iQIYI’s latest period comedy drama New Life Begins premiered last Thursday (10 November), and has since caught the attention of fans and audiences across social media. This new iQIYI original series is a light-hearted slice of life comedy centred around food and the daily ongoings in the palace of the fictional state Xinchuan, and stars Bai Jingting and Tian Xiwei.

Having made his name with 2021’s You Are My Hero, Bai Jingting returns to take on the period drama genre for a second time, this time portraying Yin Zheng, the sixth prince of the Xinchuan palace. At the beginning of the series, Yin and his brothers are participants in a nationwide matchmaking ceremony, where each of the eight neighbouring states sends a lady to Xinchuan, in the hopes of making a match with one of the princes.

While waiting to be presented with the maidens, we see the princes discussing each of them and making their preferences known. At the same time, Tian Xiwei’s Li Wei, who is also a candidate, is doing the same with her good friend and fellow candidate Hao Xia, who has compiled a whole booklet with in-depth profiles of each of the princes.

These scenes have generated much buzz among the online viewers, who described the show as a “ancient dating reality show”, as they found the dynamics of the pairings extremely interesting.

At the centre of this is our two leads, Yin Zheng and Li Wei. Yin is a scholarly and quiet individual who suffers from a weak stomach, resulting in him being only able to eat certain foods, while Li is a bubbly and gluttonous girl who lives to eat. The two are forced into marriage when the ruler of Xinchuan decides to pair them together, but their time spent together brings the two closer.