The Starry Night, The Starry Sea

Lore & Background

The first season follows Shen Luo, an ordinary girl who moves from the busy city to a small cottage on an island, where she meets Wu Julan, a merman with a mysterious background. Using his special powers, he helps her overcome obstacles, and they fall in love. Trouble arises when a spiritual pearl Wu Julan lost a hundred years ago is found inside Shen Luo's body; removing it would cause her death. The second season is set in the Tang dynasty and follows Lu Li, a human girl who disguises herself as a male to work in a shipyard. There she meets Wu Julan again, who has a hidden motive. They grow to love each other, but conspiracies surface and Lu Li is torn between kinship and love.

Reader's Guide

The Starry Night, The Starry Sea is notable as a television adaptation of Tong Hua's novel, blending romance with mermaid mythology. Its two seasons, both airing in 2017 on Hunan TV, explore a love story across different historical periods, with the second season set in the Tang dynasty. The series features a large ensemble cast, with many actors appearing in both seasons as different characters, such as Feng Shaofeng and Bea Hayden reprising their roles as Wu Julan and the female lead, respectively. The show's ratings for season one are recorded in a table, though specific figures are not provided in the source. Its significance lies in its popular genre fusion and the use of reincarnation or ancestral connections between characters across seasons.

Did You Know?

• The series is adapted from a novel of the same name by Tong Hua.
• The first season aired on Hunan TV from 6 February to 8 March 2017.
• The second season is set in the Tang dynasty and aired from 2 October to 31 October 2017.
• Feng Shaofeng and Bea Hayden star in both seasons as Wu Julan and the female lead, respectively.