Shaun Tam Replaces Kenneth Ma as “Forensic Heroes IV” Lead
The production of Forensic Heroes IV <法證先鋒> has been in the rumor mill for quite a while now, and when producer Mui Siu-ching (梅小青) shared a cryptic social media post about doing research for the show last November, she indirectly confirmed that TVB has already green lit a fourth installment.
Following Producer Mui’s “confirmation”, news sources started reporting that TVB was in talks to cast Kenneth Ma (馬國明) and Joey Meng (萬綺雯) in the lead. However Joey, who is currently on an acting hiatus, appears to be no longer in the running.
Earlier this month, it was reported that TVB has booked Shaun Tam (譚俊彥) as the second male lead, while Selena Lee (李施嬅) and Jacqueline Wong (黃心穎) are booked for female leads. This story has since changed, however—when curious netizens reached out to Producer Mui about the cast, the producer said Kenneth would not be on the show.
Many Kenneth fans were disappointed to hear that their idol was booted out and called out TVB for mistreatment. A source then reported that Shaun, who is rising in popularity, will now carry the show without another male lead.
Kenneth’s fans aren’t the only disappointed viewers. Many netizens who have been followers of the Forensic Heroes franchise pointed out that the show has always had multiple leads with a star-studded cast. Having only three leads would put Forensic Heroes IV as the weakest show in the franchise. Many netizens also agreed with Kenneth’s fans, believing in the mistreatment theory. Others believed that Kenneth stepped down from the show after hearing that Shaun would be made first lead.
The Forensic Heroes franchise started in 2006 with Bobby Au-yeung (歐陽震華), Frankie Lam (林文龍), Yoyo Mung (蒙嘉慧), and Linda Chung (鍾嘉欣). The sequel—with the additions of Kevin Cheng (鄭嘉穎) and Charmaine Sheh (佘詩曼), was released in 2008. A reboot, Forensic Heroes III, was released in 2011, which starred Wayne Lai (黎耀祥), Maggie Cheung (張可頤), Ron Ng (吳卓羲), Kate Tsui (徐子珊), Ruco Chan (陳展鵬), and Nancy Wu (胡定欣).
Source: HK01.com
This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.
this series is going to be a big flop, it’s gonna get many critism when it comes out. how do 3 leads carry this drama? esp with only one male lead?
I wished they bring back Bobby and Frankie it’s just not the same without these two. I wonder if Shaun is going to be the police or the forensic team? Feel sorry for Kenneth and I’m sure he has more fans than Shaun.
@cutie777 I totally agree with you…bobby does a fantastic job as forensic head. he has that kind of charisma and aura. in fact, I watched the series a few times.
why in the world did tvb replace Kenneth ma just like that? I am giving it a miss. shaun is so stone in his role in 天命.
@cutie777 yup without those two its not Forensic Heroes anymore. How can these 3 actors pull it off ?? Or i’d rather see Madam Mui in Dr.Koo novel comes out as a female lead with talented-new-faced actress. Seems impossible cough**
As a long time fan of TVB I feel sad and angry at the same time at their obvious and intentional suicidal acts one after one. Why don’t they just shut down the station already if they don’t wanna do this thing anymore.
@kaykay408
I agree, tvb is a joke. I’ll be surprised if they are still around by 2040. If they are, they will be broadcasting mainland dramas and HK news 24/7 with simplified Chinese subtitles with zero in-house productions.
The current management is just milking every cent for what they are worth. I’m certain that tvb will dissolve like ATV. It’s just a matter of time.
I don’t know how TVB actually casts their members for dramas, but they should do it like Hollywood and have their artists audition for roles. I feel like there’s always lack of chemistry between members or talent in acting.
I actually don’t care much and don’t think it is so bad since this may be a hit or miss. Because TVB sequels are always bad, and from experience, the higher the number, the worse it turns out to be. I love Kenneth and I prefer he gets some other work instead that is not a sequel.
