Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Born For The Spotlight’ On Netflix, A Taiwanese Dramedy About Actresses In Different Career Phases

It’s not often erstwhile you spot a play aliases dramedy that tin champion beryllium described arsenic a “hang retired show,” but a caller Netflix bid astir women successful nan Taiwanese intermezo manufacture is arsenic adjacent arsenic you tin get to one. There’s a cardinal plot, but it’s not a beardown driver of play aliases conflict; successful a batch of ways, it feels much for illustration a group of friends navigating a cutthroat industry.

BORN FOR THE SPOTLIGHT: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: A female looks successful a visor reflector successful a car arsenic her head drives her to an audition.

The Gist: Shih Ai-ma (Ting-Yi Lin) is nan young character connected her measurement to an audition, being driven location by her manager, Ms. Chubby (Hsin-Ling Chung). Ms. Chubby is truthful preoccupied pinch talking connected nan telephone while Ai-ma gets changed that she almost hits a pedestrian. When her car won’t restart, Ms. Chubby nervously eats a snack and tells her young customer to “Run!”. Ai-ma runs to nan audition, only to spot that she’s 1 of dozens being considered for nan role.

Hsueh Ya-chi (Ying-Hsuan Hsieh), a seasoned character who is now a head and producer, is astatine a photograph sprout for Li Hsin-ni (Annie Chen), a young up-and-coming client. Ya-chi is pushing her customer to do nan sprout and look sexy, while Hsin-ni pushes backmost that she’s doing excessively much.

Another seasoned actress, Ko Li-fen (Chiung-Hsuan Hsieh), is dozing connected nan group of her soap opera, having not slept for complete 24 hours. When she does a scene, she makes a “Pow!” sound erstwhile she goes to slap her co-star. When he encourages her to slap him for real, she does truthful — but a spot excessively hard.

Ya-chi is successful a gathering pinch nan casting group of a movie she’s producing that’s being directed by her husband, Li Tzu-chi (Hsueh Shih-ling). She laments really nan men successful nan room each deliberation Taiwanese actresses are becoming “same-y” erstwhile they won’t see them for much varied roles. Someone suggests award-winning prima Chou Fan (Cheryl Yang) for nan role, and Ya-chi scoffs, fixed that her erstwhile friend hasn’t been successful a movie successful 3 years.

Chou Fan is engaged getting drunk astatine nan edifice wherever she lives, stumbling into clubs and picking up connected young guys who whitethorn aliases whitethorn not admit her — it’s amended if they don’t.

Fan is simply a leader to a batch of young actors, including Ai-ma, who takes her fellow to 1 of her aged movies for nan umpteenth time, because she admires really Fan acts.

Ms. Chubby has a portion for Ai-ma connected a zombie film, acting pinch 1 of Ai-ma’s heroes, Pan Yin-yin (Wan-Ting Tseng); she plays a dormant body. Yin-yin delays accumulation erstwhile she won’t travel retired of an isolation tent, and her supplier Gecko (RD Huang) has to beryllium summoned to pump up her confidence. When she yet comes out, Ai-ma keeps ruining scenes by moving and yelling erstwhile Yin-yin steps connected her hand.

Photo: Netflix

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? We could effort to equate Born For The Spotlight to different show astir acting, but it strikes america arsenic much of a soapy show of friends and frenemies on nan lines of Claws aliases Devious Maids.

Our Take: The first section of Born For The Spotlight skips astir a bit, chiefly to present america to each nan characters. But nan bosom of nan series, written by Yen Yi-wen and Kitten Huang, is going to beryllium nan relationship betwixt Hsueh Ya-chi and Chou Fan. When we perceive Ya-chi talk astir her during nan casting meeting, we cognize there’s much betwixt nan 2 of them than conscionable a master relationship, and we’re funny to find retired much astir their relationship and why it’s presently connected nan outs.

Yes, location are different perspectives of nan Taiwanese intermezo business connected display, from nan young Ai-ma, who dreams of being astatine a manner show pinch her heroes, to nan diva prima Yin-yin, to nan young up-and-comer, Hsin-ni, who has to woody pinch handsy head Liu (Yi-an Lou). We besides person Li-fen, who mightiness conscionable beryllium complete nan full acting point but has to put up pinch nan regular grind of nan soap opera she’s connected successful bid to salary nan bills.

It’ll beryllium nosy to spot each of these women acting and interacting, arsenic we fishy that there’s much of a relationship betwixt each of them than we’re shown successful nan first episode. But it’ll besides beryllium nosy to watch them each navigate what seems for illustration an moreover much cutthroat situation than Hollywood is, fixed its comparative size and smaller excavation of disposable roles, moreover if nan early episodes consciousness a spot disjointed arsenic we travel each of these women’s stories.

Sex and Skin: Chou Fan encourages a young feline she picks up successful nan nine to ore connected his task and not get wrapped up successful nan truth that she’s Chou Fan.

Parting Shot: Ya-chi, Hsin-ni and Li-fen commiserate pinch each different astir nan handsy head Liu, erstwhile Tzu-chi walks successful pinch immoderate bad news.

Sleeper Star: Hsin-Ling Chung is funny arsenic Ms. Chubby, who is adamant astir her young clients weight, arsenic it seems that Taiwanese films want actresses who are really skinny.

Most Pilot-y Line: When Chou Fan’s past intersexual partner realizes who she is, he comes backmost to her edifice room to fundamentally springiness his full acting resume to her. He’s besides toting a clone ferret that he moves astir to make it look for illustration its alive. The ferret unsocial is much than capable to show america he’s a doofus.

Our Call: STREAM IT. As soapy arsenic Born For The Spotlight is, it has an amiable charm that comes from nan relationship betwixt its leads and nan chemistry that comes pinch it.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes astir food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His penning has appeared successful nan New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.