New ViuTV series: The Gutter (歎息橋)

I’m back! Well, at least for now. About a year and a half ago, I had stopped posting on this blog mostly because my life’s priorities at that time had changed to the point that I knew I would no longer have time to dedicate to this blog. It also didn’t help that, with the continued decline of the HK entertainment industry these past few years, I felt that writing about the industry started to become a huge waste of time. I felt like there were better ways to spend the limited leisure time that I have each day and consistently maintaining this blog just wasn’t worth the time.

So you must be thinking — if that’s the case, why did I decide to post again? The answer to that question is a bit complicated. First of all, nothing has changed in terms of my priorities — everything I stated above still stands and I definitely don’t intend on keeping this blog updated long-term. The reason why I decided to resurrect this blog temporarily is because I recently started watching HK series again and finally found one that is not only worthy of my time to actually watch, but also inspiring enough to spur me to write about it.

The series is called The Gutter (歎息橋), which is a production that just started airing on ViuTV this week. The Gutter reunites the creative team behind ViuTV’s earlier series Margaret and David: Green Bean — directors 25 (楊承恩) and Fat Ball (李紹波), award-winning scriptwriter Norris Wong (黃綺琳) — along with actors Bowie Lam (林保怡) and Catherine Chau (周家怡). This time around, Bowie has also taken up the role of producer for the series, so his involvement goes beyond that of lead actor.

As one of the few people who actually enjoyed and appreciated the Green Bean series (which, for those who never heard of it, was another non-mainstream HK series that realistically portrayed relationships and was based on the book series written by Nam Fong Mo Ting), I of course was excited when I heard, as far back as 2 years ago, that Bowie has plans to collaborate with 25 and Fat Ball again on a new series — so basically, this series has been on my radar for awhile.

Since I just started watching and am only on episode 3 (there are 15 episodes total), it will be awhile obviously before I’m in the position to write any type of review (if I decide to write a review that is — I’m still thinking about it). But one thing I do intend on doing (hence the reason for resurrecting this blog) is to share my thoughts on the series as I watch it and also provide a platform for others who may also be watching this series to share their thoughts as well. 

Those of you who know me know that when become interested in a series, I don’t just “watch” the series — rather, I do my research and try to find out everything I can about the series, including reading / watching all the behind-the-scenes stuff about how the series was made, as it enhances my viewing experience (I do the same thing with books that I like....I spend a lot of time researching and reading up on stuff). With this series especially though, research is necessary because it’s not a typical “formulaic” HK series akin to the kind that TVB usually churns out. Instead, The Gutter is a series that requires those who watch to really pay attention, as there are a lot of nuances and nothing is clearly explained — the audience actually needs to think when they watch the series and reflect. According to Bowie (via various interviews he has done over the past week), this is a series that won’t be easily understood with only one viewing — I love the way he put it in his most recent interview for Mingpao Weekly: “If you are able to watch The Gutter only once and completely understand it, then you must be a genius!” Bowie said that he himself had to read the script twice in order for him to begin to understand the message the story is trying to convey.

My intention for this particular post is for it to be an “introduction” of sorts where I wanted to share some of the information I had gleaned while reading up on the series. I’m also sharing links to the 25 minute production special that gives a “making of” behind-the-scenes look at the series as well as interviews with cast and crew that give important insights into the series. I recommend watching those interviews and the production special before watching the series. 

Also, just a word of warning: in order to get the most out of the experience, you need to go into this series without any preconceived notions of what you typically see in traditional HK (specifically TVB) series — in other words, if you are used to watching TVB’s formulaic series and are looking for something similar, you’re not going to find it with this series. The Gutter is very much a character-driven story where the focus is on how each of the main characters evolve and become who they are later in life and how that shapes how each of them view certain events that happen in their lives. I personally love character-driven stories so this series is a perfect match for me, but I know not everyone feels the same way. Also, it has been made very clear in multiple interviews with the cast and crew that this is not a series that you can just turn on in the background and make dinner while watching, nor can you multi-task and do other things at the same time — in other words, this series makes the audience “work” for their reward, taking the position that the audience is intelligent enough to work out the meaning on their own and interpret as they see fit (as opposed to TVB’s series, which mostly takes the position that their audiences are either dumb or lazy or, at minimum, aren’t the type who want to think for themselves). If that’s not something you are up for at the moment (which is perfectly fine given we are in the middle of a pandemic and many people may not be in the mood), then I recommend putting off watching this until you’re ready.

For my thoughts on specific episodes, stay tuned to my blog, and subsequent posts will cover that. For now, here is some introductory info to note:

- First, the significance of the series’ title. The English title “The Gutter” comes from renowned poet and playwright Oscar Wilde’s 1892 play Lady Windermere’s Fan, which is about the events that unfold when the titular character (Lady Windermere), suspects that her husband is having an affair. The title comes from a quote in Act III of the play, where Lord Darlington (Lady Windermere’s friend) comments: “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” [Reference: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Windermere's_Fan]

- The Chinese title 歎息橋 is literally translated as “Bridge of Sighs”, which is a real-life bridge located in Venice, Italy. Built in the 1600s, the bridge connected prison rooms to the government palace rooms where prisoners were interrogated. The bridge’s name refers to how “prisoners would sigh at their final view of beautiful Venice through the window before being taken down to their cells.” [Reference: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridge_of_Sighs]

- The style of the series takes inspiration from Japanese director Akita Kurosawa’s 1950 film Rashomon in that it applies “the Rashomon effect” to tell its story. Dictionary.com defines the Rashomon effect as “an instance when the same event is described in significantly different (often contradictory) ways by different people who were involved.”

- Each episode is told from the point of view of each of the 6 main characters (Thomas, Sammy, Ken, Joyce, Catherine, and Kevin).

- The first 15 minutes or so of each episode is dedicated to telling the back story of each character through some of the events that occurred when they were young. The purpose of these scenes is to show how things that happen in our youth, the environment we were raised in, etc., influence the type of person we become later in life. 

- Part of the series was filmed on location in Belgium (the entire series was filmed in early 2019, so prior to the coronavirus outbreak).

- The cast of this series is one of the best I’ve seen in years! From veterans to newbies, the cast is star-studded and from the few episodes I’ve watched so far, the acting is excellent! Even if you’re not keen on the story, I would suggest watching this for the cast alone.

