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 "slug": "river-sunset",
 "title": "River Sunset",
 "updated": "2026-11-01",
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 "excerpt": "River Sunset (长河落日, Chang He Luo Ri) is a 2026 Chinese 44-episode WWII espionage drama directed by Zhao Yilong and Shaun Piccinino, starring Zhang Luyi and Janine Chang, dramatizing the Chinese rescue operation behind the 1942 Doolittle Raid on Tokyo.",
 "snippet": "River Sunset (长河落日, Chang He Luo Ri) is a 2026 Chinese 44-episode WWII espionage drama directed by Zhao Yilong and Shaun Piccinino, starring Zhang Luyi and Janine Chang, dramatizing the Chinese rescue operation behind the 1942 Doolittle Raid on Tokyo.",
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 "markdown": "# River Sunset\n\n**River Sunset** (长河落日, literally \"Long River, Setting Sun\") is a 44-episode Chinese historical war and espionage television series set in 1942 during World War II, dramatizing the covert Chinese operations that supported the United States' Doolittle Raid on Tokyo. It was co-directed by Zhao Yilong and the American filmmaker Shaun Piccinino, written by Zhao Jun, executive produced by Han Sanping, and stars Zhang Luyi, Janine Chang, Zhang Chenguang, Ryu Kohata, Zhang Songwen, and [Casper Van Dien](https://www.edgepedia.org/casper-van-dien).<sup>[1](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E9%95%BF%E6%B2%B3%E8%90%BD%E6%97%A5/19730719?fromModule=lemma_inlink)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/River_Sunset)</sup> The series premiered on January 1, 2026 on Beijing TV and Zhejiang TV, with simultaneous streaming on iQIYI, [Tencent Video](https://www.edgepedia.org/tencent-video), and LeTV, and ran through January 24, 2026.<sup>[3](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/89468/river-sunset)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[1](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E9%95%BF%E6%B2%B3%E8%90%BD%E6%97%A5/19730719?fromModule=lemma_inlink)</sup>\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Original title | 长河落日 (Chang He Luo Ri); also released as Sunset in Glory<sup>[1](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E9%95%BF%E6%B2%B3%E8%90%BD%E6%97%A5/19730719?fromModule=lemma_inlink)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt39370310/releaseinfo/)</sup> |\n| Format | 44 episodes of about 45 minutes; genres period, war, espionage; languages Mandarin, English, and Japanese<sup>[2](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/River_Sunset)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt39370310/)</sup> |\n| Broadcast | January 1 to 24, 2026, Beijing TV and Zhejiang TV; streaming on iQIYI, Tencent Video, and LeTV; later added to Mango TV on May 28, 2026<sup>[3](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/89468/river-sunset)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[1](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E9%95%BF%E6%B2%B3%E8%90%BD%E6%97%A5/19730719?fromModule=lemma_inlink)</sup> |\n| Historical basis | The 1942 Doolittle Raid on Tokyo and the Chinese rescue of downed American airmen; about 90 percent of the plot is drawn from historical records<sup>[6](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_32383389)</sup> |\n| Lead cast | Zhang Luyi as the double agent Lin Sen (Wumu Yilang), Janine Chang as the army medic Ye Biying, Zhang Chenguang as island elder Ye Degong, Zhang Songwen as Director Shen<sup>[2](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/River_Sunset)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[7](https://www.maigoo.com/citiao/283976.html)</sup> |\n| Ratings | CSM35 average rating 2.1% with an 8.3% share; CVB first-run television audience of 270 million; Tencent Video score 8.7 from 56,000 