The Long Season (漫长的季节)

• Set in the fictional northeastern Chinese factory town of Hualin, the series revolves around a dismemberment case that occurs near the financially struggling Hualin Steel Plant. Spanning nearly twenty years across three interconnected timelines (1997, 1998, and 2016), the story follows Wang Xiang, a retired train driver turned taxi driver, as he is drawn back into the unresolved murder case after a hit-and-run incident in the present day. Alongside his uninhibited brother-in-law Gong Biao and the retired former detective Ma Desheng, the three aging friends embark on a journey to uncover the truth, confronting buried secrets, lost loved ones, and the heavy passage of time.

The 12-episode series (with episodes ranging from 41 to 107 minutes each) can be broadly broken down into three main story arcs based on the key dramatic turning points and the narrative's intense final stretch:

• Act 1 – The Accident & the Return of the Past (Episodes 1–4): In 2016, Wang Xiang and his brother-in-law Gong Biao get tangled in a suspicious hit-and-run involving a car with fake license plates. Wang Xiang notices a striking detail—the back of the fleeing man reminds him of someone from twenty years ago. He teams up with Gong Biao and retired detective Ma Desheng to investigate, and the story flashes back to 1998, where the initial discovery of a dismembered body at the steel plant sets everything in motion.
• Act 2 – Unfolding Truths & Parallel Investigations (Episodes 5–9): The trio's present-day investigation deepens as more clues from the 1998 case resurface. The narrative interweaves three distinct time periods (1997, 1998, and 2016), gradually revealing the connections between young student Shen Mo, Wang Xiang‘s son Wang Yang, the mysterious deaf-mute Fu Weijun, and the tragic events that shattered the community. Meanwhile, the factory workers face the turmoil of mass layoffs, adding a profound sense of societal change and personal loss.
• Act 3 – The Final Breakthrough & Resolution (Episodes 10–12): As the investigation reaches its climax, the scattered pieces of the mystery fall into place. The truth behind the dismemberment case is finally uncovered, forcing the main characters to confront devastating personal revelations about their loved ones. The series concludes with a poignant denouement that provides closure for Wang Xiang, tying together nearly two decades of unanswered questions and offering a bittersweet reflection on fate, family, and the long season of grief.