Here’s a brief rundown of the main 6 characters and the actors who portray them: 

- Thomas (李子勇) is played by Bowie Lam (林保怡), younger version is played by Kelvin Chan (陳健朗)

- Sammy (方小薇) is played by Catherine Chau (周家怡), younger version played by Hedwig Tam (談善言)

- Joyce (何樂兒) is played by Michelle Wai (衛詩雅), younger version played by Renci Yeung (楊偲泳)

- Ken (胡啟源) is played by Hanjin Tan (陳奐仁), younger version played by Himmy Wong (黃定謙)

- Catherine (梁淑媛) is played by Christine Ng (伍詠薇), younger version played by Leila Tong (唐寧)

- Kevin (鍾家俊) is played by Kaki Sham (岑珈其)

Other supporting characters also important to the story are:

- Lau Siu Ming (劉兆銘) who plays Thomas’s father 李文滔 , younger version is played by Samuel Kwok (郭鋒)

- Paul Chun (秦沛) plays Joyce’s father 何永昌 , younger version played by Wilson Tsui (艾威)

- Poon Chan Leung (潘燦良) plays Catherine’s husband Ryan 鍾懷安, younger version played by Ling Man Lung (凌文龍)

- Bonnie Wong (黃文慧) plays Ken’s mother 胡彩雲, younger version played by Luna Shaw (邵美君)

- Alan Luk (陸駿光) plays Sammy’s boyfriend 黎銘南, younger version played by Yatho Wong (黃溢濠)

- Angie Cheong (張慧儀) plays Thomas’s mother, who dies early on (not a spoiler since it’s in the summary) 

Here’s a quick translation of the summary that is in the Wikipedia page for the series (though please note that the summary is very incomplete....I translated what was there but there is way more to the story than that): 

Source: https://zh.m.wikipedia.org/zh-hant/歎息橋_(電視劇)

Summary: 李子勇 Thomas (林保怡/陳健朗飾) 出生貧窮，年輕時為了賺取母親的醫藥費，拼命打工賺錢，認識了同在茶餐廳打工的少女 方小薇 Sammy (周家怡/談善言飾)，自此成了好朋友。母親離世後，Thomas開了一間餐應，生意不俗，與 好友兼拍檔 Sammy 一起打拼。一天，Thomas 重遇在比利時結識的 何樂兒 Joyce (衛詩雅/楊偲泳飾)。二人一拍即合，很快便走在一起，但種種跡象均顯示 Joyce 似對 Thomas 不忠。Thomas 決定要當場拆穿她，卻沒料到自己才是第三者。原來 Joyce 與 胡啟源 Ken (陳奐仁/黃定謙飾) 已拍拖八年，當意識到到 Ken 似乎沒有求婚的打算時，Joyce 決定與有主見、有見識的 Thomas 開始另一段新感情。Thomas 知道自己莫名奇妙地做了 Joyce 與 Ken 之間的第三者之後，識趣地離去，本來不想再介入二人的關係…

Translation: In order to raise money to pay his mother’s medical expenses, Thomas Lee, who grew up poor, takes up a job at a cafe, where he meets Sammy Fong, also a worker there. The two of them become close friends into adulthood. After the death of his mother, Thomas teams up with Sammy to open a restaurant, which does good business. One day, Thomas is reunited with with Joyce Ho, a girl he met many years ago when he was working as a poor artist in Belgium. The two of them hit it off immediately and begin dating. Soon however, Thomas starts to notice things that suggest Joyce has perhaps been unfaithful to him. When Thomas decides to confront Joyce, he makes the discovery that all along, he has actually been the third wheel in Joyce’s relationship with her boyfriend Ken. Joyce and Ken had actually been dating for 8 years, but when she gets the feeling that Ken has no intentions of marrying her, their relationship hits a snag. When Joyce sees Thomas again, she is attracted to his ambitious and hardworking nature and decides to enter a relationship with him. After Thomas finds out that Joyce is still seeing Ken, he no longer wants to come between them, so he breaks things off with her....

**
Behind-the-scenes production special feature:

Cast and Crew Interviews:

SCMP Article: Hong Kong film: from ‘Hollywood of East’ to China’s supporting cast?

After months of not posting anything (mainly because I've been super busy and haven't had time), I am finally back with an article I came across in my reading today that I wanted to share with you all.  I like this article because it provides keen insight into how the Hong Kong entertainment industry has evolved over the years and the impact that Mainland China has had on that evolution (or "de-evolution" depending on which way you look at it).  This article is lengthier than most of the other articles that SCMP puts out, but not long to the point of being a tedious read, as the amount of detail is sufficient to get the main points across.  I especially recommend this article to those who may not be familiar with the HK entertainment industry back in its glory days (the late 1970s, entire 1980s, and early 1990s), as the historical context gives a good glimpse into the past and also puts the current state of the industry into perspective.

Note that I only included the text of the article in this post, as I always have problems trying to get pictures to come out right when I do these blog posts via mobile.  Therefore, I highly recommend just going to SCMP's website and reading the article there so you can see the pictures that originally accompanied the article (there's a video clip too!).  The link is included above (in the "Source" section).

Hope you enjoy this one (I sure did…but then again, with the deplorable state of the industry currently, I've been in a nostalgic mood for a while now so articles like this – as long as they are done right – are usually nice reads for me).  Feel free to post your thoughts about the article below!

** Sidenote:  My apologies for not keeping up with this blog!  It's been a rough few months for me from a time management perspective and in weighing my priorities, unfortunately some things had to give.  With all that said, I'm not sure when I will next have time to post, but most likely I'll try to squeeze one more post in before the end of the year (I may do one about the TVB Anniversary Awards – depends on whether they piss me off enough to make me want to hop on my blog and rant about it until it's out of my system, lol).

*********

Article published November 30, 2018

Hong Kong film: from 'Hollywood of East' to China's supporting cast?

Source: SCMP

https://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/2175516/hong-kongs-film-and-tv-industry-after-40-years-chinas-opening

The past 40 years of reform and opening up in China have not only been about massive investments, infrastructure projects and turning the country into the world's second largest economy. The years of the Cultural Revolution left mainlanders with little to watch on television and at the movies other than propaganda. As China opened up, Hong Kong television dramas and movies offered a glimpse of the outside world, city life and of what China's big changes might bring.

When the mainland was ready to grow its own television and movie industry, Hong Kong producers and filmmakers played a crucial role, but the tables soon turned on the "Hollywood of the East". 

Today, mainland Chinese television serials and movies are immensely popular in Hong Kong, and dominate in terms of output, viewership, and box office receipts.

On a single Sunday in August this year, an episode of mainland Chinese television hit The Story of Yanxi Palace clocked up 530 million views online, setting a record.

Packed with drama, betrayal and intrigue, the 70-episode period drama won over audiences not only on the mainland, but also in Hong Kong, where it is 2018's most popular drama aired by Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB), the city's largest television broadcaster.