users<sup>[8](https://lmtw.com/mzw/content/detail/id/251328/keyword_id/-1)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[9](https://www.nrta.gov.cn/art/2026/7/11/art_114_73688.html)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[1](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E9%95%BF%E6%B2%B3%E8%90%BD%E6%97%A5/19730719?fromModule=lemma_inlink)</sup> |\n| Production | Screenwriter and chief producer Zhao Jun; executive producer Han Sanping; companies including Eternity Pictures (嘉田胜景) and AMG Pictures<sup>[2](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/River_Sunset)</sup> |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Premise\n\nThe story opens on the evening of March 19, 1942, when an Allied aircraft carrying a covert operative known as the Believer (笃信者) arrives over Rangoon Airport and finds the airfield already in Japanese hands. The next day, the highest authorities receive an AAAA-level telegram reporting that the plane has been shot down. The Believer carried an assignment to bring an operational plan of the very highest secrecy, along with contact codes in encrypted form, to the supreme command of the China Theater, together with the communication codes connecting the Pacific carrier task force and the bomber squadrons assigned to strike Tokyo. If the documents fell into Japanese hands, the bombing plan would collapse and the escort fleet would be exposed.<sup>[10](https://www.iq.com/album/river-sunset-2026-20bso5o1deh?lang=en_us)</sup>\n\nWounded, the Believer parachutes into the sea and lands on Sanzao Island, home to a Japanese Navy Sixth Air Base, where local islanders rescue and hide him. [Military intelligence](https://www.edgepedia.org/military-intelligence) reactivates a dormant agent, Wumu Yilang, an underground spy who has lived under a Japanese identity and been inactive for five years, and sends Ye Biying, a military medic trainee familiar with the islanders, to assist him. The two must infiltrate the heavily guarded \"floating prison,\" win the islanders' trust, and escort the Believer and his codebooks out while under constant Japanese surveillance.<sup>[10](https://www.iq.com/album/river-sunset-2026-20bso5o1deh?lang=en_us)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[11](https://wetv.vip/en/play/zit0hdlj74n01tt/f4101101dwq-EP01%3A_River_Sunset)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/River_Sunset)</sup>\n\nThe series frames the mission from three sides: the American preparation for the Tokyo raid, from Lieutenant Colonel Doolittle's training to the departure of the carrier Hornet; the resistance activities of the Anlantang society on Sanzao Island led by Ye Degong; and internal Japanese rivalries between the navy and the army, embodied in the power struggle between Fujita and Hiroshi Oshima. The Chinese Communist underground agent Lin Sen and the [Eighth Route Army](https://www.edgepedia.org/eighth-route-army) medic Ye Biying coordinate these strands.<sup>[1](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E9%95%BF%E6%B2%B3%E8%90%BD%E6%97%A5/19730719?fromModule=lemma_inlink)</sup> The finale depicts the Doolittle squadron taking off early and bombing Tokyo, the crash of the returning B-25s in western Zhejiang, and the rescue of the American pilots by Chinese soldiers and civilians.<sup>[12](https://www.iqiyi.com/a_20bso5o1deh.html)</sup>\n\n## Production\n\nThe series was produced as a special commemoration of the 80th anniversary of victory in the anti-fascist war and was designated a key support project of the National Radio and Television Administration and the Beijing radio and television bureau.<sup>[1](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E9%95%BF%E6%B2%B3%E8%90%BD%E6%97%A5/19730719?fromModule=lemma_inlink)</sup> Filming began with the American portion in January 2017, with location shooting over several days aboard the aircraft carrier USS Hornet in San Francisco, using a combination of real locations, effects, and historical verification to recreate equipment such as the C-46 transport aircraft. [Principal photography](https://www.edgepedia.org/principal-photography) in China began on January 17, 2018 at the Xiangshan film studios in Zhejiang; other shooting locations included Hengdian, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and San Francisco.