The World Between Us (2019)

The World Between Us (Chinese: 我們與惡的距離; lit. ''The Distance Between Us and Evil'') is a 2019 Taiwanese television series written by Lu Shih Yuan and directed by Lin Chun Yang. The series follows the aftermath of a mass shooting at a movie theatre and the fates of all involved: the killer, the victims, the victims' families, the media, and the legal defense team. Contemporary Taiwanese social issues are explored, such as the death penalty, mental health stigmas, journalism ethics, and media sensationalism.

The series stars Alyssa Chia, Wu Kang Ren, James Wen, Tracy Chou, Pets Tseng, Chen Yuu and JC Lin. The World Between Us is produced jointly by the Public Television Service, HBO Asia and Catchplay. The series premiered in Taiwan on March 24, 2019 and consists of 10 episodes.

The series has renewed for the second season, with the story happens in-between before and after the original series was held. The second season, globally labeled The World Between Us: After the Flames was premiered on June 6, 2025 on Amazon Prime Video outside Taiwan.

Synopsis

Season 1

Wang She (Wu Kang Ren) is a defense attorney whose desire to serve society's marginalized, including defending the shooter, has strained his young growing family. Li Ta-Chih (Chen Yuu) is a young woman working at a TV news station and the sister of theatre shooter, Li Hsiao Ming (Wang Ko Yuan). She has changed her name to escape the stigma of her brother's crime. Ta-Chih's boss, an ambitious woman named Sung Chiao An (Alyssa Chia), lost her son in the theatre shooting. Laden with guilt over her son’s death, Chiao An lashes out at both her employees and her husband, Liu Chao Kuo (James Wen), a newspaper journalist. Wang She enlists Chao Kuo to investigate Hsiao Ming's true motive for the shooting.

Season 2

Cast

Season 1

Season 2

Vic Chou as Ma Yi-sen

Hsueh Shih-ling as Kao Cheng-kuang

Yang Kuei-mei as Kao-Chang Yu-min

Hsieh Hsin-ying as Kao Cheng-ming / Chen Yu-ming

Yu Tzu-yu as Hsu Hsing-chu

Troy Liu as Hu Guan-jun

Bai Run-yin as Luo Yu

Brando Huang as Luo Tzu-chiang

Cheng Yu-fei as Luo Huei

Chang Han as Hsu Hsing-kuo

Chan Tzu-hsuan as Chian Chi-huei

Derek Chang Wang Yi-li

Chu Chung-heng as Yu Wen-cheng

Tsai Chen-nan as Chian Kuang-kuen

Justin Chien as Hu Chia-wei

Vivi Lee as Wang Li-yun

Yang Ching as Wang Ching-ching

Joseph Ma as Chian Chia-hsin

Chu Chi-ying as Chian Chia-ling

Lu Yi-ching as Luo Mei-chi

Huang Di-yang as Liu Shao-ieh

Chen Hsi-sheng as Wei Chu-mu

Summer Meng as Niu Yu-ho

Episodes

Season 1

After the Flames (Season 2)

Production

Season 1

Lu Shih Yuan (Dear Ex and Long Day's Journey into Night) was hired as its screenwriter. In interviews with Taiwanese media, Lu described how she and the other creators of the series analyzed mountains of data from sources such as PTT, Taiwan's equivalent to Reddit, to understand themes of interest. After observing the public's reaction to the 2016 "Little Light Bulb Incident" in Taiwan (小燈泡事件), in which a young girl nicknamed "Little Light Bulb" was beheaded publicly on the street by a troubled individual suffering from schizophrenia, she narrowed down the premise and spoke with numerous human rights lawyers, judges, and psychiatrists to form the plot. She lamented that Taiwan lagged behind other democracies like Japan and Norway in producing socially realistic dramas and wanted to help Taiwan in this regard.

Season 2

Themes

Mental health and the justice system

Attorney Wang She repeatedly discusses how Taiwan’s legal system should have more empathy for the mentally ill and respect international human rights standards. This example and the topic of journalism ethics are unprecedented themes for mainstream Mandarin-language TV.

Journalism ethics

Taiwan’s National Communications Commission censures Sung Chiao An's news program, creating a discussion about ethics in journalism and how media outlets must balance increasing viewership with reporting integrity.

Human nature

The show’s Chinese title 我們與惡的距離, translating to “the distance between ourselves and evil,” captures the main source of angst in the series. Each character struggles with their proximity to "evil", either as victims, enablers, or individuals who, had they made slightly different choices, might have ended up as perpetrators themselves. The show reminds viewers that “evil” and “good” are shades of gray rather than black and white. This level of nuanced moral exploration is another novelty for Taiwanese dramas and Mandarin-language television at large.

Reception

On Chinese review website Douban, the series obtained a score of 9.5 out of 10. In April 2019 television series entered the top 50 popular topics of the multilingual Wikipedia.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

The World Between Us PTS Official Website (in Chinese)

The World Between Us HBO Asia Official Website

The World Between Us at IMDb

The World Between Us at Douban (in Chinese)

The World Between Us on Instagram (in Chinese)

The World Between Us on Facebook (in Chinese)