“The Queen of News” Sets Off Netizen Discussions
Evoking discussions on its portrayal the news industry, the latest episode of TVB Anniversary Drama The Queen of News <新聞女王> saw news anchors Sister Man (Charmaine Sheh 佘詩曼) and George (Kenneth Ma 馬國明) locked in a heated exchange over what constitutes news, during the coverage of a knife incident.
Charmaine and Kenneth Face Off
Opposed to sensationalism, Sister Man insisted on checking if the protagonist really did have a real a gun on him, and maintained that news should ‘educate’ rather than ‘entertain’. As Cathy’s (Samantha Ko 高海寧) interview was affected by signal interference, Sister Man speculated that the outburst might be in an area with high-frequency radio waves. She decisively teamed up with Ka-yin (Selena Lee 李施嬅) at the scene in an impactful cover, scoring a victory over George.
With her strong career-centered persona resonating with viewers, one of Charmaine’s onscreen lines ‘Let me teach you what live broadcasting is all about’ went viral online. Even Gigi Lai (黎姿), her former co-star in hit drama War and Beauty <金枝慾孽>, jumped in and commented on Charmaine’s Instagram post, “So cool! I want to watch it”, while Kenneth Ma played along and commented in mock horror, “When (sis) Man gets angry, it’s no small matter”. Commenting on Sister Man’s popularity, the drama’s producer, Chung Shu Kai (鍾澍佳) said that Charmaine’s casting was integral to the role, and revealed how the actress’s “big sister” caring behaviors on set endears her to her co-workers. “She might not say much, but shows her concern through actions, this is very much like Wen Hui Xin, who appears cold but is warm inside”.
Side Characters Win Praise
Despite limited screen time, veteran actor Lee Kwok-Lun (李國麟), who plays a mentally ill patient, and his onscreen daughter, played by newbie actress and Miss HK runner-up Celina Harto (陳楨怡) had viewers gripped and won compliments.
Celina, who was praised for her improvement in several intense scenes including breaking down and being held hostage, said “My scenes were very challenging due to the huge shifts in emotions and all being intense scenes,” Grateful to Lee for quickly making her believe that he was her father, Celina recalled how she could not help but cry when she saw him welding a knife upon entering the room on set!
Sharing that he was very afraid of accidentally hurting her with the knife, and yet had to deliver a convincing performance on camera, on top of coordinating on many aspects, the onscreen father and daughter pair remained on high alert throughout the scene, and were drenched in sweat by the end.
Color me impressed so far, TVB!!
I’m only on episode 3, waiting on hubby for episode 4, but it’s so twisty, morally and ethically gray that I LOVE it so far.
Charmaine is in her zone in this drama and this will def help her clinch Best Actress, because she’s such a b1tch and likeable badass that you can’t help but be impressed
There are still some cliche tropes like the pervert, unfavorable villains, and cross double-crossing, but they all serve the plot so im hooked
Double crossing is very cliche indeed. Could have done a more sophisticated job revealing it. Good show though. Breath of fresh air from typical tvb trash production
HongKong TV at its best… This drama does keep me hooked up!
This series is overly-dramatic, unrealistic, cliche and full of troupes but it’s super entertaining! The only thing I resent was that all the press I read from Jaynstars about this series claimed it was a comedy so I jumped expecting to have a good laugh. The only funny thing about it is how unrealistically dramatic it is.
I wouldn’t watch it if it was a comedy. It is overly dramatic, could have been more subtle like American tv
It would have been a completely different show if it were a comedy. Where or no it would have still been entertaining is a different story. I’m just concerned about the poor journalism. Why did all the press claim it was a comedy? How can we keep trusting Jaynestars if they can’t even get the genre of a series right?
Watched first 2 ep. In a way HK news is usually dominated by taxi crashes, bus crashes, that part is accurate. We won’t ever see China stuff.
I really like it but I do agree some parts are too dramatic. However, I don‘t think it ruins the show. Charmaine, Selena, and Samantha are excellent in it. Regina is so annoying, I wish they casted someone else. I’m not sure about Venus yet. Kenneth is Kenneth, nothing special. I never thought he was a good villian. Charmaine and Selena are definitely the stars. Overall, it is probably one of the best shows in a while.
Best TVB drama of 2023, Charmaine is a shoe in for best TVB actress, no one comes close, Selena is very good too, she’s a contender too for best actress.
I reckon they could do a duel best actress winner to both Charmaine & Selena.
I think Charmaine had a lot of fun in this drama – I can see her spark again (even though I’m still stuck on episode 3.) That might change as the episodes go on.
I used to think Selena was pretty bland, but I changed my mind when I saw her in “Ghost Dragon of Cold Mountain.” From that point on, I knew she had the acting chops. I felt she deserved to win Best Actress for that drama alone, but her competition was tough and ultimately it went to Charmaine. I didn’t think she deserved it for LW, but it was a really popular drama and Charmaine had clout. I hope Selena makes more of an impact in this drama.
I’m on ep 2 and i feel like I’m watching PR war more than news war. Also why do I wish to see Man to just fall flat on her face? I find ALL the characters annoying so I hope Man does fall flat and how she climbs back up. HK’s biggest news according to this series in ep 2 is a bus accident and a hospital charity board. Wow, exciting. Will we see real news? China? politics? Or is this series good for small non essential matter? Even the bus accident coverage shows how ruthless they all are. People lying there injured and our news people just film and film. I do enjoy the show but it is triviliasing news by making it more makjang than actual broadcast news. For that, Trillion Game on upped this series in a similar scene. Oh and the bed scene? Lots of neck neck but not much kiss kiss. Im bored.
1 thing I don’t get. Why is the educated, handsome, ENGLISH speaking Shaun Tam cast as a crippled mechanic? Why is he never the professional?