# Nowhere Man (罪梦者)
**Nowhere Man** (罪梦者; also released under the title **Bardo** and the earlier working title 擺渡身) is a 2019 Taiwanese crime thriller television series and the first Mandarin-language original series produced for Netflix. Written and directed by Chen Yin-jung (陳映蓉, credited internationally as DJ Chen), it consists of eight episodes that were released simultaneously on October 31, 2019.[1](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/checking-in-on-netflixs-first-mandarin-language-international-original-nowhere-man) • [2](https://www.netflix.com/st/title/80203920) • [3](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Nowhere_Man)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Native title | 罪梦者 (Zui Meng Zhe); English title Nowhere Man; also known as Bardo and 擺渡身[3](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Nowhere_Man) • [4](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E7%BD%AA%E6%A2%A6%E8%80%85/23644267?fromModule=lemma_inlink) |
| Format | 8 episodes, released October 31, 2019 on Netflix; Mandarin language[2](https://www.netflix.com/st/title/80203920) • [5](https://www.imda.gov.sg/-/media/Imda/Files/Who-We-Are/Corporate-Publications/Media-Brochures/TV-brochure-2021.pdf) |
| Creator | Written and directed by Chen Yin-jung (DJ Chen)[3](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Nowhere_Man) |
| Main cast | Joseph Chang, Alyssa Chia, Mavis Fan, Bo-Chieh Wang, Chou Min-fu, and Greg Hsu[3](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Nowhere_Man) • [6](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/netflixs-first-mandarin-language-original-series-nowhere-man-bring-together-joseph-chang-alyssa-chia-with-director-dj-chen) |
| Premise | A death row inmate learns his son has been kidnapped and schemes a jailbreak, only to fall into a larger, more dangerous plot[7](https://english.cw.com.tw/article/article.action?id=2591) |
| Significance | Netflix's first Mandarin-language original series, shot entirely in Taiwan[1](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/checking-in-on-netflixs-first-mandarin-language-international-original-nowhere-man) |
| Awards | Won Best Sound, Best Lighting, Best Art and Design, and Best DOP at the 2020 Golden Bell Awards[5](https://www.imda.gov.sg/-/media/Imda/Files/Who-We-Are/Corporate-Publications/Media-Brochures/TV-brochure-2021.pdf) |
## Spoilers
### Premise and title
The series follows Ding Chang-quan, called Ah Quan (played by Joseph Chang), a death row inmate waiting out his days in desperation. After learning that his son has been kidnapped, he schemes to break out of jail to save him and protect his family, only to find himself mired in an even more perilous plot. From time to time Ah Quan falls into a state of half-sleep, and the story moves between reality and the unreal, life and death.[7](https://english.cw.com.tw/article/article.action?id=2591) • [3](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Nowhere_Man) Netflix's own synopsis describes two nefarious schemes taking place ten years apart that entangle a triad member who must break out of prison to rescue a loved one.[2](https://www.netflix.com/st/title/80203920)
The English title carries a double meaning. According to director Chen, "Nowhere Man" evokes the bardo, the state of existence between life and death, and the series swings between the real and the unreal.[7](https://english.cw.com.tw/article/article.action?id=2591) TVmaze's synopsis likewise describes the show as blending Taiwanese aboriginal mysticism and karmic destiny in Ah Quan's search for redemption.[8](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/30957/nowhere-man)
## Production
Netflix officially unveiled the cast and director in Taipei on September 29, 2018, announcing that shooting would begin on October 3 and take place entirely in Taiwan. Erika North, then Netflix's Director of Original Content APAC, said the series would "break assumptions about Chinese-language content."[6](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/netflixs-first-mandarin-language-original-series-nowhere-man-bring-together-joseph-chang-alyssa-chia-with-director-dj-chen) • [9](https://www.contentasia.tv/eNewsletter/2018/ContentAsia_eNewsletter_12-18_Nov_2018.pdf)
**Prison shoot.** The prison portion of the production began in late October 2018 with a media event at which the three male leads, Joseph Chang, Bo-Chieh Wang, and Zhou Ming-Fu, had their heads shaved by the director; for Bo-Chieh Wang it was the fifth time his head had been shaved for a role. The prison shoot was made possible by the New Taipei City Film Assist & Development Center and the Ministry of Justice's Agency Against Corruption (ACA), which provided space inside the ACA's Learning Center as a filming site; the production design crew then built out the prison, solitary confinement cells, and prisoner classrooms. The actors trained for their roles as inmates and gathered privately to read the script together.[1](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/checking-in-on-netflixs-first-mandarin-language-international-original-nowhere-man)
The production hired the [Japanese martial arts](https://www.edgepedia.org/japanese-martial-arts) instructor Kensuke Sonomura to choreograph the fight sequences, with the aim of making the moves more authentic.[1](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/checking-in-on-netflixs-first-mandarin-language-international-original-nowhere-man) Executive producer Chen Wei-ru of Singapore's InFocus Asia, who had previously produced The Teenage Psychic in Taiwan, helped shape the show's Taiwanese gangster style, drawing on films such as Monga and Gatao.[7](https://english.cw.com.tw/article/article.action?id=2591)
