| Genre: | Romance comedy Teen |
| Based On: | Boys Over Flowers by Yoko Kamio |
| Opentheme: | "Language of Stars" by Hans Zhang, Yu Haoming, Vision Wei and Zhu Zixiao |
| Endtheme: | "The Freedom I Want" by Xu Fei |
| Country: | China |
| Language: | Mandarin |
| Num Episodes: | 36 (Season 1) 36 (Season 2) |
| Director: | Ding Yangguo Shen Yi |
| Location: | Xiamen, Shenzhen |
| Network: | Hunan TV |
Meteor Shower is a 2009 Chinese television series starring Hans Zhang, Yu Haoming, Vision Wei and Zhu Zixiao. It premiered on Hunan Television on August 8, 2009. It is an unlicensed live-television drama production based on Boys Over Flowers not authorized by Japanese publisher Shueisha. According to the producer, the series is only inspired by the manga and not based on it.[1]
The series follows a poor, yet hard-working and studious girl named Chun Yuxun who dreams of entering Aliston College, a prestigious school in China. She becomes the instant target to a group of four richest students consisting of Murong Yunhai, Duanmu Lei, Shangguan Ruiqian, and Yeshuo – who plan to expel poor students from the college. Through fighting and arguing, Yunhai starts to fall in love with Yuxun but faces numerous rejections. At first, she was in love with Duanmu, but agrees to start seeing him through Yunhai's persistence she agrees to start seeing him.
In the second season, Murong Yunhai wakes up from a dream with a girl, screaming from the pain of his head and furious beating of his heart. Curious about her identity, he begins an argument with his mother and steals her platinum credit card. Yunhai travels to Singapore and meets a girl named Jiang Yuan. He starts falling in love with her, thinking her as the girl appeared in his dreams. Concerned of the situation, Yuxun asks the other members of H4 to stop their relationship and help him reunite with Yuxun.
The series attracted various controversies since its premiere. It was criticized for blatant plagiarism of Boys Over Flowers (through its Taiwanese adaptation Meteor Garden), excessive product placement, as well as its old-fashioned costumes and dialogues. Viewers also panned the inconsistent plot and poor characters development of the series.[2] [3] [4] Despite the negative reviews, the series was extremely popular during its run and contributed to the rise of idol dramas in Mainland China.[5]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Baidu Entertainment Ceremony | Most Popular Television Series | Meteor Shower | |
| Top 5 Most Popular Television Series | [6] | |||
| 3rd China TV and Internet Ceremony | Top 10 Most Influential Television Series | [7] |
A 52-episode animated series based on the show was produced, and premiered on Golden Eagle cartoon on February 8, 2016.