The Long Night () is a 2020 Chinese crime suspense drama, is one of the works of iQIYI's "Misty Theater". Starring Liao Fan and Bai Yu, it is adapted from the social suspense mystery novel "The Long Night Is Hard to See" published by Zijin Chen in 2017. It premiered on iQiyi on September 16, 2020.
Broadcast time ChannelslocationAir DateBroadcast timeiQIYISeptember 16, 2020iQIYI VIP members will get 2 episodes every Wednesday to Friday at 20:00 Starting from September 18, VIP members can pay for advanced on-demand viewing
Starting from September 18, non-VIP members will get 2 episodes every Wednesday to FridayNow TVMarch 14, 2021Chunghwa TVSouth KoreaApril 12, 2021WOWOWApril 17, 2021NHK BS4KDecember 18, 2022
Plot synopsis A seemingly simple case of suicide and drowning hides a huge secret that cannot be told: in order to uncover the dark truth behind this secret, a group of people have gone through seven years, willing to pay countless prices, and even gamble their lives... Jiang Yang (Bai Yu), a prosecutor who originally had a bright future and was well-off, was imprisoned for two years for corruption and bribery, and his reputation was ruined. When he appeared in the public eye again, he was a corpse curled up in a suitcase. The person who transported his body was the famous local lawyer Zhang Chao (Ning Li ). The case attracted the attention of the whole city. The shrewd and capable criminal policeman Yan Liang (Liao Fan) was responsible for investigating the case and confronted Zhang Chao head-on. Zhang Chao originally admitted to the crime, but when he accepted the court's verdict, he changed his confession on the spot and produced an alibi, so the case fell into a dead end...
Cast list The cast members of this are:
Main cast actorRoleintroduceLiao FanYan LiangA capable and experienced criminal policeman. While investigating the subway body dumping case, he gradually discovered other more shocking truths hidden in the darkness.Bai YuJiang YangThe prosecutor of Pingkang County. With a pure heart, he spent seven years on the case of Hou Guiping, paying countless costs such as youth, career, reputation, future, family, and even his life. Other actors actorRoleintroduceTan ZhuoLi JingHou Guiping's ex-girlfriend, Zhang Chao's wife, and Jiang Yang's classmate, asked Jiang Yang to investigate Hou Guiping's caseNing LiZhang ChaoA former law professor and criminal lawyer involved in a subway body dumping case originally confessed to the crime, but then changed his statement at the last minuteHuang YaoZhang XiaoqianJiangtan Evening News reporter, suspected to be related to Hou Guiping case or holding key evidenceZhao YangZhu WeiPingkang County police, together with Jiang Yang, investigate the case of Hou GuipingTian XiaojieChen MingzhangPingkang County Forensic Doctor, investigating the case of Hou Guiping with Jiang YangWang JianguoZhao WeiminThe Director of Jiangtan City Public Security Bureau, under the instruction of Deputy Director Gao of the Provincial Public Security Department, asked Yan Liang to investigate the subway corpse dumping case.Cao WeiyuLi JianguoThe head of the criminal police brigade of the Pingkang County Public Security Bureau colluded with the Kahn Group and was later sentenced to deathLv XiaolinRen YuetingThe criminal police captain and Yan Liang are investigating the subway corpse caseZhao LeiqiGu YimingLike Criminal Police Captain Ren Yueting, involved in the investigation of the subway body dumping caseMin ZhengSun ChuanfuChairman of the Kahn Group, suspected to be related to the Hou Guiping caseZhang LeiHu YilangThe CEO of the Kahn Group is suspected to be related to the Hou Guiping caseLu SiyuHou GuipingA volunteer teacher in Miaogao Township, Pingkang County, was identified as a sexual assaulter who fled for fear of being convicted and committed suicide by drowning, but was suspected of being framed and killed.Niu ChaoXiao MaCriminal police, follow Yan Liang to investigate the subway corpse caseJi YongqingLiu MingyangYan Hao is a good friend of mine, an undercover criminal policeman, who was traumatized by the mission and subsequently lived in a mental hospitalHan ShuoYue JunNicknamed Huangmao, a subordinate of Hu Yilang, an insider of the Hou Guiping caseGe SiLi DabeiThe owner of the photo studio, whom Hou Guiping had once entrusted to help develop photos, which were suspected to be key evidence. He was later silencedZhao YuanyuanWu AikeJiang Yang's ex-girlfriend, who initially encouraged Jiang Yang to investigate the Hou Guiping caseChen WeihanDing ChunmeiThe shop owner, an insider of the Hou Guiping case, and Huang Mao's (Yue Jun) mistress. She was later silenced.Qiu YunheTeacher MaTeacher at Miaogao Township Middle School in Pingkang County, colleague of Hou GuipingLi JiaxinWeng MeixiangA repeater at Miaogao Township Middle School in Pingkang County, Hou Guiping, committed suicide by drinking pesticides after being sexually assaultedWang XiranGe LiA repeater at Miaogao Township Middle School in Pingkang County, a student of Hou Guiping and a classmate of Weng Meixiang, was suspected of being sexually assaulted and coerced into giving birth to Zeng Xiangdong's son Zeng XiaoleHuang MengdanGuo HongxiaJiang Yang's ex-wife and Jiang Yang have a son, Jiang XiaoshuFeng JiWang HaijunHe was once a subordinate of Hu Yilang, and was instigated to kill Ding Chunmei, but was later silenced.Fu KeyiHe WeiThe Thirteen Taibao organization, who committed a crime and was detained in Pingkang Detention Center, confessed Wang Haijun's murder in order to save his life and reduce his sentence.Liu ShaHan KemingNewly appointed provincial party secretaryHu JianZeng XiangdongDeputy Mayor Qin Dachuan's son-in-law colluded with the Kahn Group and was involved in the sexual assault case of students in Miaogao Township
Soundtrack The soundtrack consists of: Song TitleLyricsCompositionSingingRemark《The Silent Truth》Wang ChuangWang ChuangBibi ZhouTheme Song《Adventurous Youth》Chen Yifu, Bei ErBei ErZhong Zhirenepisode《The Long Night》Li JiqingGao WeiranBai YuJiang Yang Character Promotion Song
Differences from the original novel The film is highly faithful to the original work and basically follows the original novel, but there are still some individual details that are different.