<sup>[13](https://www.zhhdq.com/article.php?id=10988)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[1](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E9%95%BF%E6%B2%B3%E8%90%BD%E6%97%A5/19730719?fromModule=lemma_inlink)</sup>\n\nA 2017 report in the *Beijing Daily* described the project as the first World War II television drama made jointly by a Hollywood team and a Chinese team, and at that stage named Kang Honglei, the director of *Soldiers Sortie*, as its director; the completed series is credited to Zhao Yilong and Shaun Piccinino.<sup>[14](https://culture.people.com.cn/n1/2017/0324/c22219-29165673.html)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/River_Sunset)</sup> After completion, the series remained unaired for about seven years before its release.<sup>[15](https://min.news/en/entertainment/e93c14dc781c40f9d38f64e38d37d318.html)</sup>\n\n## Cast\n\nZhang Luyi plays Wumu Yilang, whose real name is Lin Sen and whose codename is \"Lumberjack\" (伐木工), a double agent with multiple cover identities. Janine Chang plays Ye Biying, a Honolulu-born trainee army medic assigned to help him. Zhang Chenguang plays Ye Degong, the wealthiest and most respected clan leader on Sanzao Island, and Zhang Songwen plays Director Shen of the Kuomintang military intelligence apparatus. Shao Tong plays the Believer, and Ryu Kohata plays Hiroshi Oshima. The international cast also includes Casper Van Dien as James Doolittle, Shigeo Kobayashi, Masanobu Otsuka, Hideo Nakaizumi, Mario Cavolo, and Michael Koltes.<sup>[7](https://www.maigoo.com/citiao/283976.html)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/River_Sunset)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[16](https://www.moviefone.com/tv-shows/river-sunset/m7HOU3eTf6rZtuhPmGw8c6/)</sup>\n\n## Broadcast and reception\n\nThe series premiered on January 1, 2026 at 19:30 in the prime-time slots of Beijing TV and Zhejiang TV, with streaming platforms releasing four episodes at launch against two on satellite television. It reached the top position in satellite television ratings within two episodes, and Tencent Video's popularity index passed 14,000.<sup>[17](https://ent.sina.cn/2026-01-02/detail-inhexryf3358155.d.html?vt=4)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[15](https://min.news/en/entertainment/e93c14dc781c40f9d38f64e38d37d318.html)</sup> Over its run it averaged a 2.1% rating in the CSM35 cities with an 8.3% share, ranking third among satellite dramas in its time slot, and its first-run television audience totaled 270 million viewers, placing it in the top ten provincial satellite dramas for the first half of 2026.<sup>[8](https://lmtw.com/mzw/content/detail/id/251328/keyword_id/-1)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[9](https://www.nrta.gov.cn/art/2026/7/11/art_114_73688.html)</sup> On Tencent Video it held a user score of 8.7 from 56,000 raters as of January 31, 2026, while IMDb listed a 5.7/10 rating from seven users.<sup>[1](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E9%95%BF%E6%B2%B3%E8%90%BD%E6%97%A5/19730719?fromModule=lemma_inlink)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt39370310/)</sup>\n\nCritical commentary noted the series' unusual suspense structure: instead of the genre's usual \"unknown outcome\" hook, viewers already know the Tokyo raid succeeded, and the drama's tension comes from watching Lin Sen and Ye Biying complete an apparently impossible rescue and intelligence delivery under Japanese eyes, and at what cost.<sup>[1](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E9%95%BF%E6%B2%B3%E8%90%BD%E6%97%A5/19730719?fromModule=lemma_inlink)</sup> Reviews of the acting singled out Zhang Luyi's switching among three identities, Zhang Songwen's \"smiling tiger\" portrayal of Director Shen, and Zhang Chenguang's island elder, while the female lead's performance drew polarized responses.