Costing 300 million yuan (HK$338 million) to produce, the series is about a maid who goes to work in the imperial palace to investigate her sister's death and ends up a concubine of Emperor Qianlong.

Its huge success epitomises a major shift in the television and moviemaking scene over the past 40 years of China's economic reforms and opening up.

Where mainland audiences once lapped up made-in-Hong Kong serials and movies, mainland productions now dominate in output, box office takings and viewership, including online.

There is occasional tension and controversy over red lines – political taboos and censorship – as the mainland government has become more assertive.

And where once the themes and plots were scrutinised, today the political beliefs and public actions of artists can become the issue, and some are made to pay the price.

For the Hong Kong entertainment industry, the big question is whether future success lies in integrating with the mainland, or staying distinct.

Recalling the glory days, Hong Kong cinema veteran Tenky Tin Kai-man said: "We were the Hollywood of the East. A large number of talented individuals gathered in such a small place, competing with the finest, and selling to markets across Asia."

The actor and producer, who heads the Federation of Hong Kong Filmmakers, was a teenager when he joined the industry in 1979. Now 56, he said he felt lucky to have been part of the golden era of the 1980s and early 1990s.

Between 1979 and 1999, Hong Kong made an average of 133 movies annually, peaking at 200 a year in 1992 and 1993. Meanwhile on the mainland, fewer than 100 movies were made each year in the 1980s and the cinema industry even declined in the 1990s when television prevailed.

Dr Lo Wai-luk, a Baptist University associate professor specialising in the history of Chinese cinema, recalled that in 1983, the Jet Li martial arts movie The Shaolin Temple was watched by 50 million people on the mainland.

It was one of the few distributed widely in mainland cinemas in the 1980s because it was produced by state-funded Chung Yuen Motion Picture.

Many other Hong Kong titles by independent companies such as Cinema City and Golden Harvest, including those starring comedian Stephen Chow Sing-chi, circulated by videotape.

"Can you imagine people in Xinjiang gathering to watch a Stephen Chow movie by playing a shared tape?" Lo said.

Hong Kong movies had an appeal because of the mainland's restrictions on the themes, plots and characters in movies made there.

Tin said: "Hong Kong could produce plots that mainland producers dared not make, for example, about cops committing crimes and officials being under fire."

By the mid 1970s, the city's three television stations were churning out drama series more than 100 episodes long, whereas on the mainland, the Cultural Revolution had not yet ended and it was still years before the earliest television series would be produced.

Through the 1980s and the 1990s, a wave of dramas from Hong Kong swept across the mainland.

Actress and emcee Liza Wang Ming-chun, a Hong Kong television veteran of more than 50 years, remembered being invited to Guangzhou for her first live stage show there in 1979.

"There weren't many private cars. The bridge across the Pearl River was full of bicycles during rush hour. And the people there were dressed in black, white, grey and blue – very modest in general," said Wang, now 71.

"I could see their envy as they stared at us, the stars from Hong Kong."

Rediffusion Television's The Legendary Fok was the first Hong Kong drama imported and shown on the mainland, in 1983, two years after it was aired locally.

The hero, patriotic martial arts master Fok Yuen-kap, or Huo Yuanjia in Mandarin, was so popular that the 20-episode series was eventually broadcast across the country and even at prime time by state broadcaster CCTV.

Drama serials adapted from the martial arts novels of the late Louis Cha Leung-yung followed, including The Legend of the Condor Heroes and The Duke of Mount Deer. Stars such as Felix Wong Yat-wah, Barbara Yung Mei-ling, Michael Miu Kiu-wai, Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Andy Lau Tak-wah soon became household names on the mainland.

A defining moment for the popularity of Hong Kong productions arrived with The Bund, starring superstar Chow Yun-fat and former beauty queen Angie Chiu Nga-chi in a sprawling tragic romance that has been dubbed "The Godfather of the East". Its Cantonese theme song remains popular to this day among the mainland's Mandarin-speaking audience.

"Hong Kong stood for novelty, affluence, fashion and opportunities for mainland audiences coming  out of decades of isolation," said Zhu Ying, a Chinese television culture studies professor at Baptist University's film academy.

"Hong Kong dramas provided a window for mainland audiences to peek at the outside world."

Lo said Hong Kong movies made in the 1980s by a new wave of independent production companies and featuring more outdoor, real-life locations, had the same impact.

"Audiences on the mainland now could really see the city – for example, the shopping mall in Taikoo Shing where Jackie Chan was chasing after thieves in The Police Story series – as well as modern transport, the urban way of dressing, and business situations such as board meetings," Lo said.

All these images of Hong Kong city life gave mainland film-goers, long fed anticapitalist propaganda, a glimpse of things to come in China. The "capitalist poison" label previously stuck on these movies was gradually removed.

"People on the mainland realised that outside the mainland there was a place with its own cultural system called Hong Kong, where they could find things not available at home," Lo said.

But then the mainland began encouraging its own television and movie industry, and Hong Kong helped by supplying capital, professionals and know-how.

Wang said: "We made really big contributions to the mainland at the early stage of the reform and opening up process, bringing them techniques, art directors, machines, operational models and professional crews, because we knew much more than them.

"They didn't stop at purchasing copyright. They would hire the whole team behind a programme to run the show till they grasped every bit of the craft."

'Economic power confers cultural status'

The reversal of fortunes started in the 1990s, when new television stations mushroomed on the mainland, programme production boomed, and the country welcomed private and overseas capital for joint productions.

Mainland audiences soon had much more choice. There were still programmes about the Communist Party's revolutionary history and ancient literary classics, but popular new shows such as The Aspiration and A Native of Beijing in New York showcased themes of migration and entrepreneurship.

Perhaps the last major Hong Kong drama serial to be a hit on the mainland was War And Beauty, a 30-episode TVB period production about four warring concubines of Emperor Jiaqing in the Qing dynasty.

The 2004 series was aired on the mainland two years later and is believed to have inspired a hugely popular new wave of period productions about palace intrigue and infighting.

In 2011, there were at least eight such series made on the mainland, including the 76-episode Empresses in the Palace, which drew so much attention that Hong Kong's Cable TV picked it up to broadcast in 2012.

By 2007, mainland China had become the world's largest producer of drama serials, cranking out 15,000 episodes every year.

Output was so massive that traditional television channels could not keep up, and by 2013, the internet had become a major platform. The following year 250 series with a total of 2,918 episodes were made by or for online streaming portals.

Over in Hong Kong today, all three free-to-air broadcasters are relying increasingly on dramas imported from the mainland and South Korea.

