# Detective Chinatown (唐人街探案) (2020 TV series)
*Detective Chinatown* (唐人街探案, also known as 唐人街探案网剧 or 唐探) is a 2020 Chinese suspense web series and a spin-off of the *Detective Chinatown* comedy-mystery film series, streaming exclusively on iQIYI from 1 January 2020. It runs 12 episodes of about 42 minutes each, organized as three four-episode case units, and shares its fictional world with the films rather than adapting them.[1](https://movie.douban.com/subject/30354606//) • [2](https://www.chinawriter.com.cn/n1/2020/0113/c419388-31546085.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Premiere | 1 January 2020 on iQIYI, mainland China; Mandarin language; 12 episodes × 42 minutes[1](https://movie.douban.com/subject/30354606//) |
| Structure | Three four-episode units: "Dance of the Datura" (曼陀罗之舞), "The Name of the Rose" (玫瑰的名字), "Ghost Invitational" (幽灵邀请赛)[2](https://www.chinawriter.com.cn/n1/2020/0113/c419388-31546085.html) |
| Creative leads | Chen Sicheng as executive producer and chief writer; directed by Ke Wenli, Dai Mo, Yao Wenyi, and Lai Mukuan[3](https://sn.people.com.cn/n2/2020/0102/c378307-33683166.html) |
| Lead cast | Qiu Ze as detective Lin Mo, Ning Chang (张钧甯) as Ivy, Wang Zhen'er, Chen Zheyuan, Cheng Xiao; film leads Wang Baoqiang and Liu Haoran appear in cameos[1](https://movie.douban.com/subject/30354606//) • [4](https://morketing.com/detail/12992) |
| Genre shift | Suspense and thriller tone, unlike the comedic style of the 2015 and 2018 films[5](https://www.zaobao.com.sg/zentertainment/movies-and-tv/story20200117-1021822) |
| Production scale | 114 days of shooting, over 2,000 hours of footage, locations in Bangkok, Kaohsiung, and Tokyo, about 11,000 square meters of sets[6](https://www.wanda.cn/2019/2019latest_0403/40048.html) |
| Budget | Reported at roughly 10 million RMB per episode[7](https://www.chinawriter.com.cn/n1/2020/0116/c419388-31550685.html) |
| Reception | Douban score of 8.1 during broadcast, falling to 7.6 amid "rushed ending" criticism; 7.0 from 314,537 raters later[4](https://morketing.com/detail/12992) • [1](https://movie.douban.com/subject/30354606//) |
## Format and stories
The series adopts a unit-drama structure: each four-episode block is a self-contained case with its own director and style, while all three sit inside the shared "Tang Detective universe" (唐探宇宙) built around the film franchise.[3](https://sn.people.com.cn/n2/2020/0102/c378307-33683166.html) The first unit, "Dance of the Datura", is set in Bangkok and [Kaohsiung](https://www.edgepedia.org/kaohsiung) and follows the bar singer A-Wen (王真儿), who is pushed onto subway tracks after hearing a chant, and the investigation that uncovers secrets among her circle of friends.[8](https://www.jiemian.com/article/3859707.html) "The Name of the Rose" is set in Bangkok and centers on Ivy, a flower-shop owner and widow whose four husbands have all died unnatural deaths; she is revealed as a member of a criminal organization called "Smile" (笑脸), which lures wealthy men into marriage and stages their deaths as suicides to inherit their fortunes.[5](https://www.zaobao.com.sg/zentertainment/movies-and-tv/story20200117-1021822) "Ghost Invitational" unfolds across Bangkok, Kaohsiung, and Tokyo and shifts the detective lead to Noda Koji (野田昊二, played by [Chen Zheyuan](https://www.edgepedia.org/chen-zheyuan)) and the "Five Spirit Children" team member Lu Jingjing (程潇).[5](https://www.zaobao.com.sg/zentertainment/movies-and-tv/story20200117-1021822)
## Lin Mo and the shared universe
The central new character is Lin Mo (林默), played by Qiu Ze, a detective ranked No. 4 on the in-universe CRIMASTER world detective ranking and an apprentice of Tang Ren (王宝强), the "first detective of Chinatown" from the films.[9](https://static.cdsb.com/micropub/Articles/202001/dff65994b3e4259742a6a5e43f271d14.html) Lin Mo teaches chemistry at a middle school by day and works as a crime-scene cleaner, a "scavenger" operating between law and crime, by night; his exceptional sense of smell earns him the nickname Lin Heiquan (林黑犬, "black dog"), with the line "smell can tell you far more than words."[5](https://www.zaobao.com.sg/zentertainment/movies-and-tv/story20200117-1021822) • [10](https://www.gzstv.com/a/c0f47418398d43f98aeae024dcbdb7eb) A second narrative thread follows his own backstory: he lost his parents as a child and witnessed his mother's death, and solving cases runs alongside his search for answers about his past and the mysterious figure Q.[9](https://static.cdsb.com/micropub/Articles/202001/dff65994b3e4259742a6a5e43f271d14.html)
The series is positioned deliberately within the film timeline. "The Name of the Rose" falls between the first and second films, "Dance of the Datura" runs parallel to the second film, and "Ghost Invitational" precedes the third.[11](https://ah.people.com.cn/n2/2020/0113/c358331-33712347.html) Film leads Wang Baoqiang, Liu Haoran, and Xiao Yang appear in cameos and Easter eggs, and the finale gathers the detectives in Tokyo, matching the setting of the film *Detective Chinatown 3*; Qiu Ze in turn appears in that film.[4](https://morketing.com/detail/12992) Chen Sicheng, the franchise's creator, described the goal as building modern Chinese detective characters, noting that famous fictional detectives abroad kept appearing while Chinese ones remained figures like Bao Qingtian and [Di Renjie](https://www.edgepedia.org/di-renjie).[3](https://sn.people.com.cn/n2/2020/0102/c378307-33683166.html)
## Production
Shooting began in December 2018 and wrapped in Bangkok on 2 April 2019 after 114 days and more than 2,000 hours of footage, moving between Bangkok, Kaohsiung, and Tokyo, with over 1,000 set-design drafts and roughly 11,000 square meters of art direction.[6](https://www.wanda.cn/2019/2019latest_0403/40048.html) The production used a full film crew and film-style techniques, including macro photography, a chartered [Boeing 747](https://www.edgepedia.org/boeing-747) shoot, and underwater filming of a full physical vehicle.[3](https://sn.people.com.cn/n2/2020/0102/c378307-33683166.html) The series was jointly produced by iQIYI, Wanda Media, Shanghai Chengya Film, and Shanghai Yitong Film, with Chen Sicheng retaining the film's photography, art, and costume teams.[6](https://www.wanda.cn/2019/2019latest_0403/40048.html) The reported budget of about 10 million RMB per episode made it, by one account, among the most expensive detective-series productions.[7](https://www.chinawriter.com.cn/n1/2020/0116/c419388-31550685.html) • [12](https://news.sina.com.cn/c/2020-01-20/doc-iihnzhha3746517.shtml)
