Meteor Garden reboot
ABS-CBN has officially bagged the exclusive rights to air China’s remake of the phenomenal hit Meteor
Garden, the idol drama that captivated the hearts of Filipino fans and started the Asianovela craze in the country.
In a recent press conference in Shanghai, China, the new F4 members were formally introduced, namely, Dylan Wang, 19, as Dao Ming Si; Darren Chen, 22, as Hua Ze Lei; Connor Leong, 23, as Mei Zuo; and Caesar Wu, 21, as Xi Men.
Rookie Chinese actress Shen Yue, meanwhile, won the coveted role of Shan Cai. According to Meteor Garden’s original producer Angie Chai, the cast was chosen based on their personalities that are similar to the Taiwanese version of F4.
The production group started its casting call in June this year, and auditions were held in first-tier universities in Taipei, Hong Kong, Singapore, Los Angeles and China. The production team received over 30,000 applications and resumes from F4 hopefuls. Based from the Japanese manga Hana Yori Dango, Meteor Garden tells the story of simple girl Shan Cai who gets involved with four popular and rich young boys in school who call themselves F4 or Flower 4.
The first and original Meteor Garden, topbilled by Taiwanese actor Jerry Yan, aired on ABS-CBN in 2003. This started the Meteor Garden fever among Filipino fans.