“Line Walker 3” to Air in September
Filmed last year, Line Walker 3 <使徒行者> has been waiting for an opportune broadcast date. With TVB’s recent decision to air the police thriller in late September/ early October during the favored fall season which is usually reserved for grand productions, Raymond Lam‘s (林峯) comeback drama is already drumming up talk that the station is priming him for TV King.
Hoping to generate more hype for Line Walker 3, TVB will re-broadcast Line Walker: The Prelude <使徒行者2> in the midnight time slot starting this week, and follow up with Line Walker <使徒行者>. Previously, TVB had also aired earlier installments of Forensic Heroes <法證先鋒> to prepare for broadcast of the fourth installment. However, TVB’s midnight time slots are usually reserved for re-runs of classic dramas at least a decade old, such as the 17- year-old The King of Yesterday and Tomorrow <九五至尊> which finished its re-broadcast on Wednesday.
The unprecedented move to air a recent drama such as 2014’s Line Walker: The Prelude is regarded as the station’s intention to create anticipation for the upcoming Line Walker 3 and put Raymond in the limelight. Ending his TVB contract in 2014 and signing with Emperor Entertainment Group (EEG) to venture into the music and film industries, Line Walker was Raymond’s last series with TVB and regarded as his best shot at TV King. Though he eventually lost the award to Roger Kwok (郭晉安) for Black Heart White Soul <忠奸人>, Raymond is regarded to have a good shot at the award again this year with Line Walker 3.
Resuming his role as undercover police officer Bao Seed, Raymond will be joined by returning and new cast members in the latest installment. Line Walker 3 features a strong ensemble cast consisting of Michael Miu (苗僑偉), Kenneth Ma (馬國明), Benz Hui (許紹雄), Mandy Wong (黃智雯), Sisley Choi (蔡思貝), Priscilla Wong (黃翠如), Benjamin Yuen (袁偉豪), and Pakho Chau (周柏豪).
Source: HK01
This article is written by Kiki for JayneStars.com.
Ooof Benjamin is taking more and more of a backseat in his roles it seems.
It’ll be interesting how they will converge the plots from 1 and 2. I hope they did not cut Pakho’s screentime.
They can hand the BA over to Raymond now 😀 hopefully Kenneth can show that he can really act in this one. In my opinion his acting is mediocre but he has experience.
@bubbles23 Ben isn’t very good in serious roles, still stiff. I did like him in this flirty, playful role in LW2, but he has been pushed back to supporting it seems. Even Mat Yeung and Matthew Ho have more lead role series than him.
@potatochip i agree. He loses his charm in serious roles. He’s not particularly handsome so he’s gotta work on his characterization. I was surprised he’s essentially third lead now in the series with Kara Hui.
@bubbles23
I think the timeline is between end of prelude to start of line walker 1
Plus there are flashback scenes as shiga Lin is in this and she died in episode 1 of prelude
@mulder99 ohh good to know. You are so well informed
LW 2 wasn’t very good poor storyline and some actors i don’t like
I didnt like LW2. So I’m excited to LW3 and raymond lam!! Miss him!!
Lol strong ensemble cast, then proceed to list Mandy Wong & Sisley Choi. If TVB would redefine/realize just because they throw anyone and everyone as an avtor/actress dies not qualify them as possessing the talent to actually act. Neither of these two would get any acting jobs outside the safety net of TVB.
@seriously
Agreed
@seriously I prefer Mandy over the 3 (Mandy, Sisley, Priscilla).
I am cynical, but I think Raymond has Best Actor in the bag. This series is more to determine if Priscilla or Mandy is going to get Best Actress. Priscilla to carry the momentum from Life After Death, Mandy because she is due.
@potatochip I mean really, who else. Michael Miu and Benz are past their time (even though Benz was so popular as foon hei). The A Listers at tvb have gotten it, and the newer actors like Shaun aren’t quite there yet.
Performances aside, I think it’s going to Mandy. 1) not much competition 2) TVB doesn’t promote married actresses (how sexist right) 3) no Selena this year lol. Plus, Pris still got a bunch of haters so between those two, tvb will reward Mandy. Honestly wish there will be another competitor for this category.
@potatochip Not sure about in the bag, he is definitely the favorite considering everyone is excited for his return. But since he doesn’t have a contract under tvb I am not sure if tvb is willing to give him the award. I also think he needs to attend the awards ceremony, because majority of people who doesn’t attend the ceremony won’t get any awards.
@potatochip Agree totally! Ah Fung is due that one (Best actor Award) from way back! Hate all the politics behind the selection process! He should have won in LW1….. #RaymondLam
Can’t wait fir LW3
@ace818 I liked LW and Raymond in it, but in typical Jazz Boon fashion, the second half went off the rails. It is hard to adjust your acting to inconsistent storyline and he faltered them.