## Reception and "web-film linkage"
The series premiered as iQIYI's follow-up to *Qing Yu Nian* and was scheduled so that its twelve episodes, released four per week, finished one week before *Detective Chinatown 3* opened in cinemas on the first day of the [Lunar New Year](https://www.edgepedia.org/lunar-new-year).[13](https://jx.people.com.cn/n2/2020/0108/c186330-33700390.html) Its early Douban score of 8.1 exceeded both film predecessors, the second of which held 6.7, and topped the contemporary hit *Qing Yu Nian* by 0.2 points.[7](https://www.chinawriter.com.cn/n1/2020/0116/c419388-31550685.html) After the final unit drew "rushed ending" criticism, the score slipped to 7.6; it later settled at 7.0 from 314,537 user ratings, better than 71% of crime dramas and 77% of suspense dramas on the platform.[4](https://morketing.com/detail/12992) • [1](https://movie.douban.com/subject/30354606//) iQIYI reported an in-app content heat peak above 7,300 during the run.[14](https://news.tom.com/202001/4896417354.html)
Commentary in the Chinese industry treated the series as a test case for "web-film linkage" (网影联动), the coordinated development of a single fictional world across streaming series and theatrical films, comparable to the Marvel model of *Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.* feeding a film universe.[13](https://jx.people.com.cn/n2/2020/0108/c186330-33700390.html) iQIYI vice president Dai Ying, the show's chief producer, said that before this project most proposed linkages had been concepts or risk-sharing schemes rather than genuine attempts to capture the effect.[15](https://www.jiemian.com/article/3881338.html) A 2021 academic survey of five Chinese suspense web dramas recorded the series with 4.042 million danmaku comments and a 7.1 Douban score as of 18 October 2022, placing it behind *The Bad Kids* (8.8) and *[The Long Night](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-long-night)* (9.0) in that comparison.[16](https://scholars.hkbu.edu.hk/files/80879582/G23THFL-042229T.pdf) A second season with the same creative team was reported in 2024.[17](https://ep.ycwb.com/epaper/ycwb/resfile/2024-03-19/A10/ycwb20240319A10.pdf)
## References
1. [唐人街探案 (2020), Douban](https://movie.douban.com/subject/30354606//)
2. [电影衍生剧体现网剧生态新动向, 中国艺术报 via 中国作家网](https://www.chinawriter.com.cn/n1/2020/0113/c419388-31546085.html)
3. [网剧《唐人街探案》上线 陈思诚任监制、总编剧, 中国新闻网 via 人民网](https://sn.people.com.cn/n2/2020/0102/c378307-33683166.html)
4. [《唐人街探案》能否成为"网影联动"的新风向标？, Morketing](https://morketing.com/detail/12992)
5. ["唐探"网剧悬疑反转取胜, 联合早报](https://www.zaobao.com.sg/zentertainment/movies-and-tv/story20200117-1021822)
6. [万达影视出品网剧《唐人街探案》曼谷杀青, 万达官网](https://www.wanda.cn/2019/2019latest_0403/40048.html)
7. [网剧《唐人街探案》口碑意外超两部电影前作, 文汇报 via 中国作家网](https://www.chinawriter.com.cn/n1/2020/0116/c419388-31550685.html)
8. [一眼看穿网剧《唐探》的套路，可还是会被吓哭, 界面新闻](https://www.jiemian.com/article/3859707.html)
9. [小邱鉴剧｜被骂多年渣男的邱泽，要靠这部侦探片中的狗鼻子翻身？, 红星新闻](https://static.cdsb.com/micropub/Articles/202001/dff65994b3e4259742a6a5e43f271d14.html)
10. [网剧《唐人街探案》能开拓"唐探宇宙"吗？, 澎湃新闻 via 贵州卫视](https://www.gzstv.com/a/c0f47418398d43f98aeae024dcbdb7eb)
11. [唐人街探案网剧林默身份揭秘, 东方网 via 人民网](https://ah.people.com.cn/n2/2020/0113/c358331-33712347.html)
12. [陈思诚：打造"唐探宇宙"，做影视产业探索者, 新浪新闻](https://news.sina.com.cn/c/2020-01-20/doc-iihnzhha3746517.shtml)
13. [《唐人街探案》为"网影联动"探路, 人民网](https://jx.people.com.cn/n2/2020/0108/c186330-33700390.html)
14. [爱奇艺网剧《唐人街探案》紧密联动电影版, TOM资讯](https://news.tom.com/202001/4896417354.html)
15. [对话爱奇艺副总裁戴莹, 界面新闻](https://www.jiemian.com/article/3881338.html)
16. [网络悬疑短剧受众研究, 香港浸会大学](https://scholars.hkbu.edu.hk/files/80879582/G23THFL-042229T.pdf)
17. [《唐人街探案2》网剧报道, 羊城晚报](https://ep.ycwb.com/epaper/ycwb/resfile/2024-03-19/A10/ycwb20240319A10.pdf)
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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 › East Asian web and streaming serials › Titles Cr to In*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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