Introducing ViuTV’s “Psycho Detective 2” Starring Adam Cheng and Michael Tao
ViuTV’s Psycho Detective 2 <詭探前傳>, the prequel to 2017’s Psycho Detective <詭探> premiered on Monday to fair reception. The drama features a star-studded cast, staring Adam Cheng (鄭少秋), Michael Tao (陶大宇), and with supporting appearances by Bryant Mak (麥子樂), Elanne Kong (江若琳), Neo Yau (游學修), and Brian Chan (陳安立).
The supernatural mystery is Adam and Michael’s first collaboration in 27 years, since 1992’s The Greed of Man <大時代>. Set in the 1980’s, Psycho Detective 2 follows Pang Pak-chuen (Adam Cheng), a Taoist master and an university professor of philosophy who accepts three young men Cheung Hon-chung (Bryant Mak), Tsui Pak-keung (Brian Chan), and Szema Chi-chuen (Neo Yau) as his disciples. The four become famous ghost-busting fighters, and soon get recruited by the secret police unit “Seventh Assault Team” to solve a serious of supernatural cases. It was during this time when he meets the triad boss “Ghost Sing” (Michael Tao), who is also a traditional Chinese physician.
Psycho Detective 2 combines elements of traditional Chinese mythology, Taoism, and Mao Shan teachings. In addition to the 1980’s background, the drama is reminiscent of the vampiric films that starred Lam Ching-ying (林正英), including The Musical Vampire <音樂殭屍>, Mr. Vampire <殭屍先生>, Vampire vs. Vampire <一眉道人> and Magic Cop <驅魔警察>. Psycho Detective 2 is also regarded as ViuTV’s answer to TVB’s The Exorcist’s Meter <降魔的>.
The first episode, which aired on April 29, was only 20 minutes long. Critics have said that the short airtime is not enough to present good characterization and plot, but the chemistry of the main cast, as well as the show’s production value, was praised.
Source: HK01.com
This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.
The first Psycho Detective series didn’t have a star-studded cast but was still well-received so this prequel probably will do well too. I heard that Michael Tao plays a villain in the series, which in a way is kind of going back to his roots, since he did a lot of villain roles back in the 80s/early 90s but stopped after he became popular with the DIF franchise. Not many artists are able to portray villain roles convincingly nowadays (all the ones who do it well are veterans pretty much, which says something about the lack of talent currently)…I personally don’t plan on watching this, since I’m not into supernatural series (didn’t watch Exorcist’s Meter either), but ViuTV has been putting in good effort the past 2 years trying to establish their footing in the industry and though they have a long ways to go still, I appreciate the progress they’ve made so far.
By the way, I’ve been meaning to say this for awhile: I think it’s awesome that, more and more, this site is actually profiling HK series outside of those from TVB (i.e. ones from ViuTV, Fox Asia, and various web series)! Of course, the lion’s share of the articles are still TVB-related but at least the effort is being made to branch out a bit more and cover more non-TVB related stuff. The days where HK entertainment is dominated primarily by TVB are long gone so it’s great to see sites like this reflect that – especially given that there are so few sites nowadays dedicated to HK entertainment in English (most of the good ones have shut down). Yes, this site is not perfect and I’m sure each of us have our own gripes about what we like or don’t like (which of course is perfectly fine), but I think in the overall scheme of things, most of us are grateful that there is still a platform that us HK entertainment fans can still turn to and have (for the most part) decent conversations (and all the opinions that come with it — good, bad, or indifferent)….though yes, just like any other discussion forum, there are bound to be opposing opinions and conflicts between fans of different artists and people who are just here to stir the pot, etc. but that’s just how it is. Anyways, great job to @jayne and her team! Hopefully you guys keep up the variety in content that we’ve been seeing in recent months…after all, there is more to HK entertainment than just TVB!
@llwy12
I plan to watch this series as soon as I can find the content. Good to see that you’re still hanging around here. Your insight and thoughts are always welcome.
@anon Try ViuTV’s website, as that’s where I had watched their programs initially – though I did try to go in a few weeks ago and could no longer access without using vpn, so I think they may have changed it so that only those in the HK region can access….not watching this one but I still plan on checking out the Sheren Tang / Sunny Chan series so we’ll see…
LOL..thanks! Yes, still hanging around, but mostly in the shadows….not posting as much anymore though (pretty much only commenting when I feel it’s necessary for me to do so)…
@anon
You can type “Psycho Detective 2 watch online” in the Google search box to find online sites to easily stream the show free of charge and without using VPN.
@llwy12 “Of course, the lion’s share of the articles are still TVB-related but at least the effort is being made to branch out a bit more and cover more non-TVB related stuff.”
As you noted, Hong Kong entertainment has evolved in recent years due to the breakdown of the TVB monopoly. Due to online broadcasting medium and Netflix, the audience for Hong Kong dramas can grow to reach a broader market. I hope the success of “The Defected” will make TVB continue to reach a higher production standard.
ViuTV’s recent high-profile dramas come at just the right time to offer greater diversity into the mix.
While many are pessimistic about TVB’s future relevancy, it’s interesting to see what they will do next in an attempt to retain its significance.
JayneStars will continue to offer diverse news coverage as best as possible. Thanks for lending your insight and adding more dimension to the discussions!