Television series
Our Times
A Chinese drama following two computer science students in 1990s Beijing who develop character-processing technology and become early internet entrepreneurs. It's a technically-minded romance wrapped in a love letter to China's reform era, watching idealistic young people navigate innovation, competition, and each other as the country transforms around them.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you love slow-building workplace stories about engineers and startups, where the technical detail, the friendships and the stubborn ambition of a founding generation are the pleasure.
Skip it if the romance is threaded through a lot of business history, so if you want love to lead, the boardroom maneuvering and era-by-era chronology may feel slow.
What it asks of you: Thirty-six episodes of roughly forty-five minutes each, paced deliberately, lingering on meetings, setbacks and quiet conversations rather than rushing from one crisis to the next.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
The Social Network2010
Captures the same electric energy of young people disrupting an industry, with sharp dialogue about code, ambition, and the human cost of building something that matters. The portrait of competitive genius clashing with friendship translates perfectly.
But It's cynical where Our Times finds idealism; Facebook's founding is portrayed as driven by ego and resentment rather than genuine belief in changing the world.
Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine2015
Focuses on the person behind the product rather than the product itself. Like Our Times, it asks what drives innovation and whether genius requires isolation from the people who love you.
But Three intense conversation scenes in austere rooms. If you want momentum and plot development, the minimalist structure can feel static.
Halt and Catch Fire2014
An American tech drama that understands the obsessive drive of engineers and the genuine stakes of early computing. It builds relationship and industry history together with the same careful patience.
But Slower than Our Times, and weighted toward male characters and American capitalism. The first season takes time to find its footing.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Our Times
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Flowers of Shanghai1998
Both examine ambition and affection in moments of rapid social change, asking whether success requires emotional distance. Both use period detail as character rather than decoration.
Hou Hsiao-hsien's painterly film about ambition, wealth, and emotional unavailability among Shanghai's merchant class in the 1880s. It shares Our Times' structural DNA—driven people building enterprises while love remains uncertain—but transposes it to an entirely different era and aesthetic. Slow, precise, profoundly moving.
But It's a silent film in terms of restraint; dialogue is sparse and motivation is never explained. If you need clarity and forward momentum, the meditative pacing will test you.
More like this (6)
The Founder2016
Another origin story where two people build something together, then discover that ambition and partnership don't always survive success. It has the same bittersweet architecture.
But McDonald's history may feel less culturally significant to you than China's tech awakening. The film is also more cynical about entrepreneurship.
Hidden Figures2016
Shows brilliant people solving technical problems under pressure while navigating a world that doesn't want to see them. Like Our Times, it's about competence and courage mattering in a moment of historical change.
But American 1960s racism is a heavier subject than anything in Our Times. The tonal shift might feel jarring if you're seeking something lighter.
Made in China2020
A Chinese drama about manufacturing and entrepreneurship in the reform era, with the same appetite for showing how ambition and love collide during rapid economic change.
But Less polished production than Our Times, and harder to find with reliable subtitles outside of mainland platforms.
The Code2019
Korean drama about young engineers building telecommunications infrastructure. Shares Our Times' interest in how technical brilliance and personal relationships navigate state and market pressure.
But A more romantic melodrama than Our Times. If you want a tech-first story, the emotional plotting can overshadow the innovation narrative.
Start-Up2020
Follows cryptocurrency entrepreneurs as they build, fail, and question whether they're changing the world or just changing their lives. Same essential tension Our Times explores.
But It's shadier and more morally ambiguous. There's less idealism here, and the show asks if innovation can exist without compromise.
Pirates of Silicon Valley1999
Early tech history dramatized with humor and affection, covering Apple and Microsoft's rivalry during the personal computer revolution. It has Our Times' appetite for seeing genius as human and fallible.
But Made in the '90s, it shows its age. Some of the comedy lands dated now, and the tech history is simplified.
Recommended by
The Damned United, River Monsters, The Man Without a Face, Behind the Music