I live in Taiwan, I've been learning Mandarin for 8 years and use it daily.
I kind of can't stand the mainland accent, and I can't understand simplified characters. You may have an easier time finding interesting content if you are learning mainland Chinese.
The big problem with Mandarin is that there's a content drought. I ask all my friends here what TV shows, games, YouTubers, movies they recommend. It's kind of hard to find good content in Mandarin.
Off the top of my head, though, there are a few really good ones. Here in Taiwan, though, the best stuff is either mixed with Taiwanese (Southern Hokkien) or purely in Taiwanese. That's a bit inaccessible for L2 folks such as myself, but I'm doing the best I can.
If you're not interested in Taiwanese content, sorry if these are of no use to you.
I think the content/culture drought is one of the most difficult factors in learning Chinese, personally. I used to study Japanese very seriously, and there was always a never-ending stream of amazing anime, games, TV shows, music, you name it.
I will say, though, if you're into music, the Taiwan indie music scene is world-class. Really good stuff.
I kind of can't stand the mainland accent, and I can't understand simplified characters. You may have an easier time finding interesting content if you are learning mainland Chinese.
The big problem with Mandarin is that there's a content drought. I ask all my friends here what TV shows, games, YouTubers, movies they recommend. It's kind of hard to find good content in Mandarin.
Off the top of my head, though, there are a few really good ones. Here in Taiwan, though, the best stuff is either mixed with Taiwanese (Southern Hokkien) or purely in Taiwanese. That's a bit inaccessible for L2 folks such as myself, but I'm doing the best I can.
If you're not interested in Taiwanese content, sorry if these are of no use to you.
In no order: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Children https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marry_My_Dead_Body https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%A4%8D%E5%8A%87%E5%A0%B4%E2... (Taiwanese heavy, maybe 100% Taiwanese) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_in_Love_(2021_film) (I think 100% Taiwanese, sorry!)
I think the content/culture drought is one of the most difficult factors in learning Chinese, personally. I used to study Japanese very seriously, and there was always a never-ending stream of amazing anime, games, TV shows, music, you name it.
I will say, though, if you're into music, the Taiwan indie music scene is world-class. Really good stuff.