<sup>[18](https://inf.news/en/entertainment/7474cf782bb06283cc37b248f36922f0.html)</sup> Commentators also observed that the seven-year delay showed in the production's pacing, which some younger viewers found slow, even as the drama performed steadily with middle-aged and older television audiences.<sup>[6](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_32383389)</sup>\n\nThe series has been cited as an example of Chinese-American co-production in drama; a [People's Daily](https://www.edgepedia.org/peoples-daily) overseas edition survey listed it among quality series co-produced with the United States.<sup>[19](https://paper.people.com.cn/rmrbhwb/images/2024-07/26/07/rmrbhwb2024072607.pdf)</sup>\n\n## References\n\n1. [长河落日（2026年赵一龙、肖恩·皮奇尼诺执导的历史战争剧）, Baidu Baike](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E9%95%BF%E6%B2%B3%E8%90%BD%E6%97%A5/19730719?fromModule=lemma_inlink)\n2. [River Sunset, DramaWiki](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/River_Sunset)\n3. [River Sunset, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/89468/river-sunset)\n4. [River Sunset (TV Series 2026) – Release info, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt39370310/releaseinfo/)\n5. [River Sunset (TV Series 2026), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt39370310/)\n6. [国产剧1月大繁荣，谁能成为首部开年爆剧？, The Paper](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_32383389)\n7. [《长河落日》电视剧简介, 买购网](https://www.maigoo.com/citiao/283976.html)\n8. [逐光而剧・1月爆款剧集解析, 流媒体网](https://lmtw.com/mzw/content/detail/id/251328/keyword_id/-1)\n9. [《中国视听大数据（CVB）2026上半年国产电视剧收视报告》, 国家广播电视总局](https://www.nrta.gov.cn/art/2026/7/11/art_114_73688.html)\n10. [River Sunset (2026), iQIYI](https://www.iq.com/album/river-sunset-2026-20bso5o1deh?lang=en_us)\n11. [EP01: River Sunset, WeTV](https://wetv.vip/en/play/zit0hdlj74n01tt/f4101101dwq-EP01%3A_River_Sunset)\n12. [长河落日 全集在线观看, iQIYI](https://www.iqiyi.com/a_20bso5o1deh.html)\n13. [电视剧专题：历史战争题材电视连续剧《长河落日 River Sunset》, 艺术视点网](https://www.zhhdq.com/article.php?id=10988)\n14. [康洪雷执导\"二战\"新剧《长河落日》, 人民网](https://culture.people.com.cn/n1/2017/0324/c22219-29165673.html)\n15. [The first 44 episodes of this spy drama were a huge hit, iMedia](https://min.news/en/entertainment/e93c14dc781c40f9d38f64e38d37d318.html)\n16. [River Sunset (2026), Moviefone](https://www.moviefone.com/tv-shows/river-sunset/m7HOU3eTf6rZtuhPmGw8c6/)\n17. [《长河落日》开播，零宣发空降成开年王炸, 新浪娱乐](https://ent.sina.cn/2026-01-02/detail-inhexryf3358155.d.html?vt=4)\n18. [If you can't act, don't force it!, iNEWS](https://inf.news/en/entertainment/7474cf782bb06283cc37b248f36922f0.html)\n19. [2024年7月26日 人民日报海外版](https://paper.people.com.cn/rmrbhwb/images/2024-07/26/07/rmrbhwb2024072607.pdf)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › International serial drama and telenovelas › East Asian drama series › Chinese modern and contemporary drama*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n",
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 "credit": "\"River Sunset\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/river-sunset. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.",
 "credit_md": "\"[River Sunset](https://www.edgepedia.org/river-sunset)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/river-sunset](https://www.edgepedia.org/river-sunset). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).",
 "credit_html": "\"<a href=\"https://www.edgepedia.org/river-sunset\">River Sunset</a>\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), <a href=\"https://www.edgepedia.org/river-sunset\">https://www.edgepedia.org/river-sunset</a>. <a href=\"https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\">Edgepedia Community License 1.0</a>.",
 "speakable": "River Sunset is a 2026 Chinese 44-episode WWII espionage drama directed by Zhao Yilong and Shaun Piccinino, starring Zhang Luyi and Janine Chang, dramatizing the Chinese rescue operation behind the 1942 Doolittle Raid on Tokyo."
}