The victim in the original novel was a young girl, not a high school repeater. In order to pass the censorship, the TV series adjusted the age of the victim. However, the newly added original character Li Xue was born in 1986, suggesting that she was not yet an adult in 2000, further enhancing the time background in the TV series. In the play, Weng Meixiang's diary mentioned that "Ge Li was pregnant", a detail that was deliberately omitted when the narration was read, leaving a certain suspense.
The TV series also added an original plot-splitting the photo into nine parts and mailing it to the newspaper. This plot did not appear in the original novel, adding more tension and plot driving force to the TV series. In addition, the criminal police Ren Yueting in the play is an original character. Her role was not mentioned in the original novel. Her prototype may be Zhao Tiemin, the captain of the criminal investigation detachment in the original novel.
The setting of the villain has also changed significantly. In the original novel, Deputy Mayor Xia Liping is the top villain, but in the TV series, his name is changed to Zeng Xiangdong, and his rank is downgraded to the son-in-law of Deputy Mayor Qin Dachuan, and his background has been weakened. Li Xue (Zhang Xiaoqian) in the play is an original character, and Ge Li, another victim in the original novel, has become a prostitute and dares not testify. The climax of the TV series, the gunfight, is also an original plot.
The villains in the original novel had almost no direct evidence of guilt, and the protagonists could only prove that Xia Liping had raped a young girl through a paternity test. In contrast, the TV series's handling of the case gave the audience more suspense and reasoning. The villains in the original novel were not punished by law. Hu Yilang, Li Jianguo and Xia Liping committed suicide one after another, while Sun Chuanfu was not mentioned at all. Forensic doctor Chen Mingzhang was sentenced for tax evasion and had nothing to do with the case itself. Zhao Tiemin, the captain of the criminal investigation detachment, was also dismissed for leaking secrets. The whole story presents a reality where procedural justice cannot be achieved.
The villain in the original novel has a much bigger background, and the deputy mayor Xia Liping is just an abandoned pawn. The ending of the story is succinctly concluded with "the big tiger fell", and through the date of the incident (July 29, 2014), it is suggested that the biggest villain may be Zhou Yongkang, then member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission. The TV series chose to set the background of the story in the fictional Jiangtan City, rather than Hangzhou in the original novel, which makes the TV series break away from the constraints of reality to a certain extent and create a more symbolic fictional space.
Yan Liang in the original novel was not a policeman, but the TV series changed this setting. Yan Liang in the original novel had resigned from the police force many years ago and later taught at the Department of Mathematics at Zhejiang University. In the end, Zhao Tiemin, the captain of the criminal investigation detachment, was dismissed for revealing secrets to Yan Liang, a non-police officer.
The undercover policeman Liu Mingyang in the play is a character created based on the original character Song Mingyang and has no direct connection with the main plot. However, reporter Zhang Xiaoqian establishes a connection with Liu Mingyang, which promotes the development of the plot. Screenwriter Liu Guoqing also guest-starred in the role of Jiang Yang and Wu Aike's colleague in the play, and married Wu Aike after they broke up. This setting adds a lighthearted and humorous atmosphere to the TV series.
Reception Ranked 1st on Douban's annual ratings in 2020, the highest score for Chinese mainland TV series in the past five years, and ranked 14th on Douban's high-scoring Chinese TV series list. As of November 8, 2020, "The Long Night" has a Douban score of 9.2 and 477,000 people who rated it. It is the fifth Chinese mainland TV series with a Douban score of over 9 and more than 300,000 people who rated it, following 2006's My Own Swordsman (9.5 points, 324,000 people ), 2015's Nirvana in Fire (9.4 points, 475,000 people), 2011's The Legend of Zhen Huan (9.2 points, 335,000 people), and 2017's Day and Night (9.0 points, 426,000 people).
As the only Chinese mainland TV series with a Douban score of over 9 in 2020, "The Long Night" has been on the “Chinese TV Series Weekly Ranking” for three consecutive weeks. Netizens have created a new online term for this drama: “high opening and explosive run”, describing the reputation of The Long Night, which started with a Douban score of 8.8 and has now risen to 9.2. The three parallel plots are compact and not dragged out, and the truth is slowly revealed like peeling an onion. Every actor's acting skills are explosive and have received unanimous praise.