‘Teenage Psychic’ stars promise fresh offer in season two
stars promise fresh offer in season two
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Following the success of the debut of Taiwanese TV miniseries “The Teenage Psychic” two years ago, Kuo ShuYao is back on the show as the character she plays tackles even more interesting topics.
At a press conference, Kuo Shu-Yao, also known as Yao Yao, revealed she’s thrilled to be back in harness.
“This season allows me to explore the different facets of my character, especially with the introduction of new characters on the show, including Xiao Zhen’s mother and new friends from her school. Fans can look forward to more exciting adventures and heartwarming stories,” she said through an interpreter.
“The Teenage Psychic” season two sees psychic Xiao Zhen (Yao Yao) trying to pick up the pieces in the new school year following the tragedy she faced last year. As the new president of the drama club, Xiao Zhen focuses on recruiting new members, however, there is more to the two new members than meets the eye – cute newbie Zhang Yuxuan (played by Fandy Fan) and soft-spoken Zhan Xiao Tong (played by Wen Chen-Ling). At the temple, things get complicated when Teacher Kim’s (played by Chen Mu-Yi) family secret comes back to haunt him.
Born with the gift to see spirits, Xiao Zhen yearns to be like any normal teenager but has to juggle the pressures of teenage life – first love, academic success, and peer pressure. She finds herself trapped by her responsibilities at the temple, overwhelmed with being the President of the Drama Club, and confused over a new love interest.
How did her character build chemistry with Fandy’s, we asked.
“That’s funny. He’s like my soulmate but not in a romantic way,” she said. “We didn’t intentionally nurture any on-screen or offscreen chemistry but as we work alongside each other, we realized that, you know, all this chemistry actually surfaced to good working relationships. It just happened.” Yao Yao talked about her craft. “Being an actress is interesting. Even though some of the roles I play never happened to me in real life, I act it out as if the memories that the role is built on are real to me,” she said to that effect. “For example, I have never been in a relationship and never have a boyfriend, but because through Xiao Zhen – when it happened to her – it makes me feel like I have a boyfriend. As if it’s a real relationship, the feeling, the emotion.”
How did she prepare for her role having no experience with the paranormal? Well, Yao Yao got guidance from a psychic hired as consultant on the show, whose experiences were also incorporated in the story through the characters.
It is said the psychic would write down what the spirits are saying and let Yao Yao listen to it so she’d have an idea how it is to communicate with the dead.
How does she feel that her series is being aired around the world?
Yao Yao likes it that lately, people have been calling her by the name of the character she plays on “The Teenage Psychic.”
In fact, Yao Yao hopes to carry the character all the way from “Teenage Psychic” to becoming “Grandma Psychic,” she quipped.
Being an actress is interesting. Even though some of the roles I play never happened to me in real life, I act it out as if the memories that the role is built on are real to me.
- Kuo Shu-Yao
Meant to be
Fandy is as happy as Yao Yao to have been cast in the new season of the show.
Actually, he auditioned for the first season but did not make the cut.
Asked about replacing the love interest of Yao Yao’s character, Fandy cleared, “I’m not here to replace anyone. This is an entirely new story and I think one plus one is bigger than two.”
Ready for the online bashers, if any?
“It’s impossible to please everyone,” he said. “There will be people who like you, there will be people who hate you and I want to have a very relaxed attitude to carry out this role. I just hope the audience will gain some things by watching the show.”
Playing his role also proved challenging, he confessed.
“By nature, I’m very cheerful. I like to smile a lot, I am very outspoken, and I receive a lot of love from my family than Zhang, who is not good at expressing himself,” Fandy said. “Zhang keeps everything to himself and he doesn’t know how to express his feelings. In order to prepare myself to get into this character, I just tried to live life as usual.”
The season two cast also includes Wen Chen-Ling, Chen Mu-Yi, Li Ying-Hong, Wu HongXiu, Lin He-Syuan, Chun Hong, Xiang Cheng-Yu, Yin Chao-Te, Lotus Wang, Li Xue, Vera Chen, Chen Bor-Jeng, Ina Tsai, Huang Di-Yang, Simon Lian, Chen ZhaoRu, Heaven Hai, Queenie Fang, Frankie Huang, and Vicci Pan.
The award-winning HBO Asia Original series “The Teenage Psychic” returns for its eight-episode second season with double back-toback episodes on Oct. 6 at 9 p.m., exclusively on HBO GO and HBO. A new episode will premiere on subsequent Sundays at the same time.