"Things have changed now that the mainland has acquired its own level of chic and fashion and technique in producing its own sophisticated dramas," said Zhu of Baptist University. "The mainland has aggressively rebranded itself as the new land of opportunity. Economic power confers cultural  status."

Over the past decade, a number of popular mainland dramas have been directed or co-directed by Hong Kong directors.

"The mainland has a lot of space, talent and capital," Liza Wang said, pointing out that the sprawling Hengdian studio complex in Zhejiang province had full-size replicas of ancient palaces for period dramas, something space-starved Hong Kong could not provide.

The mainland pays better too. "Some artists can earn several hundred thousand yuan by singing a few songs. This is unimaginable in Hong Kong," Wang added.

Walking the tightrope of censorship

The Hong Kong movie industry has noted the talent drain, Tin said.

"The mainland market has yet to reach its peak," he said, adding that the big money was not only for stars but also backstage crews, with strong support for the cultural industry from local governments.

Last year the mainland's total box office takings reached a record of 55.9 billion yuan, almost 3.5 times that in Hong Kong.

But access to the mainland market has been difficult for Hong Kong productions, because China sets a quota of 64 to 74 imported movies per year.

However, joint productions offer the city's moviemakers a way in. An agreement treats movies co-produced by companies from the two sides as domestic productions and gives Hong Kong producers 35 per cent of ticket revenue, instead of just 15 per cent. The agreement was part of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) signed between the mainland Chinese and Hong Kong governments in October 2003 to boost the city's economy, when it was struggling to recover from a downturn following the Sars epidemic that year.

Over the past 15 years, the proportion of joint productions leapt from about 15 per cent to over 60 per cent of all Hong Kong output. Three of the top 10 movie blockbusters on the mainland were joint productions, which earned between 2.44 billion yuan and 3.65 billion yuan.

But the issues of taboo subjects and censorship remain.

"Red lines have always existed," Tin said. "We don't know where they exactly are, or when and against whom they will be used.

He said many movies had not managed to clear mainland censors over the years, and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

The result, he said, was that some Hong Kong producers adopted self-censorship, while others planted a few scenes they hoped the nitpicking censors would snip quickly and clear the rest of the movie.

When the authorities are displeased, their wrath is plain.

Taiwanese artists who openly supported students taking part in the "sunflower movement" protests against a services trade deal with the mainland in 2014 were severely criticised by state-owned media on the mainland as "smashing the rice pot they eat from".

Punishment may range from a torrent of online bashing, to having contracts cancelled, a heavy reduction of screen time, or outright bans on performing on the mainland.

Singer-songwriter Anpu, award-winning director Wei Te-sheng, television host Kevin Tsai Kang-yung, and actor Leon Dai Li-jen have all paid a price.

Several Hong Kong artists met the same fate for supporting civil disobedience protesters in the Occupy movement, which shut down several business areas for 79 days in 2014.

They included singers Anthony Wong Yiu-ming and Denise Ho Wan-sze, who participated in the protests, and actors Chapman To Man-chat and Anthony Wong Chau-sang, who defended the demonstrators and criticised authorities.

Hong Kong film with Chinese characteristics?

Hong Kong comedian Wong Cho-lam, who has been active on the mainland since 2010 and set up his own studio there two years ago, said: "Nowadays contracts stipulate that if an artist or director causes damage to the production as a result of personal ethics, a criminal offence or political stance, the person will be liable."

Wong, who sits on the political advisory body to the Guangxi government, was frank about pressure on cross-border artists.

"Some Hongkongers might put me under fire when I say I am a patriot, but if I refrain from saying so, some patriotic audiences might put me under fire," he said.

Wong said he did not believe in joint productions as a way to keep Hong Kong's movie industry thriving.

"I would rather make a movie either catering to the mainland, or in the Hong Kong style," he said. "Why don't we make something with a genuine taste and character of Hong Kong and introduce it to the mainland audience?"

Lo of Baptist University did not think joint productions would destroy the flavour of Hong Kong movies.

"Project Gutenberg was loved by mainland audiences," Lo said, referring to a film released in October.

Made with investments and stars from Hong Kong and the mainland, the movie had Hong Kong scriptwriting and directing. Lo did not think the story about a frustrated painter who becomes a master banknote counterfeiter could have come out of the mainland or Taiwan.

"Hong Kong movies must find their own ethos," Lo said. "Hong Kong movies do not have to seek distribution on the mainland if they can manage the budget and attract local audiences."

Tin thought Hong Kong artists should continue working to remove the negative labels on their peers who have run foul of mainland authorities.

"To isolate or ground someone who is found politically incorrect will cause a chilling effect, which is unhealthy," Tin said.

"To some extent, Hong Kong movies have lost their charm because we agreed to compromise our professional judgment and expertise."

Liza Wang believed Hong Kong's younger talent in television and movies had a land of opportunity in the "Greater Bay Area", which has close to 70 million people who understand Cantonese.

Beijing's vision is to connect Hong Kong, Macau and nine cities in Guangdong province and create an innovation and technology powerhouse to rival California's Silicon Valley.

"There are so many people there who can understand our language and enjoy our work," Wang said. 

"And the market size is not as huge as the whole mainland so it should be suitable for young talent to get some exercise."

In March, Wang, kung fu star Jackie Chan and veteran comedian Eric Tsang Chi-wai were involved in forming a committee to help Hong Kong artists make their way into the mainland.

While Wang said she respected those who held firm to their political beliefs, she also said: "If you want to tap into a certain market, you must think twice about whether you should test the rules there."

 Additional reporting by Jane Zhang

MUST READ: TVB CEO Mark Lee details upcoming changes and development plans

Source: Hong Kong Economic Journal

http://www2.hkej.com/landing/mobArticle2/id/1927147

TVB CEO Mark Lee did an interview with the Hong Kong Economic Journal yesterday where he talks about additional changes that will be happening at the station in the coming months.  In the interests of time, I'm not going to translate the entire article (there is a summarized version on HKEJ's website, which I've linked to above), however here are some main points from the article that are important to know.

Before I list out the main points though, need to preface with this -- several months ago, TVB already announced their intention to switch to becoming a multimedia digital platform, as they recognize that the way audiences consume their entertainment nowadays has changed significantly due to all the advancements in technology.  TVB feels that their previous business model is no longer viable in today's world and so they need to adapt to the changing times.  Of course, this is not something that will happen overnight, so TVB has been taking gradual steps over the past year with the goal of transitioning completely in the near future.  To this point, Mark Lee had actually done an interview several months prior where he had hinted at some of their plans, but at that time, he wasn't very specific on what exactly those plans would entail….with this interview, he lays it all out…

-  Currently, TVB is about two-thirds of the way done with their "digital transformation" plan and estimate that they will need another year or so to finish the remaining one-third.  They are estimating that they should be 100% up and running by the year 2020. 

