iQiyi’s global original Chinese crime thriller Daybreaker will premiere on May 22 exclusively across iQiyi platforms worldwide.

The 24-episode show will feature well-known Chinese stars such as Li Yifeng (李易峰), Song Yi (宋轶), and Stephen Fung (冯德伦), alongside Gong Haibin, Samuel Ku, Song Yixing, Guo Dongwen, Su Beichen, Chang Shixin, An Ziyang and Li Zhimo.

Daybreaker (暗夜行者) follows anti-narcotics policeman Luo Xiang (played by Li Yifeng), who had to feign his death in an undercover mission. Five years later, he resurfaces with a new identity as Chen Mo to infiltrate the largest drug cartel in Southeast Asia to obtain information and take it down once and for all. Through his mission, he is joined by Su Qingzhu (played by Song Yi) and the mysterious policeman Liao Yongjia (played by Stephen Fung).

Fans of Chinese cinema would be familiar with Stephen Fung, who has been in iconic films such as Summer Snow (1995), House of Fury (2005) and All About Women (2008). In recent years, he has moved backstage to pursue a career in directing. 

Stephen Fung’s first acting role in years, wife Shu Qi shows support on Weibo

Daybreaker marks Fung’s return to acting since 2015, and will be his first television role since 2006. Teasing the upcoming series, Fung wowed his fans with a first look at his character Liao Yongjia, an ageing policeman with a greying beard, which is in sharp contrast with the usual pretty boy roles that Fung is known for.

He has also shown his excitement for his fans to see Daybreaker, posting a poster of his character on Weibo earlier this week, saying: “As night approaches, the operation conceals a plot to cover the past. Begin the plan, Liao Yongjia joins the fray!”

Fung’s excitement is shared by his wife, international superstar Shu Qi, who reposted his post with a string of emojis to show support for him. This got the hashtag “Shu Qi supports Stephen Fung’s new drama” trending on Weibo within six hours after the announcement.

Li Yifeng is well known in China for his roles in Swords of Legends, The Lost Tombs and Mr. Six, for which he won the Hundred Flowers Awards for Best Supporting Actor. This is the most prestigious film award in China. Most recently, Li has played Mao Zedong in last year’s The Pioneer. 

Li has ranked on the Forbes China Celebrity List in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020, and has won a slew of awards, including “Person of the Year” at the 2019 Weibo Awards Ceremony, and “Upward Power Actor of the Year” at the 2020 GQ Men of the Year awards.

Song Yi is an emerging name on the scene, recently starring in several television series such as Joy of Life and My Heroic Husband. For her acting work in recent years, she was also named “Breakthrough Actress of the Year” at the 2020 China Literature Awards Ceremony.

Emergence of mystery thrillers among C-Dramas

Among the Chinese online community, Daybreaker is one of the most anticipated upcoming series, as the latest in a slew of mystery-driven thrillers in the Chinese television scene. Most recently, another iQiyi original The Wind Blows From Longxi (风起陇西) has accumulated many fans among the global community, with its fresh premise of a mystery set in the background of the Three Kingdoms era. 

The Wind Blows From Longxi has gotten a lofty 7.9/10 rating among audiences on Douban, China’s equivalent of IMDB, with nearly 3 out of 4 voters awarding it at least 4 stars.

Another mystery crime thriller, The Fight (对决) is also trending in China after its recent premiere. The series stars actors Ou Hao and Wang Jingchun, and is also available on iQiyi.

Other new mystery thrillers that have dominated the scene include Reset (开端), a time-travel mystery flick that takes place on a bus, and stars Bai Jingting, one of the most popular young actors in China; as well as Be Reborn (重生之们), a heist mystery which stars Zhang Ze and ex-TFBOYS member Wang Junkai.