It has always been difficult to make sequels to Chinese costume dramas, and they always go through all kinds of twists and turns. Even for high-quality dramas with a large audience demand, it is not an easy task to gather the same cast and crew. It is possible that the actors have moved on to other projects, and scheduling conflicts make it difficult to coordinate everyone's availability. As a result, delays are inevitable, making it hard to gather the original team. While replacing a few supporting roles may be acceptable, changing the main cast would seriously affect the show's quality, leading to a completely new drama.
However, this situation has improved this year. Many popular dramas have returned for a second season, such as “Young Blood 2,” “Strange Tales of the Tang Dynasty 2,” “Joy of Life 2,” and so on, with the original cast and crew. “Young Blood 2” has already been approved and will premiere next month.
“Young Blood” was a unexpected drama when it premiered, with only Zhang Xincheng gaining some recognition from his role in “My Huckleberry Friends.” As for Zhou Yutong, Wang Youshuo, Su Xiaotong, and others, they were all new faces with little recognition. Despite being a low-budget costume drama without much promotion, it still managed to catch people's attention and became a hit.
The drama “Young Blood” is set in the Qingli year of the Northern Song Dynasty, telling the story of six teenagers – Yuan Zhongxin (played by Zhang Xincheng), Zhao Jian (played by Zhou Yutong), Wang Kuan (played by Wang Youshuo), Pei Jing (played by Su Xiaotong), Xue Ying (played by Zheng Wei), and Wei Yanei (played by He Haochen). Together, they uphold the righteousness of their country and help each other on the hidden front lines, fighting for the safety of their people and the prosperity of their nation.
Thanks to the viewers' demand, the second season has finally arrived. The group of six remains the same, only Wei Yanei's actor has been replaced by Fu Weilun. The story continues three years later, when the Qi Zhai (七斋) and six teenagers reunite, showing off their wit and humor once again. The intelligent Yuan Zhongxin, the beautiful and clever Zhao Jian, the never-killing Pei Jing, the never-lying Wang Kuan, the uncommunicative Xue Ying, and the outgoing Wei Yanei return once again.
During the Qingli year, to avoid war and maintain peace and stability among all ethnic groups, the Northern Song Dynasty trained young spies under the name of the Secret Pavilion. The six teenagers formed the Qi Zhai of the Secret Pavilion, and in each life-threatening mission, they gradually grew up, united in combat, and formed a deep friendship. With their own blood and loyalty, they helped eliminate the disasters facing the Great Song.
Since the first season of Young Blood aired, the popularity of several leading actors has increased. Zhang Xincheng has more and more representative works, such as “My Huckleberry Friends”, “Skate Into Love”, “Bright Future”, “Go Ahead”, etc. The film “All These Years” also broke 200 million yuan at the box office and ranked third in the same period, which is indeed an impressive achievement.
Zhou Yutong's representative works include “Begin Again”, “Remembrance of Things Past”, and this year's “Nothing But You” co-starring with Leo Wu, which has gained a wave of fans and a high reviews, becoming a refreshing breeze in the romance drama genre. Su Yutong won the Best Actress in a Costume Drama award at the 32nd China Huading Awards for her role as Chu Chu in the costume suspense drama “The Imperial Coroner”.
The second season of “Young Blood” is currently scheduled to be aired in June, and the specific broadcast date still needs to be confirmed by the official. If you have watched the first season of “Young Blood”, are you looking forward to the second season?
