Binge-worthy: Oh No! Here Comes Trouble is a moving fantasy-comedy with lovable leads

Oh No! Here Comes Trouble

iQiyi International
4 stars

Solving crimes, speaking to spirits and healing broken hearts – Taiwanese series Oh No! Here Comes Trouble is a genre-blending fantasy comedy that has as much heart as it does hilarity.

In it, Tseng Jing-hua plays Pu Yiyong, a delinquent high-schooler who inherited superb calligraphy skills from his grandfather. After a tragic bus accident puts him in a two-year coma, he wakes up to discover he has the ability to see spirits and help them with the power of his written word.

With the assistance of an eager but low-ranked policewoman Chen Chuying (Vivian Sung) and his high-school nemesis, the goody-two-shoes Cao Guangyan (Payne Peng), Yiyong investigates mysteries that the spirits hope to unravel.

Here are three reasons to catch the 12-episode series on iQiyi International.

1. Imaginative supernatural premise

The spirits in the series are not the typical ghosts, monsters or gods usually present in fantasy stories. Instead, they are supernatural life forms created through the power of human emotions, such as grief, love and guilt.

A mother’s obsession over her long-missing daughter creates a teenage spirit in her daughter’s likeness; a young man’s loneliness causes the beautiful woman he tattooed on his back to come to life; and a father’s grief and love for the child he lost in a traffic accident manifests a guardian god of the roads.

This imaginative premise is a moving way to comment on the power of the human mind to both heal and damage. Trauma and hatred corrode souls, while hope and love can grow into guardian angels.

2. Lovable main trio

These touching stories of grief and loss are anchored by the lovable main trio of Yiyong, Chuying and Guangyan.

Tseng embodies that delinquent teenage boy energy well – Yiyong is cheeky, audacious and a little awkward with his parents. Yet, at heart, he is compassionate and kind, which inspires the loyalty of Chuying and Guangyan.

Peng, whose only other series credit is a small role in 2019’s Nowhere Man, is adorable as Guangyan here. He may eye-roll at Yiyong’s brusque attitude, but if Yiyong is hungry, Guangyan will bring a burger. If he is in danger, Guangyan will throw himself in harm’s way to save him.

Sung, meanwhile, plays Chuying as the exasperated “big sister“ of the trio who has to simultaneously manage and protect the bickering Yiyong and Guangyan. Together, they feel like siblings – they may quarrel and fight, but they will always have each other’s backs.

3. Memorable guest stars

The procedural format of the series means audiences meet an impressive revolving roster of guest stars, some of whom are in memorable supernatural get-ups.

Cheng Jen-shuo, known for playing gangsters in films such as Gatao: The Last Stray (2021), leans into his image as an intimidating guardian god of the roads who not so much asks but threatens Yiyong into helping him.

Noughties idol actor Joe Cheng (It Started With A Kiss, 2005) plays a father who is so tortured by his son’s accidental death that he kidnaps a spirit child, while the sweet-faced Chi Chin (The Victims’ Game, 2020) takes on a rare villainous role as a woman so jealous of the people around her, she pulls a prank, which turns out to be fatal..

Credit must also be given to Cheryl Yang (Light The Night, 2021 to 2022), who has a supporting role as Yiyong’s tough-as-nails mother. With exaggerated freckles on her face and a firm hand, she guides him to do the right thing.