{ "id": "epj4h4g696", "slug": "wave-makers", "title": "Wave Makers (人选之人-造浪者)", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_international_serials", "label": "International serial drama and telenovelas", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_international_serials" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia", "label": "East Asian drama series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia.hong_kong_taiwan_drama", "label": "Hong Kong and Taiwanese serial drama", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia.hong_kong_taiwan_drama" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.chn.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_international_serials", "label": "China · 2021 and later: International serial drama and telenovelas", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_international_serials", "path": [ { "id": "geo.chn", "label": "China", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2021", "label": "China · 2021 and later", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2021" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2021.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2021.culture" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2021.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2021.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2021.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2021.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_international_serials", "label": "International serial drama and telenovelas", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_international_serials" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Wave Makers (人選之人—造浪者) is a 2023 eight-episode Taiwanese political workplace drama on Netflix by DaMou Entertainment and PTS, following fictional campaign staffers; it won four Golden Bell Awards and helped spark Taiwan's #MeToo movement.", "snippet": "Wave Makers (人選之人—造浪者) is a 2023 eight-episode Taiwanese political workplace drama on Netflix by DaMou Entertainment and PTS, following fictional campaign staffers; it won four Golden Bell Awards and helped spark Taiwan's #MeToo movement.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia.hong_kong_taiwan_drama", "markdown": "# Wave Makers (人选之人-造浪者)\n\n**Wave Makers** (original title 人選之人—造浪者) is a 2023 Taiwanese political workplace drama of eight episodes that follows the staff of a fictional political party during a presidential election campaign. Produced by DaMou Entertainment (大慕影藝) and Taiwan's Public Television Service (PTS) and directed by Lin Chun-yang, it premiered on Netflix on April 28, 2023, in more than 190 countries and regions, and is described by its producers as Taiwan's first drama centered on political campaign staffers.[1](https://about.pts.org.tw/pr/latestnews/article/5172) • [2](https://www.filmassist.ntpc.gov.tw/en/film/1110)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Original title | 人選之人—造浪者 (Wave Makers), 2023, 8 episodes, TV-MA, Mandarin (Guoyu) original audio[3](https://www.netflix.com/ca/title/81655481) |\n| Premiere | April 28, 2023, on Netflix, in over 190 countries and regions[1](https://about.pts.org.tw/pr/latestnews/article/5172) |\n| Production | DaMou Entertainment and Public Television Service; director Lin Chun-yang; writers Chien Li-ying and Cynical Chick[2](https://www.filmassist.ntpc.gov.tw/en/film/1110) • [4](https://about.pts.org.tw/pr/latestnews/article/5265) |\n| Lead cast | Hsieh Ying-hsuan, Gingle Wang, Jag Huang, Leon Dai, Buffy Chen[3](https://www.netflix.com/ca/title/81655481) |\n| Golden Bell Awards (58th) | 14 nominations; won Best Miniseries, Best Directing for a Miniseries, Best Visual Effects, and Best Original Song[5](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/netflix-wave-makers-returns-for-second-season) |\n| Netflix performance | #1 on Netflix's Top 10 TV Shows list in Taiwan for 15 days; five consecutive weeks in Taiwan's Weekly Top 10[5](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/netflix-wave-makers-returns-for-second-season) |\n| Second season | Renewed with production underway as of September 2026, moving the story from campaigning to governing[5](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/netflix-wave-makers-returns-for-second-season) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Premise and production\n\nThe series is set around a fictional presidential election between two parties, the Justice Party and the Democratic Peace Party, and follows the staffers of the Justice Party's publicity department. Weng Wen-fang (翁文方), played by Hsieh Ying-hsuan, joins the party as deputy director and spokesperson of the Publicity Department after failing to win re-election to the city council; Chang Ya-ching (張亞靜), played by Gingle Wang, is a junior staffer harboring a secret of her own.[6](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/wave-makers) Lai Pei-hsia plays [Lin Yue](https://www.edgepedia.org/lin-yue)-chen (林月真), the party chair and presidential candidate.[4](https://about.pts.org.tw/pr/latestnews/article/5265) Both presidential candidates in the story are women, a situation the show itself notes Taiwan had not yet reached.[7](https://news.pts.org.tw/article/635914)\n\nUnder the concept \"Riding on the Ideal Wind, Creating Waves for Our Candidates - We are the Wave Makers,\" the series depicts the political aides working behind the candidates during the election campaign: producing publicity, joining street canvassing and closed-street rallies, and handling protest activity.[2](https://www.filmassist.ntpc.gov.tw/en/film/1110) • [4](https://about.pts.org.tw/pr/latestnews/article/5265) The creative team, led by producers Lin Yu-ling (林昱伶) and Chiang Cheng-en (江承恩), spent about two years on field research before completing the script.[1](https://about.pts.org.tw/pr/latestnews/article/5172) The writers are the playwright Chien Li-ying (簡莉穎) and Cynical Chick (厭世姬), the latter a former campaign publicity staffer.[4](https://about.pts.org.tw/pr/latestnews/article/5265) [Screenwriting](https://www.edgepedia.org/screenwriting) began in 2020, production and casting took place in 2021, filming started on October 15, 2021, and the series was completed in 2022.[8](https://about.pts.org.tw/pr/latestnews/article/5296) • [9](https://about.pts.org.tw/pr/latestnews/article/5282) The large election-rally scenes were shot with the street in front of the Presidential Office, Ketagalan Boulevard, closed for two full days, using more than a hundred extras.[1](https://about.pts.org.tw/pr/latestnews/article/5172)\n\n## Themes\n\nThe drama weaves social issues through its campaign narrative, including women's issues, same-sex relationships, the death penalty, workplace sexual harassment, and the political environment.[10](https://app2.atmovies.com.tw/eweekly/XE2305059394/) Its most discussed plotline follows Chang Ya-ching, who is harassed by a senior male party employee and, with Weng Wen-fang's insistence that \"we cannot just let this go,\" pursues a complaint through the party hierarchy despite colleagues invoking the good of the campaign to minimize it.[11](https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/taiwanese-netflix-show-inspires-island-s-own-metoo-movement) • [7](https://news.pts.org.tw/article/635914) A commentary in PTS's own news service used the show's three main female political workers to examine real gaps in Taiwanese women's political representation, noting that female cabinet members fell to 2.63 percent of the Executive Yuan at the start of the second [Tsai Ing-wen](https://www.edgepedia.org/tsai-ing-wen) term in 2020 and that no county or city government reached 40 percent female department heads after the 2022 local elections.[7](https://news.pts.org.tw/article/635914)\n\n## Release and the PTS broadcast question\n\nAfter its April 28, 2023 Netflix debut, PTS planned to broadcast the series on its television channel from October 28, 2023, six months after the streaming release, as agreed in its contract with Netflix.[8](https://about.pts.org.tw/pr/latestnews/article/5296) The broadcast became contentious because Lai Pei-hsia, who plays the fictional presidential candidate Lin Yue-chen, announced in September 2023 that she would run for vice president as Terry Gou's running mate in Taiwan's real January 2024 election.[9](https://about.pts.org.tw/pr/latestnews/article/5282) • [12](https://mag.ncafroc.org.tw/article_detail?sid=828) PTS convened its board on September 15, 2023, and held a public forum on September 22 to debate whether and how to air the series; some directors argued the drama was made long before Lai's candidacy and that the law did not bar the broadcast, while others warned that the show's closeness to real politics could sway public opinion.[9](https://about.pts.org.tw/pr/latestnews/article/5282) • [13](https://info-material.pts.org.tw/sup_forum/sup2023_4_0922.pdf)\n\nThe board confirmed the October 28 start but compressed the broadcast into two consecutive weekends, airing two episodes each Saturday and Sunday evening, with on-screen cards and introductions stating that the drama was scripted from 2020, produced in 2021, completed in 2022, and purely fictional, and with expert discussions after broadcast to analyze its social themes.[8](https://about.pts.org.tw/pr/latestnews/article/5296) • [14](https://about.pts.org.tw/pr/latestnews/article/5305)\n\n## Reception and awards\n\nSeason 1 reached #1 on Netflix's Top 10 TV Shows list in Taiwan, where it stayed for 15 days, and spent five consecutive weeks in Taiwan's Weekly Top 10.[5](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/netflix-wave-makers-returns-for-second-season) At the 58th Golden Bell Awards in October 2023 it received 14 nominations, including Best Miniseries, directing, writing, and acting nominations for Gingle Wang, Pu Hsueh-liang, Leon Dai, Lai Pei-hsia, and others, and won four awards: Best [Miniseries](https://www.edgepedia.org/miniseries), Best Directing for a Miniseries, Best Visual Effects, and Best Original Song.[8](https://about.pts.org.tw/pr/latestnews/article/5296) • [15](https://about.pts.org.tw/pr/latestnews/article/5280) • [5](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/netflix-wave-makers-returns-for-second-season) Its winning original song was \"得意的一天 A no is a no\" by Leo王, 陳嫺靜, 李權哲, and 湯捷.[16](https://about.pts.org.tw/pr/latestnews/article/5297) At the Asia Contents Awards & Global OTT Awards in Busan the series was nominated for Best OTT Original and Best Supporting Actress, and Buffy Chen later took home the Rising Star Award there.[17](https://about.pts.org.tw/pr/latestnews/article/5276) • [5](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/netflix-wave-makers-returns-for-second-season)\n\n## The #MeToo effect\n\nThe series is widely credited with helping trigger Taiwan's own #[MeToo movement](https://www.edgepedia.org/metoo-movement) in mid-2023. Its harassment plotline, in which a campaign worker helps a younger colleague seek justice despite pressure to stay silent, prompted real allegations against political figures and others in Taiwan's entertainment, politics, and media sectors ahead of the January 2024 elections.[11](https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/taiwanese-netflix-show-inspires-island-s-own-metoo-movement) • [18](https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/sundayextra/wave-makers/102601892) • [5](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/netflix-wave-makers-returns-for-second-season) Netflix's December 2023 cultural-impact recap linked the series to people sharing their experiences of harassment in Taiwan, including in entertainment, politics, and media.[19](https://pixeltwelve.com/articles/wave-makers-season-2-governing-returning-cast) An academic analysis attributes the timing of Taiwan's #MeToo eruption in May 2023 partly to the series' societal impact, which enabled the movement to expand national discourse around gendered violence.[20](https://graduatejournal-leap.universiteitleiden.nl/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/LEAP-issue-5-complete.pdf)\n\n## Reception in China and the omitted issue\n\nAlthough much of the show is in Mandarin, it found an audience among Chinese mainlanders, who accessed it surreptitiously; Chinese YouTuber Yao Zhang, who covers contemporary culture and politics from Canada, said viewers on Weibo met it with a mix of interest, sadness, and self-reflection.[18](https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/sundayextra/wave-makers/102601892) • [21](https://www.voanews.com/a/taiwanese-election-drama-is-a-subversive-hit-in-china/7114930.html) One viewer's Weibo post saying the show made them feel like they \"live in a cage\" was scrubbed by Beijing's censors, while another commenter called it \"like a fairy tale story.\"[22](https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/08/12/wave-makers-netflix-taiwan-metoo-sexual-harassment-dpp-china/)\n\nCommentators also noted a deliberate narrative choice: the eight-part series makes no mention of cross-strait relations with China, the issue that has dominated Taiwanese politics for decades, focusing instead on the everyday work of campaign staffers. A DaMou Entertainment representative said the focus of the story was the lives of the campaign staff, and a member of the creative team said the show could let the world know Taiwan is a real place, not just a pawn between major powers or a chipmaker.[23](https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2023-06-13/netflix-show-wave-makers-taiwan-election-no-china) • [24](https://globaltaiwan.org/2023/06/wave-makers-and-copycat-killer-how-taiwanese-productions-are-making-waves-and-copying-successful-strategies/)\n\n## Second season\n\nNetflix announced on September 30, 2026 that a second season is in production, with Hsieh Ying-hsuan, Gingle Wang, Buffy Chen, Pu Hsueh-liang, and Ada Pan returning and director Lin Chun-yang and the original writing team coming back, joined by Su Chih-heng; producers Jayde Lin and [Leo Chiang](https://www.edgepedia.org/leo-chiang) also return. The story picks up after the presidential election, following the staffers who won the campaign as they move into government and confront the pressures of exercising power.