Overview of Entries for Magnolia Awards | Sequels of Foreign Dramas Gather to Rekindle Your Memories

Sequel writing is a self-fulfilling challenge that sees no end, bringing creators the pleasure of creation through painstaking efforts -- it's a tricky balancing act between continuing the story of the earlier one and catering to the current market. Among the entries for this year's Magnolia Awards, there are a number of well-marketed and acclaimed TV dramas that emerge as the generation -N descendant of the originals. Perhaps their success will offer some clues on this point: HOUSE OF THE DRAGON S1 retraces the epic of the ancient family, PAGAN PEAK - II unlocks the God perspective for the crime theme, INSIDE NO.9 SERIES 7 goes further with the anti-routine black humor, AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS witnesses together with us the power of love and courage, 1923 is a fantasy and faithful portrait of the western United States...... These dramas that have won lasting popularity still seek after breakthroughs persistently, so as to create their own IP and win the audience around the world.

HOUSE OF THE DRAGON S1 

(US)

Based on George R.R. Martin's FIRE AND BLOOD and set 200 years before the stories of GAME OF THRONES, the highly anticipated prequel series HOUSE OF THE DRAGON S1 unveils the epic tale of the noble House Targaryen during the reign of the King Viserys Targaryen. At the Green Council, Viserys was selected by the high lords of Westeros as the candidate to succeed the old king. And this benevolent young man only hoped to inherit his grandfather's legacy. However, pushed by a series of accidents, Viserys abandoned the original idea of making his younger brother, Prince Targaryen, the heir, and instead chose his eldest child, a pure-blooded Valyrian and the first female heir to the iron throne, Dragon Knight Princess Rhaenyra. Built upon the well-knit original work, and coupled with careful adaptation and reproduction, the drama has filled the audience with memories for the Game of Thrones series from beginning to end.

PAGAN PEAK - II 

(Germany)

When a body was found, on an Alpine pass close to the German-Austrian border, two detectives were sent to investigate. For German detective Ellie, this was the first real challenge in her career. But her Austrian counterpart Gedeon seemed to have lost his ambition for his work. But soon the two discovered more crime scenes, where victims were in symbolic poses reminiscent of pagan rituals. What's even more daunting was that all of this seemed to be just part of a more ambitious evil plan. Ellie found herself occupied by increasing pressure to understand the deranged killer's motives before she could truly stop his next move. This dangerous and secretive hunt led them deeper and deeper into dark valleys and ancient Alps. Different from detective dramas that are known by meticulous investigations, this drama has the villains appear before the lens at the very beginning, trying to create a tense vibe through interlocking and step-by-step plot design.

INSIDE NO.9 SERIES 7 

The critically acclaimed series INSIDE NO.9 SERIES 7 has provoked buzz with a series of imaginative adventures and thus has won various awards such as four BAFTA awards, the Royal Television Society award and the Rose d’Or award. The seventh season of the drama has a cloak of suspension comedy that is dark and humorous, and literally brings together the merits of comedy, drama, horror, and thriller. Running short, each episode is developed, however, around its own story. With everything carefully crafted, it aims to provide a rare mix of pleasure and confusion for the audience, and has received rave reviews for continuous shocking twists and turns of plots and keen insights into the reality.

AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS

(France)

In 1872, Phileas Fogg, inspired by a newspaper article, made an almost impossible bet - circumnavigating the globe in just 80 days. As he had spent the past 20 years in the comfortable armchair of the Reform Club, he had to have his witty assistant, the Frenchman Jean Passepartout, by him to accomplish this mission impossible. Joining them in the journey was Abigail Fix, a reporter from the Daily Telegraph who first came up with this whole crazy idea. Together, the intrepid trio traveled through France, Italy, Yemen, India, Hong Kong, the American Wild West, New York and other countries and regions before rushing back to Reform Club before the deadline, the Christmas Eve. The cultures and people that they encountered along the way changed their worldview forever and gave them the courage to be the best versions of themselves. On the basis of the original work, the drama version renders the characters plumper through their multiple facets and growth, and conveys the core message of love and courage, to fill the audience with an inspiring power.

1923

(US)

A prequel spin-off of the Yellowstone universe, 1923 revolves around another generation of the Duttons in the western mountainous area who struggled to survive various hardships in era of the rise of Western expansion, historic drought, epidemics, Prohibition and the Great Depression. The drama uses three main narrative lines and offers a glimpse into the dramatic changes taking place in the American West in the 1920s. The plots of dense conflicts, interpreted by the mastery and effortless performance by the veterans, make every frame full of visual and emotional impact.

The above-mentioned dramas, based on inherent creation strengths, have also invested unremitting efforts into innovation and perfection of themes and artistic expression. As for the the creative teams, it requires not only the ability to capture changes in market trends, but also the creativity for self-breakthroughs, for a work to shine through years with unfading popularity. In this sense, the Shanghai TV Festival will play a platform role as always, to provide a stage for exchanges and mutual learning for excellent TV works from all over the world, and to create a better vision for global TV workers.

So, which works will stand out on the stage of the Magnolia Awards? Please stay tuned!