Start marking your calendar for twists and turns of TVB’s most-awaited dramas
HONG KONG: Like the shrinking box office in Hong Kong, last year was more of a hit- and-miss affair for leading station TVB.
TVB is keen to redeem themselves because this happens to be its 50th anniversary – flopping isn’t an option.
Setting the searing pace for the year is Burning Hands, which debuts on Jan 16.
Starring Best Actor Ruco Chan, it centres on a team of con artists hired by a casino tycoon to solve an embezzlement case. Ruco stars as Chak Koon-yat, the team’s leader and a “sleight of hand” illusionist. Also in the team with diverse skills are Rosina Lam, Joel Chan, Candice Chiu, Lam Tsz- sin, Tsui Wing and Stefan Wong. Hugo Ng stars as Ruco’s father.
Burning Hands brings out the darkness in everyone — your worse enemy could be right by your side all along.
The Unholy Alliance, on the other hand, is a modern version
A Fist Within Four Walls. Produced by Four Walls creator Jazz Boon, it stars Four Walls actors Ruco Chan and Nancy Wu.
Film Queen Paw Hee- ching, known for her nurturing mother roles, will change her veil to portray a cunning matriarch, head of a large crime syndicate. Ruco plays her biological son, while Nancy stars as his bodyguard. Jazz Boon describes The Unholy Alliance as a martial arts thriller, and will include many different combat styles of martial arts.
Also keenly awaited is The Unlawful Justice Squad, starring Vincent Wong in the role as a blind lawyer. He employs extreme methods to protect the innocent, which is a nod to Marvel’s Daredevil, a superhero series about a blind lawyer who fights crime at night.
Destination Nowhere was Kevin Cheng’s last drama for TVB. It’s about a detective who gets into a murder case that would change his life. Kristal Tin stars as a schizophrenic grieving mother who does whatever it takes to avenge the murder of her teenage daughter.