Given it is Mui Siu Ching again, Alice Chan may join this series. I may watch this if Alice Chan is in it. Glad to know that Shaun and Selena are pairing up again.
I would love to watch if only they can bring back Bobby for the show. Bobby is convincing as the forensic expert…& i prefer him over Wayne Lai (although i do like Wayne) or any other actor to act as the first male lead for the Forensic Heroes franchise.
TVB can create a new storyline for Bobby, and pair him with Alice Chan or any other suitable female lead. Meanwhile, i do like the pairing of Shaun and Selena again and don’t mind to watch them as second leads in FH IV.
Damn it. I’m a fan of the Forensic Heroes franchise but I’m not too impressed by Shaun so far. I would still watch if the other casts members were appealing but the names mentioned here do not interest me at all. Feeling disappointed.
@birdy2415 I was a fan of the original FH, but as usual, TVB butchered things with their sequels. FH2 was already kind of bad because they added Kevin and Charmaine and so the original cast (Bobby, Frankie, Yoyo, Linda) was pushed back more into support roles, then when they changed the cast completely in FH3, they ruined the franchise further (I love Wayne but sorry, Bobby was irreplaceable in his role!). I’m against making a sequel period but seeing what the cast is going to look like got FH IV, this is a huge step down. Mui Siu Ching and Lau Ka Ho need to stop making sequels and further ruining past franchises…but then again, they were re-hired by TVB primarily to rehash their past successes so I guess in a way they are merely doing their jobs…..
I am hoping and praying that MSC and LKH don’t start rebooting their classics from the 80s and 90s (which I can totally see as possibly being the next step when they run out of recent franchises to milk)….once that happens, that’s probably when I will really start boycotting TVB, lol.
@llwy12 I was a fan of the original too. FH2 had some good cases, even though I wasn’t a fan of the Kevin & Charmaine drama
FH3 had lost what was originally good about the series. The forensics was filmed just looked “cool”, but it felt pointless since the cases were dull and predictable.
FH3 felt more drama than police procedural, but it had a strong enough cast to keep viewers watching.
I’m hoping FH4 will focus more on police procedure instead of drama.
@birdy2415 i’m crazy over forensic heroes…watched the 3 series a few times. frankie is wonderful as the pathologist. the best forensic head is bobby. even wayne can’t do it as well as him. to make things worse, I never like wayne.
@janet72 I really like Wayne but his role was so dull. Other than being cleaver, there was nothing else about him. I felt like all the characters in FH3 were quite 2-dimensional. I was pleasantly surprised at Kate’s character, that’s all.
I recently rewatched FH1 and it’s so good. The characters were well written. Even the supporting characters.
I expect TVB will start filming the sequel of ‘The Exorcist’s Meter’ in early 2019. It could be much better than this role. Not only TVB has problem with part 1,2,3,4 etc of the same drama. Hollywood has the same problem. The most obvious one was Jaws. Jaws in 1975 was fantastic. Jaws 2 was awful and boring. Jaws 3 was miserable. And Jaws 4 (3D) was unwatchable.
@lewismcchan, very true, very true…
are you serious TVB, I know you been cutting budget on filming drama but for a franchise serie such as Forensic Heroes is unforgivable, I am already sad with Bobby leaving the franchise but Wayne did great and manage well with the reboot.
This is beyond stupid with only 3 leads definitely the weakest leak and will flop big time and after you know what TVB will put the blame on the writers and staffs and the serie will be dead “RIP” for good.
I like him, but the female casts are not lead starus to me.
If in fact, Kenneth was mistreated then very bad of TVB, if Kenneth stepped down then good for him. Why would it surprise anyone with TVB – favoring certain actors and actresses. TVB hasn’t had success when sequels, which is true… The most successful series was the 壹號皇庭 – file of justice franchise, as far as rating… Other than that, anything with a sequel, hasn’t had success especially with parts 3 or 4.. If TVB putting together the sequel for “The Exorcist’s Meter” then yes, it would be a better role for Kenneth. Will see….