# Light the Night (2021) Review: Neon, Secrets and Sisterhood > Light the Night is Netflix's glossy Taiwanese period mystery about women running a hostess bar in 1980s Taipei, rich in atmosphere but heavier on melodrama as it goes. Canonical: https://celluloidscore.com/reviews/light-the-night-review/ Published: 2026-07-22 Last updated: 2026-09-25 Author: Kaiser Khan — Founder & Editor Language: English Review basis: direct-viewing Spoilers: none Rating: 3.5/5 ## Verdict Mostly yes. It is a stylish, well-acted period mystery worth it for its first season and its setting, best for viewers who enjoy melodrama as much as whodunits. ## Is Light the Night worth watching? **Mostly yes. Light the Night is a lush, absorbing Taiwanese period drama, and its first season in particular is a strong blend of murder mystery and portrait of female friendship.** The 1980s Taipei setting is rendered with real care, and Ruby Lin and Cheryl Yang lead a capable ensemble. The reservation is the later seasons, which lean further into soap-opera twists and romantic entanglements and lose some of the mystery's tension. ## What is Light the Night about? In 1980s Taipei, a group of women work at a hostess bar in the city's nightlife district, entertaining businessmen while the island's economy booms around them. The bar is run by a savvy mama-san, played by Ruby Lin, and her friendships and rivalries with the women around her, including a close friend played by Cheryl Yang, form the heart of the story. When a murder tied to their shared past shakes the bar, long-buried secrets begin to surface, and the women are forced to confront rival gangs, corrupt power and the cost of surviving in a man's world. [Light the Night](https://celluloidscore.com/shows/light-the-night/) is a Taiwanese Netflix series in Mandarin, produced by and starring Ruby Lin, with Cheryl Yang and Rhydian Vaughan among the cast. This review covers the complete show: three seasons and 24 episodes, first released in 2021, and the story has ended. ## A vivid portrait of 1980s Taipei The show's greatest asset is its world. The bar, with its glamorous outfits, cigarette smoke and neon-lit streets outside, is recreated with evident affection, and the production design captures a city modernising rapidly and unevenly. The hostess bar is presented not simply as a place of glamour or shame but as a workplace where women exercise real power while navigating constant danger. That context gives the series thematic weight. Money, status and survival shape every relationship, and the show is at its best when it examines how these women build lives, and fortunes, inside a system designed for men's pleasure. ## Ruby Lin and a strong female ensemble Ruby Lin gives the mama-san a mix of steel and weariness, and her scenes with Cheryl Yang carry the emotional weight of a friendship tested by jealousy, loyalty and old wounds. The chemistry between the lead women is the series' backbone, and it is what keeps viewers invested when the mystery's machinery creaks. The supporting cast fill out the bar's world with hostesses, clients, gangsters and police officers, and several of the performances are memorable, even when the writing gives them little room. ## When melodrama overtakes mystery The first season is structured tightly around its central question, and it builds suspense well through flashbacks and shifting perspectives. The later seasons are less disciplined. As the story widens, romantic complications, family revelations and gang intrigue pile up, and the whodunit tension that drove the opening episodes gives way to more conventional soap-opera plotting. Fans invested in the characters will enjoy the continuation; those who came for the mystery may feel the payoff is diluted. ## Who should watch Light the Night? It suits viewers who enjoy period mysteries, fans of Taiwanese drama, and anyone drawn to stories about women's friendship in a harsh world. Three seasons of eight episodes each make for a moderate binge, and Season 1 works reasonably well on its own terms. It carries adult ratings for violence, sexual content, drug use and mature themes. For more [mystery](https://celluloidscore.com/genres/mystery/) with a strong sense of place: - [The Long Season](https://celluloidscore.com/reviews/the-long-season-review/), a Chinese crime drama that also moves between past and present to unpick an old killing. - [Someday or One Day](https://celluloidscore.com/reviews/someday-or-one-day-review/) for another Taiwanese series that uses the past and a mystery to explore longing and regret. ## The verdict Light the Night is a handsome, often gripping period drama that brings 1980s Taipei vividly to life through the women who run its nightlife. Its later seasons trade mystery for melodrama, but the atmosphere, performances and portrait of female friendship make it worth watching, especially its strong opening season. **Rating: 3.5/5** ## Related title - [Light the Night (2021)](https://celluloidscore.com/shows/light-the-night/) ## Editorial - [Editorial standards](https://celluloidscore.com/about/editorial-policy/) - [Report a correction](https://celluloidscore.com/about/corrections/)