[5](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/netflix-wave-makers-returns-for-second-season)\n\n## References\n\n1. [第一部臺灣政治幕僚職人劇！公視、大慕影藝出品強強聯手, Public Television Service (2023-04-27)](https://about.pts.org.tw/pr/latestnews/article/5172)\n2. [Wave Makers (人選之人—造浪者), New Taipei City Film Assist and Development Center](https://www.filmassist.ntpc.gov.tw/en/film/1110)\n3. [Wave Makers, Netflix Official Site](https://www.netflix.com/ca/title/81655481)\n4. [公視、大慕影藝合力打造台灣首部政治職人劇《人選之人—造浪者》10月登螢光幕, Public Television Service (2023-08-28)](https://about.pts.org.tw/pr/latestnews/article/5265)\n5. [New Term, Higher Stakes: Netflix Political Workplace Drama 'Wave Makers' Returns For Second Season, About Netflix (2026-09-30)](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/netflix-wave-makers-returns-for-second-season)\n6. [Wave Makers - watch tv show streaming online, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/wave-makers)\n7. [《人選之人–造浪者》：兩棵樹仍舊不等於一片森林 女性真的平權了？, 公視新聞網 PNN (2023-05-09)](https://news.pts.org.tw/article/635914)\n8. [《人選之人—造浪者》公視拍板10/28起密集播, Public Television Service (2023-10-19)](https://about.pts.org.tw/pr/latestnews/article/5296)\n9. [《人選之人—造浪者》要不要在選前播？公視董事會掀辯論, Public Television Service (2023-09-15)](https://about.pts.org.tw/pr/latestnews/article/5282)\n10. [劇評--《人選之人-造浪者》：台灣社會的民主價值, 開眼電影網 (2023-05-05)](https://app2.atmovies.com.tw/eweekly/XE2305059394/)\n11. [Taiwanese Netflix show inspires island's own MeToo movement, The Straits Times (2023-06-18)](https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/taiwanese-netflix-show-inspires-island-s-own-metoo-movement)\n12. [謝一麟：從螢幕中破框而出，走進現實：《人選之人——造浪者》, 國藝會線上誌 (2024-02-01)](https://mag.ncafroc.org.tw/article_detail?sid=828)\n13. [《人選之人—造浪者》如何播？公視公聽會資料 (2023-09-22)](https://info-material.pts.org.tw/sup_forum/sup2023_4_0922.pdf)\n14. [2023話題之作！金鐘戲劇大贏家《人選之人—造浪者》電視首播, Public Television Service (2023-10-27)](https://about.pts.org.tw/pr/latestnews/article/5305)\n15. [公視戲劇入圍名單報導, Public Television Service (2023)](https://about.pts.org.tw/pr/latestnews/article/5280)\n16. [金鐘獎得獎報導, Public Television Service (2023)](https://about.pts.org.tw/pr/latestnews/article/5297)\n17. [國際報佳績！《人選之人》入圍亞洲內容大獎, Public Television Service (2023-09-12)](https://about.pts.org.tw/pr/latestnews/article/5276)\n18. [The Taiwanese Netflix series making #MeToo waves, ABC Sunday Extra (2023-07-16)](https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/sundayextra/wave-makers/102601892)\n19. [Wave Makers Season 2 Moves the Team From Campaigning to Governing, Pixel Twelve](https://pixeltwelve.com/articles/wave-makers-season-2-governing-returning-cast)\n20. [Beatrice Scali, on Wave Makers and Taiwan's #MeToo, LEAP Graduate Journal (Leiden)](https://graduatejournal-leap.universiteitleiden.nl/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/LEAP-issue-5-complete.pdf)\n21. [Taiwanese Election Drama is a Subversive Hit in China, VOA News (2023-05-30)](https://www.voanews.com/a/taiwanese-election-drama-is-a-subversive-hit-in-china/7114930.html)\n22. [How Netflix's 'Wave Makers' Sparked a #MeToo Wave in Taiwan, Foreign Policy (2023-08-12)](https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/08/12/wave-makers-netflix-taiwan-metoo-sexual-harassment-dpp-china/)\n23. [Inside the no-China universe of Taiwan's 'West Wing'-like TV hit, Los Angeles Times (2023-06-13)](https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2023-06-13/netflix-show-wave-makers-taiwan-election-no-china)\n24. [Wave Makers and Copycat Killer: How Taiwanese Productions are \"Making Waves\" and \"Copying\" Successful Strategies, Global Taiwan Institute (2023-06-14)](https://globaltaiwan.org/2023/06/wave-makers-and-copycat-killer-how-taiwanese-productions-are-making-waves-and-copying-successful-strategies/)\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 › Hong Kong and Taiwanese serial 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", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/wave-makers", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/wave-makers.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Wave Makers (人选之人-造浪者)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/wave-makers. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Wave Makers (人选之人-造浪者)](https://www.edgepedia.org/wave-makers)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/wave-makers](https://www.edgepedia.org/wave-makers). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Wave Makers (人选之人-造浪者)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/wave-makers. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Wave Makers is a 2023 eight-episode Taiwanese political workplace drama on Netflix by DaMou Entertainment and PTS, following fictional campaign staffers; it won four Golden Bell Awards and helped spark Taiwan's #MeToo movement." }