Taiwanese drama (, also known as T.W. drama) refer to

dramatic programming In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...

ming extended stories usually dramatizing relationships through the general range of ten to forty one-hour

episode An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a series intended for radio, television or streaming consumption. The noun ''episode'' is derived from the Greek term ''epeisodion'' (), meaning th ...

s. They are produced in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

and have gained increasing popularity in the Mandarin-speaking community internationally. The term "Taiwanese drama" is applied to Taiwanese miniseries in general, even including those with greater elements of

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

than of

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

Origins and range of popularity

During the rapid development of the

Four Asian Tigers The Four Asian Tigers (also known as the Four Asian Dragons or Four Little Dragons in Chinese and Korean) are the developed East Asian economies of Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan. Between the early 1960s and 1990s, they underwent ...

, the success of the Hong Kong entertainment industry and its TV drama programming served as a major influence for television and entertainment programming in the other rapidly-industrializing Asian nations, most notably

and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. Many of these dramas have become popular throughout

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea ...

and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

. Most popular Taiwanese dramas are also popular in

Mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the China, People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming Island, Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territorie ...

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

and

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

and

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. Taiwanese dramas are also well known among expatriate/overseas Asian people. Fan clubs have appeared in other countries outside Taiwan dedicated to the appreciation of Taiwanese drama. Fan clubs also involved several countries in neighbouring Asian nations and elsewhere.

Language

Taiwanese dramas are typically produced in Mandarin. Less commonly, they may be produced in

Taiwanese Hokkien Taiwanese Hokkien () (; Tâi-lô: ''Tâi-uân-uē''), also known as Taigi/Taigu (; Pe̍h-ōe-jī/ Tâi-lô: ''Tâi-gí / Tâi-gú''), Taiwanese, Taiwanese Minnan, Hoklo and Holo, is a variety of the Hokkien language spoken natively by about ...

. Commonly characters will speak predominantly in Mandarin, but pepper their speech with Taiwanese. Sometimes characters, usually those playing the parts of parents or relatives coming from more rural and poorer areas, will speak in Taiwanese-accented Mandarin.

Subject matter

Taiwanese dramas typically focus more on romance than other television dramas.

Crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and comb ...

s, police dramas, lawyer dramas, and doctor dramas are less common in Taiwan than

romantic drama Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...

s. Taiwanese dramas tend to have less violence and sexual content than many other

soap operas A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

and

primetime Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

dramas. Popular Taiwanese dramas generally divided into “idol dramas" （偶像劇） and Taiwanese Minnan dramas (台語劇). "Idol dramas" use the most popular singers and actors or actresses in the Taiwanese entertainment industry, most of whom are in their late teens or 20s, regardless of actual acting experience. The idol dramas cater primarily to the teen or 20s age group. The phenomenon started with 2001's ''Meteor Garden''. Typical subjects can include first teenage experiences with

dating Dating is a stage of romantic relationships in which two individuals engage in an activity together, most often with the intention of evaluating each other's suitability as a partner in a future intimate relationship. It falls into the categor ...

. Characters often have some dark secret or painful past that makes it difficult for them to form lasting relationships, and the drama may show characters finding a way to work through their deep personal problems.

Love triangle A love triangle or eternal triangle is a scenario or circumstance, usually depicted as a rivalry, in which two people are pursuing or involved in a romantic relationship with one person, or in which one person in a romantic relationship with ...

s are a common feature. Taiwanese idol dramas share many similarities in genre with both Japanese dramas and Korean dramas, although they differ considerably in subject matter with Chinese dramas. For example, dramas based on nationalist sentiment and politics are much less common. Mainland Chinese dramas also use far more actors and actresses of varying ages. In contrast, the male and female leads and supporting actors in "idol dramas" are all exclusively in their late teens or 20s. Many popular Taiwanese dramas are based on Japanese

manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is ...