@potatochip Agree totally! Ah Fung is due that one (Best actor Award) from way back! Hate all the politics behind the selection process! He should have won in LW1….. #RaymondLam
Can’t wait fir LW3
Don’t like both Mandy and Sisley
If Raymond Lam doesn’t win BA, who else can of his generation?
RL isn’t a great actor by any stretch but compared to what TVB considers as ‘actors’ these daya and what they currently have in their pool of male leads (50 years old and younger). He’s arguably the best actor TVB has.
Pretty much anyone who is capable and talented has already left. You can even make the argument that RL is the best actor that came out of his generation (Bosco, Samuel, Ron, etc.)
RL is in a class of his own when you consider his acting skills, appearance and marketability.
No I’m not a RL fan but just realistic. Outside of TVB, RL is a dime a dozen in the mainland. TVB is lucky that they have RL back.
@anon
Lol I agree, since all capable actors have left TVB, by default Raymond Lam is the best actor
@anon Yes…not a big fan of Raymond Lam….but he is popular and better than any of the current TVB actor…..TVB must have offered him a good deal to lure him back to them!!
@anon i used to like ray so much in the early 2000s. I thought he did very well for his early roles and this man can cry. However, late 2000s he began to loss his edge in acting and acted chok. It doesn’t help that tvb keeps promoting this chok image. A bit of chokness is okay but keep throwing that at me made me fall out of love with him. That aside， this man acts best in sad scenes
@dreamer agreed that Raymond is good in emotional scenes especially crying. But his chokness “overpower” his acting… overall, he was ok in LW1 but more like good chemistry with Charmaine
@dreamer @bennyjr agreed…RL’s chokness destroyed his acting. I was a huge fan once upon a time, now I am just disappointed
I tried to edit my last post, but realized that I can’t.
I will definitely check this series out. This will be the only TVB drama I’ll try to watch this year, and will likely finish from beginning to end.
I hope this will be a series worth watching, just wish Charmaine Sheh is in it too
@hbc1 Agree, Charmaine added humor to Line Walker. Priscilla and Sisley are so boring. I dont see them being funny or anything like that in Line Walker 3
@hbc1
Charmaine not being in it will be a disappointment cause Mandy, Sisley and Priscilla aren’t even on the same discussion as Charmaine.
@hbc1 That’s so true!! Charmaine and Raymond had so much chemistry! Too bad she could not join LW3! Looking forward to watching the series especially Ah Fung!
Honestly very excited for this. I recently rewatched the first one and remembering how much I liked it.
Raymond for TV king because that’s the story TVB wants to tell but hoping Kenneth does a good job as the villain.
I really liked bens character in the second one so I hope he continues with that. Agree with some of these comments that he isn’t great in serious roles.
Pakho is gradually maturing into a good actor….if he has a good role…think he will have a chance for the award in the near future.
Hope Kenneth Ma will get the award someday!!
@applelim Didn’t Kenneth Ma already won beat actor?
@tencents *best
@tencents yes. last year
Nice that they added Mandy priscilla and Pakho i like all 3 pf them not of fan of Sisley or Raymond tho i hope it have a good storyline this time
Was really excited for a sequel after LW1, then LW2 halved the expectation and now LW3 without Charmaine, but instead Sisley and Priscilla as female lead, I think this drama is over. Honestly LW1 is the best. Raymond and Charmaine’s acting really hit the point.
Michael Miu is hoping someone will just mention his name in any awards. The guy is in so many recent hits and sequels, has so much screen time even as supporting role, but yet never gets mentioned as best actor in any role.
@mike He did won best actor in the Malaysia awards in 2017. I agree, he is definitely a must watch in his dramas, those drama are quite good. But I don’t think he really care about awards, he just likes to act in general.
@mike
Interesting how you bring this up. Michael Miu has always been known as the weakest tiger (in terms of acting) of the “Five Tiger Generals” back in the ’90s.
I don’t think his acting has improved much since. Just goes to show many HK audiences don’t really know what good acting is, and it’s not entirely your fault. The HK entertainment industry has been dying for over 20 years.
@anon My least favorite of the 5 was Kent Tong. I know Kent was regarded as the most handsome, but I thought Michael was more attractive with his tall build and squared jawline. To me, Michael was second weakest in acting, but his charisma and screen presence made up for it. He had the best chemistry with Barbara so that probably helped increase my fondness for him.
@potatochip not too Long ago, my friends and I wondered out loud about How Barbara would be now should she not passed on……
@conan2209 I wonder too. Such a great loss. Looking back, she had this deep, quiet sadness in her emotional scenes which made one empathize with her. These were probably her real life demons. She was able to play the full range of emotions.
Maybe TVB should award Michael Mui instead as Best Actor as Cheuk Sir is theoretically the main character for all LW sequel.
Anyway, knowing TVB- it’s so predictable that RL will get Best Actor award this year. RL won’t film TVB drama for no reason. Just hope he won’t display his “chok” expression.
Yeah have to agree, without Charmaine won’t be as good…