# Black and White Forbidden Zone (黑白禁区)
**Black and White Forbidden Zone** (黑白禁区; English title *The Penalty Zone*) is a 44-episode Chinese narcotics-crime drama starring 欧豪 (Ou Hao) as an undercover policeman, written and directed by 赵浚凯 (Zhao Junkai), which premiered on December 16, 2020 on iQiyi, [Tencent Video](https://www.edgepedia.org/tencent-video), and Youku.[1](https://www.chinanews.com/yl/2020/12-16/9363776.shtml) • [2](https://movie.douban.com/subject/34793517/) It is adapted from Zhao Junkai's same-name novel and was included in the China Writers Association's 2018 key works support program.[1](https://www.chinanews.com/yl/2020/12-16/9363776.shtml)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Native / English title | 黑白禁区 / *The Penalty Zone*; also listed as 黑白系列1, IMDb tt13599000[2](https://movie.douban.com/subject/34793517/) |
| Premiere | December 16, 2020, simultaneous release on iQiyi, Tencent Video, and Youku; ran to January 14, 2021[1](https://www.chinanews.com/yl/2020/12-16/9363776.shtml) • [3](https://mydramalist.com/50017-penalty-zone) |
| Format | 44 episodes, about 45 minutes each, Mandarin, crime genre[2](https://movie.douban.com/subject/34793517/) |
| Source | Adapted from the novel 黑白禁区 by 赵浚凯 (published under the pen name 东岳不苦)[1](https://www.chinanews.com/yl/2020/12-16/9363776.shtml) • [4](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/The_Penalty_Zone) |
| Lead cast | 欧豪 as 淦天雷, with 刘晓洁, 徐洪浩, 李乃文, 傅程鹏, and 杜源[1](https://www.chinanews.com/yl/2020/12-16/9363776.shtml) |
| Budget | Reported 200 million yuan, above typical realistic-genre budgets[5](https://artsbj.cn/muhougushi/355039.html) |
| Reception | Douban 4.8/10 from 12,740 ratings; MyDramaList 7.6/10 from 84 users[2](https://movie.douban.com/subject/34793517/) • [3](https://mydramalist.com/50017-penalty-zone) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and characters
The story follows undercover narcotics policeman 淦天雷 (Gan Tianlei), who spends more than ten years moving through the gray zone between the police and the drug world and, after recovering from severe injury, reopens a cold case that has lain dormant for eight years.[1](https://www.chinanews.com/yl/2020/12-16/9363776.shtml) The director's own chronology places the story in 2019: Gan Tianlei was born in 1982, entered the police academy in 1998, left in 2000, and was injured in an explosion during a [New Year's Eve](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-years-eve) raid in 2011 at age 29, waking at 37 with amnesia.[6](https://news.qq.com/rain/a/20201230A04BR200)
The iQiyi synopsis supplies the frame: Gan Tianlei, 杨晓蕾 (Yang Xiaolei), and 熊国良 (Xiong Guoliang) were an inseparable trio at the police academy. Disciplined after a fight to help Yang Xiaolei, Gan Tianlei left the academy and went south, was recruited by 车厘子 (Che Lizi), a young operative of the 凯撒集团 (Caesar group), and entered the organization as an informant for 邰勇峰 (Tai Yongfeng). After 苏灵 (Su Ling) detonates a bomb, he lies comatose for eight years; with the Caesar case unsolved for lack of evidence, his lost memory becomes the only key to the secret.[7](http://www.iqiyi.com/a_eg17y7y045.html) The central suspense is the whereabouts of a US$4 billion fortune.[6](https://news.qq.com/rain/a/20201230A04BR200)
The ending resolves the case: police crack the code, all transnational funds are recovered, all criminals from the Caesar and Tan (谭家) gangs are arrested, the Caesar case is closed, and Yang Xiaolei dies heroically; Gan Tianlei then sets out after the international crime organization behind Caesar.[7](http://www.iqiyi.com/a_eg17y7y045.html)
## Cast and production
Douban credits 赵浚凯 as director with screenwriters 赵浚凯, 辛志海, 石云凯, 陈天麒, and 吕诚, and stars 欧豪 as 淦天雷, 刘晓洁 as 杨晓蕾, 徐洪浩 as 车厘子, 李乃文 as 陆明松, and 傅程鹏 as 熊国良.[2](https://movie.douban.com/subject/34793517/) Guest cast includes 包贝尔, 张佳宁, 王姬, 寇世勋, and 张丹峰.[1](https://www.chinanews.com/yl/2020/12-16/9363776.shtml) For Ou Hao the role marked his first time playing a policeman and his first time performing so many hardcore fight scenes; he did all his own action work and refused stunt doubles.[1](https://www.chinanews.com/yl/2020/12-16/9363776.shtml) • [5](https://artsbj.cn/muhougushi/355039.html)
