Loving Strangers (2026) review

I had always wanted to watch My Mister, but I never seemed to find the time to do it. Then, Lee Sun-kyun sadly passed away. The drama is already heavy to begin with, and the tragic way the actor passed away … seeing him play a depressed character just felt like I’m watching Lee Sun-kyun suffering for real. So, that’s why I kept putting it off again and again.

When I heard that Loving Strangers was being made, I thought it was really daring that they were even trying to adapt it. Because, how do you top Lee Sun-kyun’s award-winning performance? But I thought if anyone can at least match Lee Sun-kyun, it’ll be Mark Chao.

The Story

This is a tale of two people so worn down by life, they just exist. The first few episodes won’t appeal immediately to people — everything is grey. Our characters wear black and grey clothes, no colour in their wardrobe or surroundings. They don’t smile. Basically, they’re very gloomy and depressed.

The drama could have been incredibly depressing, if not for the fact that they added some thriller elements to it. I find that rather refreshing.

Yu’an is a fascinating character. She may be down and out, but she’s incredibly, incredibly smart — like, so smart she should be working for the intelligence agency of China or something, because she knows how to spy on and manipulate people! She would be quite a villainess if she plied her skills towards evil, but like Jiaqi says to her at one point, “You’re a good person.”

The cold exterior is just years of calluses grown over years of abuse — both from a loan shark, from society’s shunning of her, and also from self-flagellation for something that happened when she was a child.

And then we have the dour and gloomy Jiaqi. His work life sucks; he’s actively being undermined by his corrupt boss, Gu Chen. His family life sucks just as badly — the fire has not only gone out of his marriage, it’s ice-cold. By all measures, Jiaqi is the husband any woman would love: responsible, level-headed, calm, cool-headed. He is stability and comfort. Yet, that is not enough for his wife.

Somehow, these two people at the very bottom of their lives find each other.

What begins as mutual suspicion evolves into something more complex and unexpected.

The Characters

Zhou Yu’an: She juggles multiple gigs to care for her ailing grandmother.

Jiang Jiaqi (Mark Chao): A principled but exhausted mid-level pharma manager exhausted by life.

Gu Chen: Jiaqi’s corrupt boss and the central villain.

Yi Jun is Jiaqi’s wife. Yi Jun is an alpha woman feeling confined in an “average” marriage. She has an affair with Gu Chen.

Pang Jian is Jiaqi’s only champion at the company.

What I Liked

The most satisfying thing about this show is seeing Jiaqi grow from a quiet, doormat-ish man in his marriage and workplace, to someone assertive. Like, super assertive. This probably happened because he finally realised that being withdrawn and agreeable isn’t the answer to his problems.

I also love that we’re seeing Yu’an’s more human side.

I like that they didn’t force a romantic story between Jiaqi and Yu’an. That would’ve ruined the story, massively.

What I Didn’t Like

The only thing I don’t like about this drama is the fact that sometimes it segues to the story of Jiaqi’s uncle and his brother. Both are also down and out, but unlike Jiaqi, they are far more cheerful and more hopeful. Even though they bring necessary comic relief and lightness to the drama — or else it would be incredibly heavy and too depressing — I get impatient when the drama switches to their story. I wouldn’t mind them cutting them out completely.

The drama isn’t perfect, of course. It was excruciatingly draggy at some parts and I honestly wished they had trimmed down the show further.

Was Jialu and Uncle’s story necessary? I don’t know. Sure, they exist to show the kind of family Jiaqi wanted and couldn’t achieve with Yi Jun. But beyond that — too much air time was given to them, and I never understood how their storylines benefited the main one.

Thoughts about the ending

What a lovely ending. Jiaqi and Yu’an’s friendship and unique connection is beyond romance, in my opinion.

It’s the understanding of two mutual souls who had been in very desperate situations.

They saved each other — Jiaqi, with his empathy and kindness; Yu’an with her sleuthing, intelligence, and yes, kindness. Two souls that had started out suspicious and wary of each other formed a connection that transcends romantic love — that’s how I see it.

On the whole, I really loved Loving Strangers. A quiet, moving drama with solid performances from our leads.

Final Thoughts

If you’re hesitating to watch this drama because it won’t top My Mister — it probably won’t — I encourage you to still watch it. I can understand why you hesitate, because it’s a very tall order for Loving Strangers to even match it.

Watching this Chinese adaptation is actually a good idea, especially if you have not watched the K-Drama. Treat it like its own show, and you may enjoy it.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

#4Stars #CDrama #CDramas #China #ChineseDrama #LovingStrangers #MarkChao