The 2020 Taiwanese TV series market continues to shine. As we look back at the past year, we are here to take a sneak peek with you into the must-see shows of 2021. Aside from the many sequels, there is no shortage of originals. So clear up your too-see list and get ready for another year of awesome television! 

 

#Originals 

 

• Who Killed the Good Man

 

 

Release Date: 2021/1/2

PTS’s brand-new mini-series Who Killed the Good Man follows a group of “losers” who are overwhelmed by their life and debts as they struggle to survive as bourgeoisies. Leading the show are Golden Horse Best Actor winner Austin Lin and Best Actress Nominee Patty Lee. The characters not only break boundaries by taking on various walks of life but also demonstrate the everyday citizen’s perseverance and grit that shines through their ordinariness. 

 

• The Magician on The Skywalk

 

 

Release Date: 2021/02

 

Based on Wu Ming-Yi’s novel of the same name, The Magician on The Skywalk is directed by Yang Ya-che, whose previous work includes award-winning The Bold, The Corrupt, and The Beautiful. The story centres on the people who live around the Zhonghua Market, with a magician connecting the lives of nine kids after one of them meets him on the skywalk. The kids later find themselves in possession of a magical power that would later change their lives. Albeit without a spectacular cast, the show is jam-packed with nostalgia and scenes that would bring Taiwanese people back to 80s Taipei, hence the enormous anticipation even before the production began.  

 

• The Summer Temple Fair

 

 

Release Date 2021/03

 

Based on the comic of the same name, The Summer Temple Fair concentrates on the hundred-years-old traditional Shetou culture of Taoyuan Daxi, with the protagonist returning to his homeland where he rediscovers his lost childhood and self. Leading the cast are Dino Lee, Jinglin Guo, Wang Shih-hsien, Lee Lee-zen, and Brando Huang. With the land’s warm consumerisms, the story provides a closer look at traditional Taiwan.

 

• Tears on Fire

 

 

Release Date: 2021/05

 

Tears on Fire is a workplace show centring on the lives of several firemen, with James Wen, Annie Chen, Lin Bo-hong, and Kuan-Ting Liu leading; the story explores the incredible stress and challenges they face in the merciless firestorms. It grants us entry to not just the harsh nature of the job, but with lifelike real visual effects, a glimpse at what it’s like to actually be in the act. 

 

• Rainless in a Godless Land

 

 

Release Date: To be confirmed 

 

Apocalyptic romance series Rainless in a Godless Land tells a story based on the Amis people's animist mythology, in which the gods who watch over the lands of earth one day decide to leave this world, taking away the rain with them. The female protagonist’s love story with one of the gods hence enters its final stage. Written by the writer of Someday or One Day, Chien Chi-feng, the show’s cast consists of Fu Meng-po, Joanne Tseng, Ko Chia-yen, Joseph Cheng, and Yu-Lin Yen. By the time it comes out, it is all but sure to be another sensational topic.

 

• Formosa 1867

 

 

Release Date: To be confirmed

 

Formosa 1867 chronicles the event and aftermath of the Formosa Expedition, in which the Rover, an American bark, had been wrecked and its crew massacred by aboriginal Paiwan warriors in March 1867 after trespassing aboriginal territory, eventually ending in a peace treaty negotiated by an American diplomat. The show, however, depicts the event with a more dramatic touch by bringing in romance and new characters, allowing for a more relatable but not completely unhistorical narrative. The show stars Chris Wu and Wen Chen-ling who take on ground-breaking roles. 

 

• Mom, Don’t Do That! 

 

 

Release Date: To be confirmed

 

Mom, Don’t Do That! tells the true story of a 60-year-old widowed mum who worries that her two daughters will never get married and decides to find her own happiness by moving to Australia by remarrying someone she met via an online chatroom. The hilarious and heartwarming show is to be led by Billie Wang, Alyssa Chia, Ko Chia-yen, and golden award-winner Chris Wu along with A-list actor Lin Bo-hong. Such impressive a cast is most unlikely to disappoint.