-  In restructuring the company, there are 4 main areas of focus that will drive TVB's new direction:  increase revenue from advertising, control expenses through proper utilization of investments, increase the number of co-productions with other companies, expand Big Big Channel and other internet-related revenue streams (more detail on each of these aspects below).

-  Staffing – by the end of the year, the plan is to reduce 5% of current staff.  

•   Total staffing right now is 3900 employees, so reducing by 5% means that approximately 200 staff will lose their jobs by the end of the year.

•  This reduction is in addition to the changes they already made earlier in the year.  Here's how the numbers break down:

• Looking at TVB's past annual reports, the number of full-time staff they employ is usually around 4000 or so – this includes all contracted staff in HK as well as overseas (meaning outside of HK – basically wherever TVB has a presence).  

• As of June 2018, total staff count was 4333 – however after closing down the sports/athletic department and laying off staff from the international arm (TVBI) last month, total staff count as of right now is approximately 3900 people.  

• If we take the reduction in staff that was made previously (reduction from 4333 to 3900), that's approximately 10% reduction in staff (rough estimate about 430 people)….couple that with the 5% reduction (estimate 200 people) by the end of the year, that would mean that this year alone, TVB would've laid off / fired 15% of their staff, which is obviously A LOT!  I hope those 630 people will be able to find work elsewhere!

-  As part of re-evaluating which areas they will be spending their money, it was determined that they are going to invest more resources (financial and otherwise) into their OTT platform, which includes expanding myTV Super and also increasing their footprint in other markets.

• The money that was previously spent on their "traditional TV channels" (HK free-to-air channels such as Jade, Pearl, etc.) will be significantly reduced.

• As announced earlier, there will be a gradual increase in co-produced series (Mark Lee didn't specify "who" they would be co-producing with but given TVB's recent direction in shifting to the Mainland market, the assumption is that the co-productions will be with Mainland production companies or streaming platforms).  In 2019, they plan on having 4 co-produced series and in 2020, they will increase that number to 6 series.

• The co-productions will utilize more on-location filming (meaning outside of HK) as well as real location filming (no longer limited to filming only inside TVB City).

• Since majority of filming will be done on location, there will be less need for filming inside their massive Tseung Kwan O facility, so they will be shutting down some of the studios within TVB City and in turn, either transferring the staff from those studios to different positions or getting rid of the positions altogether.

• In terms of myTV Super, they will be switching to an On Demand format.  So instead of what they have now, where programming is arranged to air at a certain time, all channels will be replaced by On Demand service whereby the user can pick and choose what to watch and when to watch it.  This will help them further reduce their expenses by not needing to have their staff arrange programming, decide on scheduling and content, etc.

• For overseas viewers, current format will be gradually replaced by TVB Anywhere (their OTT service outside of HK), which also means that whatever events were associated with overseas platform will also be reduced.  [It's a bit vague but the "events" they are referring to are things such as award ceremonies – hence their announcement earlier this year that they're cancelling this year's Astro Awards (in Malaysia) and Starhub Awards (in Singapore) – for those who were wondering, it sounds like based on the above, these cancellations will be permanent!].

• The print edition of TVB Weekly Magazine will be discontinued.  Instead, they will switch to an on-line version, though no guarantees that the content will be the same.  This will help them save on printing and distribution costs.

-  Mark Lee emphasized that TVB is merely "changing with the times" and that these changes aren't being done haphazardly.  He said that their mantra is basically – "reduce where necessary, increase where necessary."  He said that despite the reduction in staff this year, they have actually hired more staff over the past years in areas that count, such as in the scriptwriting department, sales and finance, etc.

-  Increase revenue from ads

• TVB's main source of revenue is (and always has been) advertising – which currently accounts for approximately 57% of their revenue. 

• Mark Lee claims that the ad market for the first half of the year was "dismal" as there was only a minor increase of 2% revenue.  He said that many businesses were hesitant to place ads due to the retail market in HK not doing too well (most of their ad revenue the first half of the year came from businesses mostly specializing in beauty products, medicine, health and wellness options, etc.)

• Mark Lee said that he is confident they will see more of an uptick in advertising in the second half of the year, since that is traditionally the "peak period" for advertisers to get their products out there due to all the holidays and such.  Also, TVB will be increasing the number of anniversary series this year from 2 series to 3 series, which means there will be additional opportunities for businesses to buy advertising during those "prime" timeslots.

• Many companies are placing more emphasis on "new media" (i.e. web series, online streaming, etc.) nowadays due to the ease of getting content out to a wider audience in a quicker manner, plus there are fewer restrictions than with traditional media.  To this point, Mark Lee said that the advertising ratio of "new media" versus "traditional television" has reached 1:9 for the first time (meaning for every 1 ad placed on their internet platform, they would need 9 ads placed on traditional TV platform in order to make the same amount of money).  To this point, their goal is to increase the number by 2% by 2020. 

• The first half of the year, advertising on myTV Super increased by a whopping 76%, which allowed them to turn a profit (where they were "in the red" previously), bringing in $85 million additional revenue for them.

• In terms of OTT format, there is a huge difference between using the app and using set-top boxes to watch their content – the former (the app) is based on how long audiences watch the content for while the latter (set top box) is based on balancing advertising with subscription fees.  Mark Lee cited the following statistics:  starting first week in July, there was an average of 1.26 million audiences streaming their content each week, with each audience member watching on average for 16 hours – if they are able to increase this by 3% each year, those are more than solid numbers to attract advertising.

-   In terms of Big Big Channel, there are plans to expand it beyond a platform where audiences can interact with TVB artists.  Earlier this year, TVB already launched Big Big Shop, which is their e-commerce platform for consumers to buy regular products as well as TVB-related stuff (similar concept to what HKTV did with HKTVmall).  In the near future, they are thinking of expanding to include online games and competitions as well as other "value-added" services.

