The Rise of Phoenixes (Tiānshèng Cháng Gē)

Romance and intrigue, offset with intense action scenes, make this a thrill ride from start to finish.

Chinese historical dramas are enjoying a Golden Age, and while that may be a state-endorsed attempt to boost China’s “soft power” through cloying cultural exports, this is propaganda you can sit back and enjoy. Lead actress Ni Ni is mesmerizing as Zhiwei, a cross-dressing, studious girl nicknamed the Civet Cat for her mischievous ways.

Wry, handsome, calculating Ning Yi (Chen Kun) is an exiled sixth son who’s perfected a wily façade of his own—for his own obscure ends. His mother was charged with high treason, and Yi has created a secret information network with the aim of taking down his enemies and overturning the charges against his mother. He befriends Zhiwei, who’s loyal to the reigning emperor—until she is manipulated into thinking that the current kingdom was built upon the corpses of her loved ones. That leads her to take revenge against her enemies.