In the current TV drama market, urban emotional dramas have always been one of the most popular genres among audiences. With the diversification of audience needs and aesthetic changes, more and more works have begun to challenge the paradigm of traditional emotional dramas, especially in recent years, the two dramas represented by "In Your Time" and "The Second Half of My Life" are fiercely occupying the minds of the audience. Without exception, they touch on people's deep thoughts about life, love and family affection, but they show very different styles in terms of expression and emotional depth.

First of all, let's talk about "In Time with You". The plot setting of this drama is the routine of "youth growth + workplace hard work" that we are familiar with, telling the story of how a pair of sisters break through in a big city, face workplace turmoil and emotional distress, and finally achieve self-redemption. Tong Yao, Zhou Yiyi, Li Zefeng, Zhang Zixian and other actors lead the starring roles, although the overall drama gives people a familiar emotional atmosphere, but through the growth and change of the characters, it can still arouse the resonance in the hearts of the audience.

In the play, the heroine played by Tong Yao has experienced the transformation from workplace struggle to emotional entanglement, and in the interaction with the sister-sister relationship played by Zhou Yi, we see a complex emotional expression. On the surface, the script of "With You" seems to be a typical urban emotional drama, but it brings out the delicate balance between the workplace, love, and family through delicate character portrayals. Especially when dealing with the relationship between sisters, the series shows the process of misunderstanding to reconciliation between sisters through a slow-paced narrative, and this gradual emotional development is empathetic.

However, it has to be said that although "With You" is emotionally delicate, due to the commonality of the subject matter and the smooth development of the plot, it is indeed easy to make people feel aesthetic fatigue. At a time when the audience's requirements for the plot are getting higher and higher, such an "old routine" sometimes seems to lack novelty, especially Tong Yao, as the female number one, although her acting skills are stable, but she has repeatedly played similar roles, and the audience will inevitably feel a little tired of her performance. Although the male No. 2 Zhou in the play still has a remarkable performance in terms of appearance and acting skills, the comparison between her influence and the male No. 1 does limit the popularity of the show.

is completely different from the youthful atmosphere of "With You", "The Second Half of My Life" chooses to tell the emotional story of the middle-aged and elderly people. Zhang Guoli, Tong Dawei, Mei Ting and other powerful actors work together to perform, and the story revolves around a retired professor (played by Zhang Guoli) who restarts his blind date life after the death of his wife. This is not only a story about remarriage, but also a deep reflection and redefinition of the meaning of life for middle-aged people.

Unlike many urban emotional dramas that only focus on the love life of young people, "The Second Half of My Life" shows the diversity and complexity of life through the narrative of "four different emotional turmoil". In the play, Professor Shen, played by Zhang Guoli, goes from being taciturn at the beginning to rekindling his emotions later, which can be said to be a positive depiction of "starting again in life". In contrast, Tong Dawei and Mei Ting's performance in the play also gives people a sense of warmth, and the husband and wife roles they play are the core of the emotional conflict and emotional dependence in the play.

More importantly, "The Second Half of My Life" breaks the singular expression of feelings in traditional urban dramas through the combination of humor and realism. Through a large number of exaggerated techniques and humorous plot settings, the play shows the absurdity and helplessness of the elderly in the process of pursuing love, but there is no lack of warmth and touching. This sense of contrast makes the whole series more enjoyable to a certain extent, and also allows middle-aged and elderly audiences to feel the emotional fluctuations of the characters in the play more deeply.

For many young audiences, the "elderly love" in the play may seem a little distant, and even difficult to resonate. However, it is precisely because this drama accurately captures the needs of middle-aged and elderly groups that it can quickly gain the favor of CCTV and be broadcast in mainstream media. After all, young people often think deeply about life as directly and deeply as middle-aged and elderly people. What older audiences need is a work that can inspire their love of life, and "The Second Half of My Life" undoubtedly fills this gap.

Judging from the cast, "The Second Half of My Life" is undoubtedly more advantageous. As a veteran actor in the Chinese film and television industry, Zhang Guoli, Mei Ting, Xu Di and other actors have their own screen charm and mature performance skills, which has greatly improved the recognition of the series among the audience. Especially Zhang Guoli, his affinity and solid acting skills have made many middle-aged and elderly audiences watch it with relish. Although the lineup of "With You" also has powerful actors, such as Tong Yao, Zhou Yiyi, etc., compared with "The Second Half of Life", it seems to be slightly weak in terms of overall temperament and depth of acting skills.

From the perspective of the polishing of the script, although the plot setting of "With You" is common, it still maintains a certain amount of life-like details, which brings a lot of warmth and resonance to the audience. However, the script lacks breakthrough and relies too much on familiar routines to bring too many surprises. On the other hand, although the realistic absurdity in the script of "The Second Half of My Life" may make some viewers uncomfortable, it is precisely this "atypical" way that makes the series more interesting and can arouse the audience's attention and thinking about the emotional life of the elderly group.

Overall, although "With You" and "The Second Half of My Life" are both urban emotional themes, their respective target groups and emotional appeals are completely different. "With You" is more for young audiences, telling about the choice of workplace struggle, family affection, and love, while "The Second Half of My Life" focuses on the second half of the life of middle-aged and elderly people with a more mature vision. In terms of content, the former focuses on the gradual unfolding of the relationship between the characters, while the latter shows how the elderly find themselves in emotions through a more profound and absurd approach.

The difference between these two dramas is not only reflected in the plot and actors, but more importantly, they reflect the two mentalities of the current society: on the one hand, young people are full of expectations for the future and are eager to realize their ideals through struggle; On the other hand, middle-aged and elderly people are full of worries about the future and are trying to find a new meaning of life in their growing bodies.

So, are you more inclined to feel the struggle and struggle of your youth, or do you feel the second half of your life to start again?