Rewatching C-drama: Joy of Life ( 庆余年) since they are finally filming season 2 now

The good news is that all the main and key cast members are all returning for season 2 - yey!

It's been 3 years since the first season aired and so I felt like rewatching it. This drama is like #2 on my all time favorite C-drama list due to the great blend of humor (it's so funny!), wittiness, excellent acting by the entire cast, and strong adaptation of the source novel by Mao Ni.

For those that never watched it:

Trailer:

Genres: Historical, Comedy, Conspiracy, Wuxia

Plot summary:
Fan Xian grew up in a small town by the sea with his grandmother, following a sudden visit of a poison master, his peaceful life quickly morph into one filled with danger and hardship. After becoming rather skilled with medicine, poison and martial arts, he goes to the capital to find out more about his mysterious mother. He ends up on an adventure, getting tangled in politics, finding true love, figuring out his purpose in life and secrets of his world.

Cast:

Zhang Ruo Yun as Fan Xian
Li Qin as Lin Wan'er
Chen Daoming as Emperor of Qing

Wu Gang as Chen Ping Ping / Director Chen
Li Xiaoran as Li Yunrui
Xin Zhilei as Begonia Blossoming
Song Yi as Fan Ruo Ruo
Liu Duanduan as Li Chengze
Guo Qilin as Fan Si Zhe

Quote from ABoredStan

Which drama is your top #1?

I have Nivarna on Fire as #1 and JOL as #2 for CDrama.

Excited for S2, wonder what they will cook up since the ending to #1 was not in the novel.

Ohhhhh same!!! Nirvana in Fire 1 is also my number 1 C-drama. It actually re-ignited my love for C-drama and made me pay attention to it again after being so blah over the years.

I'm curious too - as to what they will do with Season 2 but I just hope it's quality like the first one. I have read the first 20 volumes of the novel but it's been a while, so I forgot the details and only remember the general gist of the plot. I don't mind if the drama is different as long as they capture the 'essence' of the novel and do it well.