''The Interpreter'' (

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

: 亲爱的翻译官) is a 2016 Chinese television series starring

Yang Mi Yang Mi (, born 12 September 1986) is a Chinese actress and singer. She made her acting debut in historical television series '' Tang Ming Huang'', and later received recognition for her leading roles in various television series such as ''Wang Zha ...

and

Huang Xuan Huang Xuan (, born 3 March 1985) is a Chinese actor. He is best known for his roles in '' Blind Massage'' (2014), ''The Legend of Mi Yue'' (2015), '' The Interpreter'' (2016) and ''Extraordinary Mission'' (2017). Life and career Born and raised ...

, based on the novel ''Translator'' (翻译官) by Miao Juan. It aired on

Hunan TV Hunan Television or Hunan TV () is a provincial satellite TV station officially launched on 29 September 1970 and is currently China's second-most-watched channel, second only to CCTV-1, owned by China Central Television, although Hunan STV occasio ...

from 24 May to 19 June 2016. The series was the highest rated drama of the year, with an average national viewership rating of 2.63%.

Synopsis

Qiao Fei, a university student majoring in French studies, has aspired to become a translator since she was young. Raised by a single mother suffering from a serious illness, she has to support herself working as a waitress. One night she gets into a trouble with a guest, and the two of them are taken to the police station. The guest happens to be Cheng Jiayang, a young but already famous professional French translator. The next day, she finds out that Jia Yang is actually her examiner at the prestigious Institute of Advanced Translation where she dreams of getting a job. Although they start their relationship on the wrong foot, Qiao Fei earns Jiayang's praise when she successfully overcomes his tests and the two start to develop feelings for each other. When everything seems to be going smoothly, problems start to arise one after another. Jiayang's mother strongly opposes their relationship and the reappearance of Gao Jiaming, Qiao Fei's ex-boyfriend, causes additional misunderstandings between Qiao Fei and Jiayang. Mounting problems eventually lead to their separation. Only after overcoming their respective life challenges they meet again and rekindle their love.

Cast

as Qiao Fei *

as Cheng Jiayang *

Gao Weiguang Gao Wei Guang (, born 16 January 1983) is a Chinese actor and supermodel. He is known for his lead roles in hit dramas ''Candle In The Tomb: The Wrath Of Time'', ''Eternal Love Of Dream'', etc. Career 2006–2013: Modeling career Gao debut ...

as Gao Jiaming *Zhou Qiqi as Wen Xiaohua *

Li Xirui Li Xirui (; born 30 January 1990) is a Chinese actress and singer. Career Li made her acting debut in the romance comedy series ''Waking Love Up'' in 2011. She then played one of the lead roles in the romance web drama ''V Love'' produced by J ...

as Wu Jiayi *

Zhang Yunlong Zhang Yunlong (, born 2 March 1988), also known as Leon or Jack Zhang, is a Chinese actor. Career Zhang Yunlong made his debut in the theater play, ''Thunderstorm'', and acted in several short films. In 2012, Zhang won the Best Actor award at the ...

as Wang Xudong *Wang Renjun as Zhou Nan *Li Dongheng as Li Lei *Yi Yanting as Yang Yan *Li Yunao as Wu Ming *Zhang Mingming as Ao Tian *Jiang Xifan as He Zhe *Yang Xueying as Wen Jing

Soundtrack

Reception

The series is a commercial hit in China. Its premiere achieved a national viewer rating share of 6.87%, and topped 2016's overall market share for the first half of the year. Viewership ratings also reached as high as 2%, making it the highest rated drama of 2016. The topic "Dear Translator" (亲爱的翻译官) attracted over a billion readers within five days. On the online video platforms Mango TV (芒果TV) and LeTV (乐视电视), the series has received more than 100 million views. On the Asian TV drama platform Viki, the series was rated 9.3 out of 10. The series was praised by

Martin Dahinden Martin Dahinden (born 8 January 1955) is a Swiss diplomat who has served as ambassador of Switzerland to the United States of America from 2014 to 2019 . Dahinden presented his credentials to the President of the United States of America, Barack ...

, Swiss ambassador to China. The series was coincidentally filmed during the 65th anniversary of the establishment of

China–Switzerland relations China–Switzerland relations officially began in 1918.Yufang Zhou, Die Exterritorialitätsrechte der Schweiz in China (1918–1946), Frankfurt am Main und Bern 2003 Relations between the two nations have been excellent, particularly in economic ...

, and was sponsored by the Switzerland Tourism Board. However, the series also received criticism. Loyal fans stated that the television series did not stay true to the original novel. Professional interpreters have also taken against it, slamming it for inaccuracies and for portraying the profession misleadingly. There is a sequel titled '' Negotiator'' that has cast

and

Huang Zitao Huang Zitao (; born May 2, 1993), also known as Tao, is a Chinese rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, model, and businessman. Huang is a former member of the South Korean-Chinese boy band Exo and its Chinese sub-unit, Exo-M. After leaving Exo, h ...

as leads. The sequel has a different storyline.

Ratings

* Highest ratings are marked in red, lowest ratings are marked in blue

Awards and nominations

Spin-off

A spin-off is currently in production, titled ''The Broker'', also based on Miao Juan's novel.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Interpreter TV Series Chinese romance television series Television shows based on Chinese novels 2016 Chinese television series debuts Hunan Television dramas 2016 Chinese television series endings Television series by Jay Walk Studio Television series by Croton Media Television series by LeEco