Tan Jianci Returns as Genius Artist in “Under the Skin 2”

34-year-old actor Tan Jianci (檀健次) ignited widespread discussions when he was snapped seemingly “spitting” on stage. Recently, the sequel to his 2022 criminal thriller hit series Under the Skin <獵罪圖鑒>, in which he teamed up with co-star Jin Shijia (金世佳), was released to popular and critical acclaim, with its viewership winning over productions aired at the same-timeslot, Blossom <九重紫> and Brocade Odyssey <蜀錦人家>, by a huge margin.

Boldly Dissects Real-world Social Issues

Under the Skin 2 <獵罪圖鑒2> marks a return to the winning formulae from season one, as forensic portraitist Shen Yi and detective captain Du Cheng (Jin Shijia), are forced to put aside bad blood from their past encounters, to get to the bottom of challenging cases and unravel the truth.

Bolding unveiling the shady side of showbiz from the very beginning, the first few episodes dealt with hot-button themes of mass bullying, drug abuse, idols’ private relationships with fans. Storylines such as three out of four idol trainees living in the same dormitory mysteriously meeting with their deaths, with the evidence pointing to a crazed star-chasing fan resonated with viewers, who praised the drama as “too daring”, “realistically portraying the chaos in our entertainment industry”. Thematic explorations into human nature, including an idol’s death and games-induced mass suicide are fleshed out across 11 unique episodes, thrilling the series’ fans.

Behind-the-scenes footage released before the drama’s premiere, which had the leads re-enacting the scene of crime, with Tan Jianci requesting Jin Shijia to kneel down in a room and kiss a monkey doll passionately, also became a hot search keyword. Evoking laugh out loud moments, the two’s comical interactions – Tan Jianci instructing Jin Shijia to “kiss for longer” and the latter while helpless could only comply helped maximize publicity for the series.

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