, using shōjo

in particular although some

seinen manga is an editorial category of Japanese comics marketed toward young adult men. In Japanese, the word ''seinen'' literally means "youth", but the term "''seinen'' manga" is also used to describe the target audience of magazines like '' Weekly Ma ...

have been made into dramas as well. Some examples include '' Meteor Garden'' (based on ''

Hana Yori Dango , is a Japanese ''shōjo'' manga series written and illustrated by Yoko Kamio and set in Tokyo, Japan, and the fictional "Eitoku Academy" (an elite school for children from rich families). It tells the story of Tsukushi Makino, a girl f ...

''), '' It Started with a Kiss'' (based on ''

Itazura na Kiss is a Japanese '' shōjo'' manga series written and illustrated by Kaoru Tada. ''Itazura na Kiss'' was first serialized and published in 1990 by Shueisha through ''Bessatsu Margaret'' magazine. It became successful very quickly and beca ...

''), '' Marmalade Boy'', '' Peach Girl'', and ''

Love Buffet ''Love Buffet'' () is a 2010 Taiwanese television series based on the shōjo manga , written by Nagamu Nanaji. It stars Reen Yu, Aaron Yan and Calvin Chen. The two male leads were members of boy band Fahrenheit, which performed the opening an ...

''. In these adaptations, the characters' names are read as Chinese or are changed to more Chinese-sounding names, and of course, the setting is moved to Taiwan. Furthermore, the popularity of Hong Kong dramas has resulted in the launch of a TVB affiliate network in the country,

TVBS TVBS Media Inc. (), formerly Liann Yee Production Co., Ltd. (), is a Taiwanese commercial television broadcasting company. It was originally established as a joint venture between TVB in Hong Kong and Era Group in Taiwan, but TVB took over E ...

, with the network's entertainment channel sometimes producing local adaptations of popular Hong Kong dramatic programs. Most Taiwanese speak Mandarin but the second common languages are Hakka and Taiwanese Hokkien.

List of Taiwanese dramas

Actors and actresses

It is common for the actors and actresses in Taiwanese dramas - especially "idol dramas" - to also be

pop singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

s and rock musicians. Some notably popular Taiwanese drama actors include Aaron Yan,

Marcus Chang Marcus Chang (; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: Chong Li̍p-ngong; born 28 May 1983) is a Taiwanese actor and singer-songwriter. He made his acting debut with the 2014 film '' Café. Waiting. Love.'' He is best known for his leading roles in the television ser ...

Lego Lee Lego Lee (, born January 22, 1986) is a Taiwanese actor and singer best known for his roles in the television series '' In a Good Way'', '' Aim High'' and '' Love Cuisine''. Lee holds a master's degree in sport management from Dayeh University, ...

, Vanness Wu, George Hu,

Roy Chiu Roy Chiu (; born 14 October 1981) is a Taiwanese actor, singer and racing driver. He earned two Golden Horse Award for Best Leading Actor nominations for his performances in ''Dear Ex ''Dear Ex'' () is a 2018 Taiwanese comedy-drama film co- ...

, Mike He, Chris Wu, Wu Chun, Lan Cheng Lung,

Jiro Wang Jiro Wang (; born 24 August 1981) is a Taiwanese singer and actor, who started his career as a model. Wang is a member of Taiwanese Mandopop vocal quartet boy band Fahrenheit. Life Jiro Wang was born August 24, 1981, in Taiwan. He graduated ...

Jasper Liu Jasper Liu Yi-hao (; born August 12, 1986) is a Taiwanese actor, model, and musician. Liu started out as a model before crossing over to acting and gaining recognition across Taiwan and other parts of Asia. Some of his notable works include ''M ...

Weber Yang Weber Yang (; born September 11, 1980) is a Taiwanese actor. He is known for his roles in the television series ''Time Story'' (2008), ''Who's The One'' (2011), ''Two Fathers'' (2013), ''The Way We Were'' (2014) and ''A Touch of Green'' (2015). ...

, Megan Lai, etc.

References

External links

''Taiwan Yearbook:'' Culture (Government Information Office)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taiwanese Drama Taiwanese drama television series Television genres