**Origin and scale.** Zhao Junkai conceived the story after meeting an amnesiac undercover policeman in Yunnan years earlier; the novel was published under the pen name 东岳不苦.[5](https://artsbj.cn/muhougushi/355039.html) • [4](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/The_Penalty_Zone) The production budget reached 200 million yuan.[5](https://artsbj.cn/muhougushi/355039.html) The series was originally planned as a three-season web drama and was adjusted during filming into a 44-episode web-and-TV drama.[6](https://news.qq.com/rain/a/20201230A04BR200) The production company was 海南时代风采影视文化传媒有限公司 (Hainan Shidai Fengcai Yingshi Wenhua).[4](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/The_Penalty_Zone)
## Broadcast and release
The premiere was announced on December 15, 2020: from December 16 the series updated two episodes per night at 20:00, Wednesday through Sunday, on iQiyi, Tencent Video, and Youku, with VIP members getting six episodes early.[8](https://www.bjnews.com.cn/detail/160799837515620.html) MyDramaList records the run as December 16, 2020 to January 14, 2021, and lists the series as legally available with subtitles on iQIYI (free) and Tencent Video (subscription).[3](https://mydramalist.com/50017-penalty-zone)
## Reception by the numbers
The two rating platforms diverge sharply. Douban users rate the series 4.8 out of 10 based on 12,740 ratings, while MyDramaList shows 7.6 out of 10 from 84 users.[2](https://movie.douban.com/subject/34793517/) • [3](https://mydramalist.com/50017-penalty-zone) The sample sizes differ by two orders of magnitude. User reviews criticize the final arc as a setup for a second season.[3](https://mydramalist.com/50017-penalty-zone)
## Genre context and comparison
The series was positioned from the start as a fast-paced, strongly plotted, high-reversal American-style drama with extreme characterization, taking a tough-guy action police route rather than the "she suspense" trend.[6](https://news.qq.com/rain/a/20201230A04BR200) Undercover infiltration and amnesia are classic narrative elements of the crime genre, and the drama leans on both.[6](https://news.qq.com/rain/a/20201230A04BR200) Zhao Junkai used a "dual parallel-line cyclic structure" (双行并线循环结构) with extensive flashbacks, an approach he notes is rare in Chinese series though common in film.[5](https://artsbj.cn/muhougushi/355039.html)
**Market position.** The drama debuted as a hard-boiled narcotics series filling the market gap left after 《破冰行动》 (*The Thunder*) in the 2020 crime-suspense lineup.[6](https://news.qq.com/rain/a/20201230A04BR200) It is a sister work to the narcotics drama 《猎毒人》: that series depicts a civilian revenge story while 黑白禁区 depicts an undercover policeman's search for his lost identity, and both are character-driven rather than case-driven.[5](https://artsbj.cn/muhougushi/355039.html)
## Regulatory and official recognition
The original novel was included in the China Writers Association's 2018 annual key works support program in July 2018.[5](https://artsbj.cn/muhougushi/355039.html) The filing record shows the drama was registered by 海南时代风采影视文化传媒有限公司 in October 2019 under license number （琼）字第293号 as a 30-episode contemporary crime (当代涉案) drama with an eight-month production cycle starting October 2019, and that the script review opinion of the [Ministry of Public Security](https://www.edgepedia.org/ministry-of-public-security)'s press and publicity bureau had been obtained.[9](https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E9%BB%91%E7%99%BD%E7%A6%81%E5%8C%BA/24141013)
## Notes on conflicting records
Two details vary across databases. DramaWiki credits 杜源 (Du Yuan) as Shao Yongfeng (邵勇峰), while the iQiyi official synopsis names the informant-handler character 邰勇峰 (Tai Yongfeng).[4](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/The_Penalty_Zone) • [7](http://www.iqiyi.com/a_eg17y7y045.html) DramaWiki also romanizes the lead as "Jin Tianlei," while MyDramaList and Chinese-language sources use "Gan Tianlei" for 淦天雷.[3](https://mydramalist.com/50017-penalty-zone) The 30-episode figure in the 2019 filing reflects the pre-broadcast plan; the broadcast version ran 44 episodes.[9](https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E9%BB%91%E7%99%BD%E7%A6%81%E5%8C%BA/24141013) • [2](https://movie.douban.com/subject/34793517/)
## References
1. [缉毒剧《黑白禁区》开播 欧豪首次饰演警察, 中新网 (China News Service), December 16, 2020](https://www.chinanews.com/yl/2020/12-16/9363776.shtml)
2. [黑白禁区, 豆瓣 (Douban)](https://movie.douban.com/subject/34793517/)
3. [The Penalty Zone (2020), MyDramaList](https://mydramalist.com/50017-penalty-zone)
4. [The Penalty Zone, DramaWiki](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/The_Penalty_Zone)
5. [欧豪挑大梁的《黑白禁区》，要再次挑战缉毒剧的类型高峰, 北京文艺网](https://artsbj.cn/muhougushi/355039.html)
6. [欧豪一路打，大Boss是编剧…硬派缉毒剧《黑白禁区》是怎样诞生的？, 腾讯新闻 (Tencent News), December 30, 2020](https://news.qq.com/rain/a/20201230A04BR200)
7. [黑白禁区·剧情速看, 爱奇艺 (iQiyi) official page](http://www.iqiyi.com/a_eg17y7y045.html)
8. [欧豪新剧《黑白禁区》演卧底警察，12月16日开播, 新京报 (The Beijing News), December 2020](https://www.bjnews.com.cn/detail/160799837515620.html)
9. [黑白禁区（2020年欧豪、刘晓洁等主演的缉毒刑侦剧）, 百度百科 (Baidu Baike)](https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E9%BB%91%E7%99%BD%E7%A6%81%E5%8C%BA/24141013)
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*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*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license