On Children

*On Children*
On Children
	Promotional poster
Chinese	你的孩子不是你的孩子
Hanyu Pinyin	Nǐ De Háizi Bùshì Nǐ De Háizi
Genre	Science fiction; Anthology; Horror; Satire
Created by	Wú Xiao-le
Written by	Wang Hui-chu; Yang Wan-ju; Lin Ken-wei; Aozaru Shiao; Huang Yu-chia; Chen Cheng-yu
Directed by	Chen Wei-ling
Starring	See below
Theme music composer	Waa Wei
Ending theme	Don't cry Don't cry
Composer	Waa Wei
Country of origin	Taiwan
Original languages	Mandarin; English; Hokkien
No. of episodes	10
Production
Producer	Wu Zhi-yu
Running time	47 minutes
Production company	Missmove Image Studio
Original release
Release	July 7 –; August 4, 2018
Related
	The Coming Through; Bodhisattva in Storm;

On Children (Chinese: 你的孩子不是你的孩子; lit. 'Your Child is not Your Child'') is a 2018 ten-part Mandarin-language TV series, directed by Chen Wei-ling and starring Tzu-Chuan Liu, Yu-Xuan Wang and Hsin-Yu Ling, based on the novel by Wu Xiaole. The plots are in anthology form with five different stories told in a world where individuals face the tragic consequences of social pressure, parental oppression and family dysfunction.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Cast[edit]

Troy Liu as Chi Pei-Wei
Yu-Xuan Wang as Liu Chiao-Yi
Hsin-Yu Ling as Cheng Fang-Lan
Emilia Chen as Emilia Chen
Yu-Tung Lee as Shih Yu-Chieh
Chiung-Hsuan Hsieh as Fang Mei-Chi
Herbie Robert Baron as Chang Kai-Hsiang
Chuan-Chen Yeh as Yang Chuan
Hsiu-Fu Liu as Chung Kuo-Yen
Gingle Wang as Molly Lin
Frances Wu as Nova Yang
Chen Yi-wen as Liu Ching-Hui
Elten Ting as Ling-Na
Yu-Ping Wang as Lo Chih-Wei
Hsin Shao as Chung Chia-Hung
Mohammad Umar Afzal as Chien Sheng-Yao
Ting-Hsuan Lin as Liu Chiao-Hsin
Yen Tsao as Lu Chih-Hsiung
Kai-Ling Hsu as Le-Le
Ivy Yin as Molly's mother

Episodes[edit]

No.	Title	Written by	Original air date
1–2	"Mother's Remote" (Chinese: 媽媽的遙控器)	Unknown	July 7, 2018 (2018-07-07)
Shu-Li discovers her son, Pei-Wei, forged his report cards and refuses to let him go on his middle school graduation trip. One night, a man sells her a remote control that allows her to rewind Pei-Wei's life, which she uses both to help him repeat his studies and to punish him. Pei-Wei realizes he is in a time loop but is forced to obey Shu-Li's demands. When she forces him into cram school, he begins dating Cheng Fang-Lan, who inspires him to pursue art instead of academics. Shu-Li finds out about them and urges Pei-Wei to break up with her, but when he refuses, she uses the remote to erase her memories of him. Pei-Wei's mental health deteriorates, and several years later, his life is still being controlled by Shu-Li even as an adult. While she is away, Pei-Wei breaks into her safe for the remote. As he confronts her, he is hit by a truck.
3–4	"Child of the Cat" (Chinese: 貓的孩子)	Unknown	July 14, 2018 (2018-07-14)
After finding a box of kittens above his unstable parents' apartment, teenager Kuo-Cho Yen finds a terrifying way to cheat on his exams.
5–6	"The Last Day of Molly" (Chinese: 茉莉的最後一天)	Unknown	July 21, 2018 (2018-07-21)
When Molly commits suicide, her mother uses technology to relive her experiences and investigate why she died.
7–8	"Peacock" (Chinese: 孔雀)	Unknown	July 28, 2018 (2018-07-28)
A student from a modest home goes to an elite private school and makes a life-altering agreement with a talking peacock in the schoolyard.
9–10	"ADHD is Necessary" (Chinese: 必須過動)	Unknown	August 4, 2018 (2018-08-04)
In a government-controlled society, women give birth by artificial insemination to produce perfect children that are raised as wealthy elites; however, if their grades drop, they are forced to move to the slums. Yang Chuan, an elite author, hopes to raise her daughter, Nova, as a star pupil much like her late son, Ruo-Jie; however, Nova's grades begin declining. Fearing that she may lose her lifestyle and reputation, Chuan instructs Nova to pretend she has ADHD. Nova later learns from Ling-Na, a rebel, that the students diagnosed with mental disorders are deemed "faulty" and are sent to the advancement program to be executed, while their mothers are allowed to keep their status. She also learns that Ruo-Jie had committed suicide when Chuan refused to support his dreams of being a carpenter. Nova is invited to live with the survivors, but instead she returns home out of guilt for disobeying Chuan. Later that night, Nova is executed at the advancement program after Chuan drugs her dinner. The survivors are also arrested by the government and executed. Chuan then prepares for her third child, in spite of warnings from Ling-Na that the cycle will repeat.

