Reset () is a 2022 Chinese time-travel whodunit series, starring Bai Jingting and Zhao Jinmai. It is based on a novel 'Kai Duan' by Qi Dao Jun, and is directed by Sun Molong and Liu Hongyuan. It tells the story of game designer Xiao Heyun and college student Li Shiqing, who are trapped in a time loop after a bus explosion; they works together to escape the tragedy. On 11 January 2022, it was released on Tencent Video, Line TV and Viki. It sets record of exceeding fastest 30,000 'Popularity Heat Index' points, and surpassed over 2 Billion views on Tencent.
Within a week, it had an average of over 130 Million views per episode on Tencent. It was a critical and commercial success, and won many awards. Its success led to the release in South Asian countries and on Netflix. In September 2023, producer Hou Hongliang and writer Qidaojun announced a companion series Restart. It has consistently ranked in DoubanâÂÂs Top 10 highest-rated suspense dramas.
University student Li Shiqing is riding the Route 45 bus when she becomes trapped in a time loop, which resets every time the bus explodes, killing all passengers on board. In one iteration, Li Shiqing pulls a fellow passenger, Xiao Heyun, a game designer, off the bus just before the explosion, inadvertently bringing him into the loop with her. Though they manage to disembark and avoid dying, the loop continues to reset whenever they fall asleep. Realizing that escaping the loop may require saving everyone on the bus, they begin working together to investigate the passengers and identify the bomber.
As their investigation unfolds, Li Shiqing and Xiao Heyun develop empathy and compassion for their fellow passengersâÂÂeach with their own story, often different from first impressions. They also encounter the police multiple times, particularly Deputy Captain Zhang Cheng. During these repeated encounters at the police station, they try to extract information and gain the authoritiesâ cooperation, using what they've learned in each iteration.
In the final loop, Li Shiqing contacts Zhang Cheng to warn him of the bomb, enabling the police to set up a roadblock and stop the bus. Working with the other passengers, Li Shiqing and Xiao Heyun manage to prevent further harm and bring the main perpetrators to justice. Li Shiqing and Xiao Heyun, who have grown close through their shared ordeal, acknowledge their feelings for each other.
In 2022, the series trended on the Weibo search, and earned Bai Jingting 1st rank in the "Character Index List" in drama category. It has been highly rated on both Douban and IMDb. ranked among the Top 5 in both popularity and average episode viewership across various platforms in the suspense drama category. The mystery, realism and thrilling plot twists was acclaimed. Its popularity sparked discussions on social issues like social responsibility and cyberbullying.
Bai Jingting presented a piano version of Pachelbel's Canon, the main musical motif of the series, to commemorate its conclusion. The series' success led to its release on TrueID Thailand, CS Channel 'Satellite Theater' in Japan, and on Line TV Taiwan. It also got released in South Korea, Indonesia and HongKong. It premiered on Netflix in Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei.