Selena Lee, Joel Chan Will Return for “Barrack O’Karma” Season 2 If TVB Agrees to Their Terms
The popular TVB supernatural horror series Barrack O’Karma <金宵大廈> aired its grand finale on Sunday, October 13th, and many fans are sad to see the series go, including our favorite leads.
Starring Selena Lee (李施嬅) and Joel Chan (陳山聰), Barrack O’Karma is a story about karma, destiny, and fate. It centers on the characters living in the mysterious Twilight Mansion, where current and past souls intermingle.
Originally scheduled to air once a week on Sunday, Barrack O’Karma was not meant to be as big of a hit as it is today. It is not only Joel’s first drama as lead actor, but also one of Selena’s last productions as a TVB artiste. Earlier this year, she opted out of renewing her TVB contract, ending her 15-year relationship with the broadcasting giant.
With both stars busy with other projects, reuniting for a second season will be difficult. But Selena and Joel have already set out their terms for returning, and now it just takes TVB to honor it.
Expressing her interest in returning, Selena said, “As I’ve already signed with a different agency, I have other jobs I’m obligated to do. If a season 2 does come, we would have to discuss about the logistics of our collaboration. I hope that the original cast and crew will return also.”
Selena did not request for an increase in fee. Her only requirements are to see the original cast and crew return, as well as an increase in production budget.
“I have confidence in the producer and writers,” she said.
Producer Yip Chun-fai (葉鎮輝) and writer Ruby Law (羅佩清) also expressed an interest in writing the sequel. “TVB has mentioned the idea to us, but we would need to write a completely new story,” said the producer. “We haven’t thought about what that new story would be. The story of the first season is over. There will be no continuation of that, but there is more room for new stories.”
Source: HKET.com
This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.
Man, Selena is too nice! I reckon almost any other actor would have asked for an increase in pay!!!
Very nice of her! This series was really good. The only ties would be the black cat, Teacher Lam… as the story continues. Looking forward for some creativity since the 1st one was such a success.
Spoiler below:
So wtf everyone has a happy ending BUT Raj and Ching Ching? They reverted their happy ending… They got unmarried and she became flirty…like what? Also, what happened to Professor Lam??
@jjwong ikr!!! I was kinda upset about that they were the best couple after Alex and Ah Siu. It’s as if Ching Ching became Mary this time around haha. It’s also weird how Raj is a chef now and Ching Ching’s father is now a policeman. The roles reversed. Also Yuki is now blind?! – I guess that’s better tbh now she doesn’t have to obsess over her youth and beauty..
I wonder if the Twilight Mansion is still got that mysterious quirk. It probably disappeared. Also I wonder why Old man Lam and young self is standing at the roof stroking the cat.
@oligodendrocytes
Agree that Alex and ah Siu was the best couple. Much better than the Yuk Fai-Coco combination since Yuk Fai was a greedy flawed character. Ting Ting-Wa Wa was ok but the wooden acting of the Indian actor didn’t give Gloria Tang much to work with. First time I have been impressed with Kelly Cheung and her natural playful acting combining well in the underdog love story with Jazz Lam. Therefore Jazz-Kelly will have to be my 2nd favourite couple. The worst couple by a huge distance has to be Billie Luk-Zoie Tam. Billy is out of his depth when he moves away from his comedic scenes. It was awkward between the pair throughout with zero chemistry that it was difficult to justify how Carmem gave up the rich guy partner to get back with Choi San
@jimmyszeto Agree with the relationship between Billie Luk and Zoie Tam. I felt the story was kinda stupid and they had no chemistry at all. But at least it lightened the mood up a bit from some of the dark sad endings of the other stories.
I think the Indian actor did an okay job there’s still room for improvement. He’s basically a substitute for the old time Q Bobo. He’s gotten recognised for his role where some people actually know his Chinese name which is really nice.
I do hope that Gloria Tang gets more roles in the future of prominent characters because I think she’s a good actress and is likeable.
@oligodendrocytes I think Ching Ching’s father became security of the building, not police. But how do you know Raj & Ching Ching werent married?
@jjwong Yes, that was a bit annoying that they were no longer together.
@oligodendrocytes I was also confused about how young and old Lam were together. Did he invest as Joel instructed and became a millionaire? Is he still a dangerous creature? Did Joel come back for the pictures? And what was the cat? I had thought it was going to represent someone. I had also thought Selena was going to drown in the water tank or something. Wouldn’t the building still be haunted? How did they break the curse?
@potatochip @oligodendrocytes
I was hoping there’s more to the cat too! but nope it was simply there to be the ‘similar’ trait/connection between last and current life. Pity, really, because it’s essentially an immortal cat if it indeed is still alive after 50 years!
And yea, thought I would’ve been better if CoCo did die in the water tower too, which explain the eery pipes and how CoCo and Alex are tied to the Mansion.
So, what was the point of burying young young young Lam alive? I mean he came back as a beast so did that mean he’s always been a beast? Or was he cursed because of Twilight Mansion? Then again there was no TW when they buried him. I would think TW is still cursed and has its quirk because Lam was buried regardless what the new future is.
This is not simply an ‘open ended’ ending or intentionally make it ambiguous. It seems they simply forgot about the significant of the cat, water pipes, and closing the loop on TW origin. Lol, typical. All started great, meh middle (at least not so bluntly useless fillers as 99% of their series), and disappointing ending.
Imagine with Selena, they need bigger production budget. Lam beast mode is a joke. Other monsters could’ve been better done. Overall, I enjoyed it until Selena and Joel storyline got draggy and unrelated to the other tenants. They had no interaction with Jazz and Kelly story at all.
@jjwong I had an idea that the cat was a significant person. Like an actual human being in a cats body. Maybe in relation to Teacher Lam. There were times where Old Lam was speaking to the cat with lots of hatred that he could’ve got rid of it long time ago. And also how he turns into a beast all cat like with claws? Gave me an idea that he’s some sort of descent and relative to the cat. Sad that the writers didn’t give an actual storyline to the cat explaining everything. That’ll be great. I also agree with the pipes. It would’ve been better if she died in the water tower.
In a recent interview the screenwriters said at the ending when Old and Young Lam were standing at the roof stroking the cat were to be guardians and protect the new Alex and Ah Siu.
Its a shame that the screenwriters in the end only focused on Ah Siu and Alex’s relationship (although I’m a shipper). But knowing the background of the entire Twilight Mansion, the significance of the cat and relation to Lam and in general. (Also anyone wondered after that glasses guy dude living next door what happened to him? He had no story after besides giving back the toy to Mia in the end lolol)
Maybe in the sequel they’ll give us the answers missing. But they said they’ll make new stories. So I’m excited for that!
@jjwong The beast mode felt like Split, but cheaper. and yeah in the end what happened to the old man? Died? Gone?
@funnlim Ha, I see the knock-off resemblence now that you mentioned it. Now James McA, phew, he’s a much more convincing and a buttload better actor lol. The actor of young Lam seems promising though. Hope he improves and makes it.
@oligodendrocytes Yea, it would’ve been nice to give a story to the cat too.
I get subtle hints BUT what the writers said about old/young Lam is new guardian is utter lazy writing. Who the heck would ever get that? What does that even mean? Since when there was ever mention of a guardian and watching over the two? Lol. Silly explanation.
Oh yea, they never explained any history or background on that Mia-guy at all! I think his new ending is a happier one because he finally confronts her in person, which is a big step in the previous alternate timeline.
I’m not excited about a sequel, whether related to this one or not. TVB always eff up “pre/sequel” with no rhyme or reason. I don’t care if the same cast comes back either. I enjoyed watching their performances and they somewhat executed and even shined a little in their role, I don’t ship any pair, main one included. They all lack chemistry; at least they didn’t sell it for me.
It’s still one of the better, fresh-er series I can stomach through. So yay.
@potatochip seems like Lam did invest because he was no longer inside the building (he left and didnt spend his life there lonely). Maybe the young version of himself that stood next to him is his son! So he probably got married & moved on with his life.
@jjwong how do you know Raj & Ching Ching werent married?
I enjoyed this series a lot, it was something worth watching from tvb in a long time.
The thing I wanted to know is who the old lady (man?) is that pushed Ah Siu into the water with the cart. They zoomed in on the ‘culprit’ face so I thought it was a significant character.
I thought the series was a complete mess. Individually the actors are ok but together they had zero chemistry and i never got the impression they were meant to be together or are destined for love. Most parts made no sense within their own logic. Song is nice but mandarin version sounds gibberish. I don;t want to see these 2 together again. I’d rather different partners. the love was never heartfelt, it was more like going thru the motions. And Coco and Alex may be reincarnated persons but they are still 2 different persons. So did he love Coco or did he love Alex? And I didn’t care. It just never felt genuine.