** Note:  In case you guys are wondering why there are so many "numbers" and "calculations" in this article – well, Mark Lee used to be (and I think still is now) an Accountant – and supposedly a mighty good one at that – so it's no surprise that he's always bringing up numbers and bottom line and revenue, etc.  Based on my personal experience (20+ years working with accountants at the companies I've been a part of), I find most of them are rigid and don't usually consider any circumstances outside of the numbers at hand (they are basically the anti-thesis of customer service).  When customers are late in paying their bills for instance, the accounting people I've worked with our pretty relentless in chasing down the money regardless of the circumstances, even if it means foregoing the relationship with the customer (in other words, they don't care if you offend the customer or if that customer will no longer be a customer because you you're unwilling to work with them or at least give them a little more time to pay or whatnot, they want the money regardless of the outcome).  In that light, not sure if TVB having an Accountant at its helm calling all the shots is a good thing or not….

Breaking news: R.I.P. HKTV....

It's official now….the moment that we were all dreading but knew would inevitably come has finally arrived:  HKTV (through its chairman Ricky Wong) announced yesterday that they are completely withdrawing from the television industry.  In addition to retrieving the second license application that they submitted back in 2014 (which has been in "pending" status since that time), they will also be returning the mobile TV license they had obtained and also returning the broadcasting spectrum they have to the government. Details are in the article from SCMP below that actually sums it up pretty well (there are tons of articles out in Chinese too but I'm too lazy to translate, lol).

As a fan and supporter of HKTV for so long, people have been asking me what my take is on this news.  To be honest, I feel it's a good decision – one that is long overdue.  Ever since HKTV was denied a license back in 2013, I had already said that Ricky Wong was better off just leaving and investing his money elsewhere instead – but then he re-submitted his application and also acquired mobile license, continued building up his studio, and kept saying that he planned to resume production, even though the writing had been on the wall for a long time that he wasn't going to.  A few months back, when the news came out that RW had sold his stake in HKTV to his partner so he could concentrate fully on his HKTVmall, that was already a clear sign that he had given up on the television industry already (despite the words that came out of his mouth that indicated the contrary).  I'm honestly surprised that RW didn't decide to withdraw sooner, since it has been obvious for years that the government was not going to grant him a license no matter what and he was wasting both his money and his time in "limbo".

Of course, with all that said, part of me is still a little sad that HKTV is officially no more, but most importantly, I'm sad for the HK television industry.  Long-time readers of my blog will know that I've been following the HK entertainment industry since the 1980s (technically earlier than that if we count my mom's relationship with the industry) and have witnessed the evolution of the industry for close to 3 decades now.  I grew up watching TVB (and also ATV to some extent) and up until the early 2000s, had considered myself a "die-hard" fan – needless to say that having to witness TVB (and the HK television industry as a whole) spiral downhill and deteriorate to the point that it has over the past 15 years has been painful.  Just when I thought things had reached the point of no return, HKTV showed up a few years ago and injected a glimmer of hope into an industry that was already on the brink of death.  HKTV not only shook up a dormant industry that had been "asleep" for way too long, they also changed the face of HK television production and proved to many of us – those in the industry as well as ordinary audiences – that it WAS possible to make quality productions without resorting to "slave labor" (long hours with little to no rest), that it WAS possible to wait until scripts were 100% complete before starting to film, that it WAS possible to treat artists with respect and dignity and pay them well at the same time.  HKTV also showed us what true "creative freedom" meant, showed us what sincerity looked like, showed us how important a role working environment plays in employee satisfaction (though honestly I already knew this from working in the corporate world for many years), and quite frankly, opened the eyes of many folks who had been drinking the TVB Kool-aid for too long and didn't realize that there truly were alternatives to the "TVB way".  For me though, HKTV's biggest contribution will always be the lives they were able to change by forcing TVB to "up" their game in the face of the severe competition that TVB had up to that point had the "luxury" of avoiding:  the countless stories of behind-the-scenes folks at TVB who were never recognized for their work suddenly getting pushed to the forefront, or the poor scriptwriter who received their first raise in 20 years, or the green leaf artists who were previously cast by the wayside in favor of the younger, prettier leads finally getting the recognition that had been long overdue.  I feel sad for the industry because HKTV's defeat means that TVB has won -- the implication of which I don't even want to think about… 

To HKTV and Ricky Wong:  as a long-time supporter of the HK television industry, I salute you and thank you for all that you were able to accomplish in the 8 short years that you existed. While some of the changes that came about were only temporary, a few did end up being permanent and much of that was because of your efforts.  Thank you for revolutionizing the industry during a time when it was very much needed and for showing us that HK is truly capable of making quality productions, it's just a matter of putting the right effort and passion into it.  Most of all, thank you for doing something that TVB had stopped doing many years ago (and still refuse to do even now):  respecting audiences and treating us like actual human beings with our own voices/thoughts/opinions rather than brainless sheep blindly eating whatever crap was being fed to us.  You truly put audiences first, didn't try to think for us, and actually allowed us to have a say in shaping your productions – this is one of the things I will miss most, especially given the current state of the industry.  Best of luck to you and wish you the utmost success with HKTVmall (and yes, I have confidence you will be the next Amazon, lol).

***.

Hong Kong media maverick Ricky Wong quits free-to-air TV dream and exits sector

Source: SCMP

http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2139149/hong-kong-media-maverick-ricky-wong-quits-free-air-tv-dream

Media tycoon Ricky Wong Wai-kay has quit his troubled quest to secure a free-to-air television licence for the ill-fated Hong Kong Television and vowed never to return to the broadcasting business.

His remarks came on Tuesday as the publicly listed HKTV announced its annual results for 2017, revealing a staggering net loss of HK$204.9 million (US$26.1 million). The share price of HKTV had plunged by 14 per cent to HK$3.16 when markets closed on Tuesday.

Explaining the reason to end his lifelong free-to-air TV dream, Wong, who chairs HKTV, said the wait had simply been too long.

"The answer is as simple as 'we've been waiting for eight years,'" he said.

According to the outspoken businessman, the company, formerly named City Telecom, was "invited" by government officials in 2009 to apply for the license.

But in 2013, the Executive Council, led by then chief executive Leung Chun-ying, only granted the licence to i-Cable's Fantastic TV and PCCW's HK Television Entertainment Company.

The rejection of HKTV's application sparked public outcry that year, with many questioning whether the decision was politically driven. More than 300 staff members were also laid off in the same year.

The company's second bid was filed the following year, but on Tuesday, Wong said the application had been withdrawn after four years of not hearing back from the government.

Despite declaring his exit from the broadcasting business, Wong said he had no plans to rename the company. "I think the name … HKTV is a sweet memory for many Hong Kong people – the memory, I think, is valuable."

Asked if he held any resentment towards the government, Wong said he would "take it easy".

"I taught my kids that this world is never fair, we have to learn to face unfair challenges," he said.

Wong also told reporters he had "nothing to say" to Leung, now vice-chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the country's top advisory body.