## Netflix's involvement in the creative process
Because the series was a Netflix "Original," the platform followed the production closely from scripting to casting, shooting, and post-production, and this involvement nearly caused director DJ Chen to quit. After the rough cut of Episode One, Netflix responded with 40 suggestions and expressed a desire to restructure the entire eight-episode arc, providing five different visual revisions for Chen to follow. Netflix feared the episode was not filled with enough emotion and that audiences would have trouble following it; Chen felt the rhythm matched the plot and wanted to leave room for the audience's imagination.[7](https://english.cw.com.tw/article/article.action?id=2591)
North made a special trip to Taiwan for a six-hour discussion with Chen, who argued that the proposed changes would make a mess of everything and told her, "Believe me. I'll take responsibility for the final product." The two sides reached a consensus: Netflix no longer insisted on restructuring, while Chen agreed to adjust details such as background music.[7](https://english.cw.com.tw/article/article.action?id=2591)
## Release and reception
All eight episodes were released on Netflix on October 31, 2019, available to the platform's paid subscribers worldwide; at the time of release, Netflix reported 158 million paid subscribers in 190 countries.[2](https://www.netflix.com/st/title/80203920) • [7](https://english.cw.com.tw/article/article.action?id=2591) It was the first of three Chinese-language Netflix originals announced for that period, followed by [Triad Princess](https://www.edgepedia.org/triad-princess) (December 6, 2019) and [The Ghost Bride](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-ghost-bride) (January 2020).[10](https://www.screendaily.com/news/netflix-sets-dates-for-trio-of-chinese-language-originals/5142247.article)
Reception was divided. Season 1 holds a 73% average Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes based on 11 reviews.[11](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/nowhere_man-2019) In Taiwan, the series drew heavy criticism after launch: viewers complained that the editing and narrative structure, which made extensive use of dreams, memories, hallucinations, and interleaved timelines, made the plot hard to follow, and that the dialogue mixed mainland and Taiwanese usage awkwardly. Supporters praised its Hokkien songs, its portrayal of brotherhood, and its bold, stream-of-consciousness visual style, and it became one of the most debated of Netflix's Taiwanese originals.[12](https://woman.udn.com/woman/story/123164/9671493?from=udn-listnews_ch4087) • [13](https://dailyview.tw/popular/detail/6828) Despite the mixed response, Netflix's own 2019 Taiwan ranking placed the series third for the year.[14](https://cool.ntu.edu.tw/files/5814378/download?download_frd=1)
## Awards
At the 55th Golden Bell Awards in 2020, the series received nominations including the mini-series award, and it won four technical prizes: Best Sound, Best Lighting, Best Art and Design, and Best Directing of photography (DOP).[5](https://www.imda.gov.sg/-/media/Imda/Files/Who-We-Are/Corporate-Publications/Media-Brochures/TV-brochure-2021.pdf) • [4](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E7%BD%AA%E6%A2%A6%E8%80%85/23644267?fromModule=lemma_inlink)
## References
1. [Checking in on Netflix's first Mandarin-language International Original, Nowhere Man, About Netflix (26 October 2018)](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/checking-in-on-netflixs-first-mandarin-language-international-original-nowhere-man)
2. [Nowhere Man, Netflix Official Site](https://www.netflix.com/st/title/80203920)
3. [Nowhere Man, DramaWiki](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Nowhere_Man)
4. [罪梦者, 百度百科](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E7%BD%AA%E6%A2%A6%E8%80%85/23644267?fromModule=lemma_inlink)
5. [IMDA TV Brochure 2021, Nowhere Man entry](https://www.imda.gov.sg/-/media/Imda/Files/Who-We-Are/Corporate-Publications/Media-Brochures/TV-brochure-2021.pdf)
6. [Netflix's first Mandarin-language original series Nowhere Man brings together Joseph Chang, Alyssa Chia with director DJ Chen, About Netflix (29 September 2018)](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/netflixs-first-mandarin-language-original-series-nowhere-man-bring-together-joseph-chang-alyssa-chia-with-director-dj-chen)
7. [Behind the Making of the First Netflix Series Produced in Taiwan: Gangster Drama Nowhere Man, CommonWealth Magazine English (12 November 2019)](https://english.cw.com.tw/article/article.action?id=2591)
8. [Nowhere Man, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/30957/nowhere-man)
9. [ContentAsia eNewsletter, 12–18 November 2018](https://www.contentasia.tv/eNewsletter/2018/ContentAsia_eNewsletter_12-18_Nov_2018.pdf)
10. [Netflix sets dates for trio of Chinese-language originals, Screen (27 August 2019)](https://www.screendaily.com/news/netflix-sets-dates-for-trio-of-chinese-language-originals/5142247.article)
11. [Nowhere Man (2019), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/nowhere_man-2019)
12. [9部期待很高卻口碑翻車的台劇, udn 女子漾](https://woman.udn.com/woman/story/123164/9671493?from=udn-listnews_ch4087)
13. [《罪夢者》上線遭評「大爛片」！3大吐槽點讓好感度急降, 網路溫度計 DailyView](https://dailyview.tw/popular/detail/6828)
14. [網路溫度計與 Keypo 網路數據分析 (NTU COOL course file)](https://cool.ntu.edu.tw/files/5814378/download?download_frd=1)
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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 › Hong Kong and Taiwanese serial drama*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 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