TV series adds touch of reality to drama

After shooting workplace drama Ordinary Glory, actor Bai Jingting, who played a workplace newcomer in the drama, still found it hard to leave the role.

"Sometimes when I got up in the morning I was in a trance, wondering should I go to the office to clock in, but then it occurred to me our shooting had ended, and I am no longer the green hand Sun Yiqiu," says Bai.

The series is now running on Shanghai-based Dragon TV, Zhejiang TV and streaming site Youku. The 41-episode drama features two protagonists, a workplace newcomer played by Bai, and a middle-ranking manager, played by Mark Chao, who has met many challenges at work. The two characters manage to cooperate and improve their workplace. The series prides itself on a different approach.

"In many other series describing the workplace, the romantic story still plays a major part, which seems to fall into some kind of setup and bore the audience," says Lyu Xing, director of this series. "We give up showing romance in this series and try to reflect a relatively real workplace, and the different people in it."

To achieve that goal, the cast conducted surveys and interviews before shooting. "Since the series is set in a financial company, we interviewed various people in investment institutions, and tried to understand different people's dilemma at work, their ways of doing things and their different personalities," says Lyu. "We also collected many true stories, and reflected all of them in the script."

Their efforts to replicate a real workplace achieved recognition from the viewers. "The drama has a good storyline, and the shooting and acting are good as well. But the most attractive for me is that I can see myself in the drama," says a netizen on China's popular review site Douban.

Playing Sun also took Bai back to his days when he was a green hand entering the film and television industry. "I have many similarities with Sun. Although I have never worked in an enterprise, I share Sun's feeling of timidity when entering a new work environment without understanding it, the lack of confidence when others questioned his work, and excessive care about other people's opinions," says Bai.

But after continuous efforts and increasing confidence and ability, he got better and became familiar with his job now.

"I believe newcomers should talk with colleagues more to learn from them and make a good plan for their career," he adds.