While the company currently operates a broadcast-type mobile TV service via its website and mobile application, Wong also announced on Tuesday it would be shut down.

The TV shows produced by HKTV, however, would be aired on a free TV channel in April, Wong said.

According to sources, the programmes would be aired on Fantastic TV starting mid-April.

Wong said the company would focus resources on the e-commerce business, such as purchasing more trucks to deliver goods sold via its online shopping platform, HKTVmall. Media equipment that was bought for its TV productions would be used to create multimedia content to support the e-commerce push.

A spokesman of the Office of the Communications Authority said on Tuesday night that HKTV had informed it earlier in the day about the application withdrawal.

"After HKTV withdrew its application, the office has no other free-to-air TV licence application to process," the spokesman said. He did not say why the application took years to process.

A former HKTV staff member said she was not surprised by Wong's move as the company had already laid off all production team members and had since focused on its online shopping business.

 In 2016, HKTV posted a net loss of HK$257.1 million.

Norris Wong, a former junior script writer who was laid off in 2013, said Ricky Wong should be remembered as someone who revolutionised the development of local broadcasting.

"Never before had any broadcaster invested so much money into local dramas," Norris Wong said. 

"By doing so, he prompted other broadcasters such as TVB to do better to compete, pushing up the standard of local dramas. We also saw hope that the reputation of Hong Kong productions would be revived and the industry can regain its fame in the region."

She said HKTV was once a place where local scriptwriters could be creative and make their dreams of good productions come true, adding she was saddened that all this had come to an end.

Information technology sector lawmaker Charles Mok said it was a shame that HKTV was never awarded the license.

"We had no chance to know if the [free-to-air TV] market will be different," Mok said.

The case of HKTV might have put off interested parties from entering the local TV industry, he said, adding that the government needed to introduce more transparency to its process of granting such licences.

Entertainment Newsreel #4: More TV-related news….

Lots of TV news this past week!  Below are some of the highlights of TV industry related news that I read about this past week.  Again, this is not an all-inclusive list and most of this is being written from memory so there's a huge possibility I missed some stuff.  If there is anything I missed that you would like to know about, feel free to put in the comments and I'll either respond there or put it in the next post if I remember….

TV News

HMV (China 3D)

-          Hmv (China 3D) chairman Stephen Shiu Jr.  held a press conference last week announcing his intention to foray into TV series production (for those who are not familiar, his company currently produces movies and also music).  Stephen Shiu Jr. said that he is interested in doing web series because that's the largest media platform aside from movies – with movies, audiences spend 2 hours watching and that's it, but with TV series, they could spend 30 hours or more chasing a series.  He will be entering the web series arena (like pretty much every other HK production company out there nowadays) and his series will be available in OTT format as well as via phones and tablets.  One thing that Stephen Shiu Jr. said during an interview which I thought was interesting (and I'm assuming a huge reason why so many production companies nowadays are going into the "web series" market) is that he prefers web series because there are little to no limitations on what they are allowed to do, versus "regular" TV series (i.e. the kind TVB films) where target audience is more family-oriented and so they are limited by strict broadcast regulations.  He also said whether they continue on the series production route will depend on whether this first series is successful.

-          HMV's first series has already been filmed and is currently available on their platform HMVOD.  The series is called "Hong Kong West Side Stories" and will be 13 episodes at 30 minutes each.   Louis Cheung will star in the series as will Myolie Wu (in what is touted as her first official "comeback" since giving birth).  I still need to read up more on the series so not a whole lot of information to share at this point other than the series is a comedy and Louis plays an "animal whisperer" (someone who communicates with animals).

Fantastic Television (i-Cables free TV arm)

-          Awhile back ago, when ATV made its "comeback" as an internet TV station, one of the highly-touted "recruits" to join their venture is former TVB GM and current CRHK chairman (CEO? I'm bad with the terminology) Stephen Chan, who will be hosting the 2018 version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire for the station.  Nowadays, where Stephen Chan goes, we are likely to see his buddy Wong He as well, which is why I was not surprised in the least to see Wong He also attend ATV's launch party (filling in as host for Stephen Chan, who fell ill and couldn't attend) and confirming that he will be hosting a weekly program for them.  Well, it turns out that in addition to hosting programs for ATV, Wong He will have another responsibility soon – he was invited by the new COO of Operations for Fantastic Television (i-Cable's free-to-air TV arm that "quietly" launched last year) to be Creative Director overseeing production of their TV series (OTT format of course).  The announcement hasn't officially been made yet and while Wong He alluded to it in a recent FB post, it is pretty much still a "rumor" at this point (and apparently, not everyone at Fantastic Television knows, as HK01 interviewed someone who works there and they only know Wong He is joining but don't know what capacity).

-          Personally, I'm not too surprised, as Wong He has always been a talented (albeit opinionated) actor who obviously has his own ideas on how TV series should be produced (when he was with TVB, he was very vocal about stuff that he felt didn't make sense and had no problems approaching scriptwriters to "tweak" dialogue and such that didn't flow right).  In the years since leaving TVB, Wong He has continued to film stuff (movies, TV series, hosting programs etc.) and took the leap into behind-the-scenes work as well, writing scripts and also directing/producing stuff (this is what I've gathered from his interviews the past couple years – I don't have any specifics on what types of projects he has been involved with though).

-          It will be interesting to see what Fantastic Television's vision will be in terms of TV series with Wong He at the helm.  Since they launched last year (to pretty much zero fanfare), they have pretty much been in the shadows will not much coverage about them in the media (I follow some non-mainstream media outlets and only hear of the programs they produced occasionally).  I know they did produce a few series earlier on (I think they were idol-type series focused on love and relationships) but not sure if those series ever aired or whether they will continue in that direction in the future.

ViuTV

-          Ok, this one is technically not related to ViuTV (at least not yet), but since the artist I'm writing about currently still "works" for ViuTV (well, at least he still attends various ViuTV functions) and the news has to do with one of their series, I figured this was the most appropriate place to put this.

-          Earlier, when it was announced that former TVB producer Jonathan Chik (who has moved his career to Mainland) will be producing a brand new Mainland series with the cast from his 2011 TVB series "When Heaven Burns" (a series which fared dismally when it aired but was later pushed up by netizens as a "godly series"), there was much talk about the reunion between that series' main leads Charmaine Sheh, Moses Chan, and Kenny Wong.  However, one lead's name is glaringly missing from this list:  Bowie Lam.  Of course, people immediately started wondering whether Bowie will be in the new series or not, since he was instrumental as one of the 3 male leads (and technically it wouldn't be a true WHB reunion without him).  Well, according to HK01's interview with Bowie (which was in an article that came out early last week), Bowie will not be participating in Jonathan Chik's new series.

