Nothing But Thirty

Nothing But Thirty
Promotional poster
Chinese三十而已
Hanyu PinyinSān Shí Ér Yǐ
GenreDrama
Written byZhang Yiji
Directed byZhang Xiaobo
Starring
Country of originChina
Original languageMandarin
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes43
Production
Executive producerXu Xiao'ou
Production locationShanghai
Production companiesLinmon Pictures (Shanghai Ningmeng Film & TV Media Co., Ltd.)
Original release
NetworkDragon Television
Tencent Video
Anhui Television
ReleaseJuly 17, 2020 (2020-07-17)

Nothing But Thirty (Chinese: 三十而已; pinyin: Sān Shí Ér Yǐ) is a 2020 Chinese drama television series directed by Zhang Xiaobo and starring Jiang Shuying, Tong Yao, and Mao Xiaotong. The series follows the story of three completely different urban women who have reached their thirties while facing challenges at a crucial stage in their lives, as they leave behind their youthful, carefree 20s to embrace the life of a 30-year-old adult, and eventually decide to take matters into their own hands. The series began airing on Dragon Television and Tencent Video on July 17, 2020.

Plot

The series tells about the life of three women with different backgrounds and personalities.

Gu Jia is a strong-willed a housewife and businesswoman that helped her husband become the CEO of a fireworks company, and fought rich housewives who bullied her son. Wang Manni is rebellious and confident at both her workplace as well as home. Zhong Xiaoqin is content with her average life, a normal job, and a husband who likes fish.

However, their lives are suddenly disrupted by external factors. Gu Jia begins to suspect her husband Xu Huanshan of having a young mistress, Wang Manni faces difficulties with sales and relationships, and Zhong Xiaoqin's idea of a perfect marriage is destroyed.

Cast

Main

  • Jiang Shuying as Wang Manni (王漫妮), a senior saleswoman at Mishil.
  • Tong Yao as Gu Jia (顾佳), Xu Huanshan's determined and intelligent wife.
  • Mao Xiaotong as Zhong Xiaoqin (钟晓芹), Chen Yu's wife who works as an employee at a property management company.

Supporting

  • Yang Le as Chen Yu (陈屿), Zhong Xiaoqin's husband who works as an executive editor of the Breaking News Department of a TV station.
  • Li Zefeng as Xu Huanshan (许幻山), a nerdy designer and then the CEO of a fireworks company, husband of Gu Jia.
  • Yang Lixin as Gu Jinghong (顾景鸿), Gu Jia's father.
  • Yan Zidong as Zhong Xiaoyang (钟晓阳), Zhong Xiaoqin's boyfriend.
  • Edward Ma as Liang Zhengxian (梁正贤), an Asian-American businessman and playboy who is the boyfriend of Wang Manni.
  • Zhang Yue as Lin Youyou (林有有), an amusement park employee and Xu Huanshan's mistress.
  • Mao Yi as Jiang Chen (姜辰), Wang Manni's ex-boyfriend who owns a café.
  • Wang Zijian as Zhang Zhi (张志), Wang Manni's boyfriend who serves as director of Quzhou's local government.
  • Samantha Ko as Zhao Jingyu (赵静语), Liang Zhengxian's fiancée.
  • Dai Jiaoqian as Miss Lu (陆姐), Chen Yu's superior.
  • Yang Xinming as Uncle Yu (于伯), a barber in Quzhou.
  • Yang Yuting as Mrs. Wang (王太太), a wealthy woman who is friends with Gu Jia.
  • Cai Die as Xiao Bai (小白)
  • Fu Miao as Boss
  • Walley Wei as Zoe
  • Wiyona Yeung Lau Ching as Amanda, a Hong Kong salesperson at Mishil.
  • Tian Yitong as Daisy, the assistant head salesperson at Mishil.
  • Wang Renjun as father of Shen Jie (沈杰), Xu Huanshan's friend who owns a fireworks company.

Production

The name "Sān Shí Ér Yǐ" (三十而已) based on a sentence "As thirty, I stood firm" (三十而立) comes from Analects.

Reception

Nothing But Thirty received mainly positive reviews. Douban gave the drama 6.6 out of 10.

Ratings

  • Highest ratings are marked in red, lowest ratings are marked in blue
Episode # Broadcast date Dragon TV CSM59 city network ratings
Ratings (%) Audience share (%) Rank
1-2July 17, 20200.8753.1155
3July 18, 20201.2194.6434
4-5July 19, 20201.4925.2894
6-7July 20, 20201.4745.5853
8-9July 21, 20201.4545.3553
10-11July 22, 20201.565.7353
12-13July 23, 20201.5165.5923
14-15July 24, 20201.1314.0844
16July 25, 20201.1734.5014
17-18July 26, 20201.4695.3273
19-20July 27, 20201.6826.1282
21-22July 28, 20201.7196.4282
23-24July 29, 20201.6686.1832
25-26July 30, 20201.8166.6182
27-28July 31, 20201.8676.5171
29August 1, 20201.7266.3742
30-31August 2, 20201.8946.9411
32-33August 3, 20201.8376.6852
34-35August 4, 20201.9216.9452
36-37August 5, 20201.1764.2654
38-39August 6, 20201.6766.0642
40August 7, 20201.4675.4482
41August 8, 20201.3875.2662
42-43August 9, 20201.6435.9241
Average ratings 1.535 5.625 N/a

Awards and nominations

AwardCategoryNominated workResultRef.
27th Shanghai Television FestivalBest Television SeriesNothing But ThirtyNominated
International Communication AwardWon
Best DirectorZhang XiaoboNominated
Best Original ScreenplayZhang YingjiNominated
Best ActressTong YaoWon
Best Supporting ActressMao XiaotongNominated
Best Supporting ActorLi ZefengNominated

References

  1. 1 2 3 Xu, Wei (July 17, 2020). "Drama tackles changes in urban women's lives". shine.cn. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  2. ↑ Jiang, Allison (July 28, 2020). "Does China's New Hit Drama "Nothing But Thirty" Accurately Portray Women's Struggles?". Radii China. Retrieved August 15, 2025.
  3. ↑ 《三十而已》收获好评，央视点名表扬，不是因为童瑶，只因为有她. QQ.com (in Chinese). July 28, 2020. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  4. ↑ 三十而已. Douban (in Chinese). Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  5. ↑ 电视剧收视率排行榜. TVTV (in Chinese). Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  6. ↑ "CCData". Weibo (in Chinese). Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  7. ↑ "Nominations for The 27th Shanghai TV Festival". STVF. May 21, 2021.