Release[edit]

On Children was released on July 7, 2018 on Taiwanese Public Television Service.

Awards and nominations[edit]

Year	Ceremony	Category	Nominee	Result
2019	54th Golden Bell Awards	Best Television Film	On Children - Child of the Cat	Won
		Best Leading Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film	Ivy Yin (On Children - The Last Day of Molly)	Nominated
		Best Leading Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film	Chung Hsin-ling (On Children - Child of the Cat)	Won
		Best Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film	Gingle Wang (On Children - The Last Day of Molly)	Nominated
		Best Newcomer in a Miniseries or Television Film	Yuping (On Children - Child of the Cat)	Nominated
			Wang Yu-xuan (On Children - Peacock)	Nominated
			Liu Hsiu-fu (On Children - Child of the Cat)	Nominated
		Best Director in a Miniseries or Television Film	Chen Wei-ling, Yu Hui-jun (On Children - Child of the Cat)	Won
		Best Writing for a Miniseries or Television Film	Shih-keng Chien (On Children - Child of the Cat)	Nominated
		Best Cinematography	Jian Zheng-zhuan, Jian Xin-you (On Children - Child of the Cat)	Nominated
		Best Film Editing	Wu Zi-ying (On Children - Child of the Cat)	Won
		Best Sound Award	Waa Wei, Shi Min-jie, Zheng Yuan-kai (On Children - Mother's Remote)	Nominated
		Best Lighting Award	Li Qi-xiang (On Children - Child of the Cat)	Nominated
		Best Art and Design Award	Wu Ruo-yun, Huang Ming-ren, Lai Wan-ting, Wang Zhong-zhì, Yao Liang-qi, Lin Jia-ling (On Children - Child of the Cat)	Won

References[edit]

^ "Netflix's latest anthology show is the uneven 'On Children'". The Daily Dot. 5 August 2018. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
^ "Stream It Or Skip It: 'On Children' On Netflix, A Taiwanese Anthology Series Where Family Dysfunction Rules". Decider. 9 August 2018. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
^ "Netflix's Highly Relatable "On Children" Is "Black Mirror" With Tiger Moms". Cinema Escapist. 15 August 2018. Retrieved August 5, 2019.

External links[edit]

[thedailydot-1] "Netflix's latest anthology show is the uneven 'On Children'". The Daily Dot. 5 August 2018. Retrieved August 5, 2019.

[decider-2] "Stream It Or Skip It: 'On Children' On Netflix, A Taiwanese Anthology Series Where Family Dysfunction Rules". Decider. 9 August 2018. Retrieved August 5, 2019.

[cinemaescapist-3] "Netflix's Highly Relatable "On Children" Is "Black Mirror" With Tiger Moms". Cinema Escapist. 15 August 2018. Retrieved August 5, 2019.

[1]

[2]

[3]