines, with a touch of Sichuan dialect mixed in. Although some viewers have criticized his delivery for not sounding “authentic” enough, Wang himself is from Leshan, Sichuan, making Sichuan dialect his native tongue.

During a promotional event for the drama, the producer revealed that Dylan taught Pan Yueming Sichuan dialect on set. However, because of Ran Fangxu’s character setting as a rookie detective, the director actually hoped he would use less Sichuan dialect. While Dylan’s character is serious when handling cases, his mentor-student scenes with Pan Yueming are full of comedic charm whenever he speaks, winning over many viewers.

A suspenseful story across different timelines

The drama moves back and forth between three timelines: 1997, 2006 and 2015. Through the mentor-student dynamic between Ran Fangxu and He Yuanhang (Pan Yueming), viewers can infer that the elevator disappearance case involving a father and daughter had a serious impact on Ran Fangxu’s career as a detective; the case also appears to have changed He Yuanhang, turning him from someone who simply wanted a stable and safe career, to someone who becomes increasingly determined to solve the case despite now being older.

Dylan Wang and Pan Yueming also convincingly portray their characters at life’s different stages. For Wang’s character, Ran Fangxu is a passionate rookie detective in 1997, full of theories and enthusiasm. By 2015, he has become a calm and composed police academy instructor, minus the fearless passion he once had – this contrast adding another layer of suspense to the drama.

A fast and smooth narrative pace

The drama’s brisk and fluid pacing – shifting the story seamlessly between 1997, 2006 and 2015 through the elevator in Longyuanli also won praise.

The appearance of police officer He Xiaohe, played by Ren Min, is also handled efficiently. When the older He Yuanhang arrives at the police station and enters the archives room, the drama quickly reveals the father-daughter relationship between the two characters. Although this scene establishes important character relationships, it is presented smoothly and without unnecessary filler, keeping the story tight and engaging.

Source: 1