-          When asked about the new series, Bowie said that Jonathan Chik never approached him about it (interesting though not entirely surprising).  He said that even if Jonathan does approach him, he wouldn't be able to participate anyway because he will be producing and starring in a series of his own this year.  Bowie said that his series is in its preparation stage right now with the script still being worked on – cast hasn't been decided yet, all he knows is that he himself will be in it.  The series will be co-directed by 'fat ball' and '25', whom some of us here will recognize as the directors of the series that Bowie filmed for ViuTV earlier, "Margaret and David: Green Bean" – Bowie will serve as executive producer as well as main lead (not sure if he is writing the script too, as he didn't say specifically).  Bowie said that he hopes the series will be able to air at the end of this year.

-          I'm actually kind of excited because I was probably one of the few people who actually watched "Green Bean" and really liked it.  I didn't really follow the production too closely at the time but I had heard there had been problems during filming because of discord between the series' producer / author of the books the series was based on and the directors/cast (@sport – since you know more about this than me, feel free to comment), so it looks like this series gives the directors and Bowie the chance to do what they had wanted to do with M&D but couldn't?  I will definitely be keeping my ears open for more information on this.

And finally….TVB

-          The big news last week (which I'm sure everyone knows by now) was that TVB held a press conference on 3/9 "officially" announcing the return of golden screenwriter Chan Po Wah (she wrote many great series but the one all of us fans remember the most is of course "Blood of Good and Evil").  Technically, this is "old" news because Po Wah Jeh had already indicated in previous interviews last year that she would be returning, it's just that she was still working on the script for her new series at the time so nothing official was confirmed yet.  Based on those interviews, Po Wah Jeh will be returning for this one series only (as a favor for TVB) and will continue her career in Mainland (which has been very successful) once she's done.

-          The name of the series is "Wonder Women" and it will be a comedy.  Most of the cast had actually already been announced previously (male leads will be Raymond Wong and Pakho Chau) but TVB had (supposedly) kept the female lead top secret so they could announce on the day of the press con (more on this later).  Of course, everyone knows by now that Miriam Yeung was cast as female lead and will be returning to film this series for TVB after a 17 year hiatus (her last series was 2001's A Taste of Love).  Miriam will be pairing with Raymond in the series – this will be a reunion of sorts for them, as both of them collaborated previously in the movie Love Undercover.  The interesting part is that Raymond's character in this series has the same name as his character in that movie (which to me is a sign that TVB is playing up the Raymond/Miriam reunion and using their previous collaboration as a gimmick to hype the series).

-          Personally, I like Raymond – he has always been a solid actor in my book and was unfortunately under-utilized by TVB most of his career (I guess having a background in movies didn't help him much).  From the looks of things, it looks like Raymond will FINALLY be first lead in this series given that he will be pairing with Miriam – but of course, this is TVB after all so who knows….it's pretty obvious that TVB is trying to promote Pakho big time so they could very well make him first lead and Raymond is just co-lead like usual.  

-          Speaking of Pakho – I watched the his interview with reporters at the press con on the news the other day and he actually said that he knew in advance that Miriam was cast as the lead on the female side.  Normally this is no big deal, but the reason why I'm bringing it up here is because there was so much hoopla over TVB keeping the female lead a secret up until the press con – in fact, TVB made it quite clear that only the top execs and the series' producer/director knew who the female lead would be.  Raymond said that he had no clue who the female lead would be and only found out when he saw Miriam walk onto the stage during the presscon (though he said that when he heard his character's name in the series, he did suspect for a brief moment that it could be Miriam but he didn't think it was possible given her status now).  So if only the execs and producer were supposed to know and it's obvious no one else from the cast knew, how the hell did Pakho already know in advance?  Sounds suspicious – either Pakho is claiming to know when he really didn't or TVB chose to share the information with him only, which tells me that in their eyes, they are considering Pakho as the lead who gets privy to "inside" information (this is the way TVB usually does things – when they have someone they consider a big enough lead filming for them, they will share all sorts of information with them…I honestly don't consider Pakho a "big name" but I guess TVB has different standards, as usual).

-          Personally, I'm not excited at all.  Chan Po Wah is one of my favorite scriptwriters and prior to this announcement, I truly was looking forward to her new series, but as soon as the cast was announced, all interest went out the window.  I like Raymond, but not to the point where I would watch every series he is in.  I'm not a fan of Miriam's and though I feel she is a competent enough actress, she's not someone I would be excited to watch.  No comment on Pakho, since I didn't watch his previous series (though I heard that his performance was very wooden) but I've never been a fan of his singing either so him being in this series means nothing to me honestly.  For me, the biggest reason to skip this series is because Tony Hung and Rebecca  Zhu are also co-starring in this – both are artists I can't stand at all (I've taken to turning off the TV whenever I see Tony on screen now, lol).  So yea, this one is a definite skip for me.

-          By the way, for those who are wondering – yes, this is the series that Chan Po Wah had originally said she had "written especially for" Sheren Tang…and yes, this was the series that triggered all those rumors of Sheren returning to film for TVB again after the fallout they had earlier (I saw some websites back then "report" Sheren's return as "confirmed" and "for sure" which honestly pissed me off because I hate such irresponsible reporting – one of my biggest pet peeves is when people try to pass off rumors as "confirmed truth" without doing their due diligence to vet the info….how hard is it to put "rumored" in front of the information so people aren't misled??).  Anyway, looks like whatever the original plan was for Sheren to star in this, those plans fell through – I'm not sure what happened (I've been trying to dig on both sides but so far haven't come up with anything).  Reporters did ask Po Wah Jeh at the press conference about Sheren originally being slated to star in this series, but she gave a vague response, saying something along the lines of "Sheren and I will get the chance to collaborate again in the future".  From Sheren's side, I know in earlier interviews (late last year), she had talked about being really excited to work with Po Wah Jeh again and all indication at that time was that the likelihood of her returning for the series was high.  Since I like Po Wah Jeh, I am going to give her and TVB the benefit of the doubt in this instance and assume that Sheren couldn't participate due to schedule conflict (though of course I have no idea how it went down).

-          One last interesting fact – in previous interviews, Po Wah Jeh had thrown around the idea of casting Sheren and also Francis Ng as the leads for this series, but now the confirmed leads are Miriam, Raymond and Pakho.  I don't know about you but to go from Sheren and Francis to  Miriam / Raymond / Pakho is a HUGE downgrade in my opinion.  Just saying….