The Lead
The Lead | |
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第一主角 | |
Genre | Drama Media Industry Romance Period |
Written by | Phang Kai Yee 彭凯毅 Lim Gim Lan 林锦兰 |
Directed by | Loo Yin Yam 卢燕金 Oh Liang Cai 胡凉财 Lin Mei Na 林美娜 Wong Foong Hwee 黄芬菲 |
Starring | Rebecca Lim Shaun Chen Andie Chen Julie Tan |
Opening theme | 初衷 by Tay Ping Hui |
Ending theme | 1) 谈到爱 by Ling Kai 2) 记得 by JJ Lin 3) 亲密爱人 by 王芳 |
Country of origin | Singapore |
Original language | Mandarin |
No. of episodes | 30 |
Production | |
Executive producer | Winnie Wong 王尤红 |
Production locations | Singapore Indonesia |
Running time | approx. 45 minutes (excluding advertisements) |
Original release | |
Network | Mediacorp Channel 8 |
Release | 22 May (2017-05-22) – 30 June 2017 (2017-06-30) |
The Lead (Chinese: 第一主角) is a 30-episode Singaporean drama produced and telecast on Mediacorp Channel 8. The show is Channel 8's mid-year blockbuster for 2017 to remember Mediacorp at Caldecott Hill and to celebrate 35 years of television dramas. It stars Rebecca Lim, Shaun Chen, Andie Chen and Julie Tan as main cast.[1]
Plot
Ah Zhen (Rebecca Lim) has three childhood friends, Guang Hui (Shaun Chen), De Ping (Andie Chen) and An Ya (Julie Tan). Like Ah Zhen, they also love watching drama, and yearned to be seen on the TV screen. The four friends even made a pact together: To make it big in the drama scene, to play the lead character in a drama someday!
After graduating from secondary school, the four friends joined the TV station's acting classes, and all of them, except Ah Zhen, were selected to join the TV station as actors. Even though she was disappointed, Ah Zhen refused to give up, and began a journey full of hardships in the local drama scene.
Initially Ah Zhen worked alongside her father Xiao Hu (Chen Hanwei), who was a martial art stuntman. Unfortunately she was clumsy and always got injured, so she had to switch to being an extra. But even as an extra, she always somehow got in the way and was disliked and shunned by the production team. But Ah Zhen refused to leave the TV station, and found herself a job in the Costume department.
Childhood friend Guang Hui clinched his first lead role, and An Ya and De Ping had also taken up supporting roles, yet Ah Zhen was still struggling to survive. She switched from department to department: make-up, Props, Radio... trying to find a path for herself, but it seems like she was drifting further from her original dream of becoming an actress. Luckily at that time, she met her savior, the then “Ah-jie” of local drama scene, Chen Xiang Rong (Xiang Yun), a woman whom Ah Zhen saw as her own mother. Under the help of Xiang Rong, Ah Zhen managed to get a small supporting role in her first ever drama debut.
Since then, Ah Zhen began her career as a freelance actor, taking part in a number of classic productions. But Ah Zhen was insistent in her own method of acting, which many others could not agree to. By then, Guang Hui was already a popular rising star, and An Ya was radiant and eye catching after her cosmetic procedure, so the two co-starred in a few dramas, and they became the best on screen couple of their time. Ah Zhen was happy for her friends’ achievements, but she couldn't help but feel a little heartbroken. Actually, Ah Zhen has always been fond of Guang Hui since her teenage years, but Guang Hui never really noticed her.
At the lowest point in Ah Zhen's life, and she felt like she was abandoned by the entire world. But with encouragement from her friends, she eventually got up on her feet again. This time, Ah Zhen decided to focus on her job behind the scenes instead!
Working as the assistant producer was the turning point of Ah Zhen's life. As she had worked in various departments previously, she had contacts everywhere in the production team, making life as an AP easier. She took part in various popular dramas, and with a brush of luck, she always managed to accidentally create epic scenes in the dramas. Eventually, she worked her way up to a director.
As the years go by, many things were no longer what they used to be. The TV station separated into two competing stations, and the friendship between the four broke down. Guang Hui was leading a wasted life, gambling and drinking away, and losing money in unsuccessful investments, eventually leading to a broken family. After separating from Guang Hui, An Ya took to the international screen, but was faced with aftereffects of excessive cosmetic surgery, threatening her acting career. De Ping was involved in a sex scandal and was fired by the TV station, and even ended up in jail for 2 months.
Seeing that their friendship was severely challenged, Ah Zhen, the only one who has not changed, tried very hard to bring the other three back together. After all these ups and downs, will the perseverance of Ah Zhen eventually recover the lost friendship between them?
Ah Zhen has always been secretly loving Guang Hui, but she always misses the opportunity to bring their friendship to another level. How will their relationship end up? An Ya and Guang Hui were the promising couple, but love grew into hate, and they went separate ways, though they never truly forgotten each other. Will they ever reconcile? Ah Zhen and De Ping are friends in times of need, supporting each other faithfully through all these times. Will their relationship eventually bear fruit?
Will this complicated four-sided relationship finally come to a happy ending?
Cast
Main cast
Cast | Character | Description | Episode Appeared |
---|---|---|---|
Rebecca Lim 林慧玲 | Lin Meizhen 林美真 | Ah Zhen (阿真)
| 1, 6, 24, 27–28, 30 (Younger Version) 1- 30 |
Shaun Chen 陈泓宇 | Xie Guanghui 谢光辉 | Younger Version Portrayed by Damien Teo
| 1, 6, 11, 16, 24, 26–28, 30 (Younger Version) 1- 30 |
Andie Chen 陈邦鋆 | Hong Deping 洪德平 | Younger Version Portrayed by Ivan Lo
| 1, 6, 24, 27–28, 30 (Younger Version) 1–10, 12-30 |
Julie Tan 陈欣淇 | Fang Anya 方安雅 | Younger Version Portrayed by Toh Xin Hui
| 1, 6, 24, 27–28, 30 (Younger Version) 17 (Voice) 1–7, 9–15, 19-30 |
Supporting cast
Cast | Character | Description | Episode Appeared |
---|---|---|---|
Xiang Yun 向云 | Chen Xiangrong 陈湘蓉 |
| 1–10, 17–25, 30 |
Chen Hanwei 陈汉玮 | Lin Xiaohu 林小虎 |
| 1–6, 9-25, 30 |
Terence Cao 曹国辉 | Guo Liwei 郭立威 | Main Villain
| 10-22 |
Jasmine Sim 沈家玉 | Huang Mei Na 黄美娜 | Supporting Villain
| 14–16, 18-22 |
Cynthia Koh 许美珍 | Chen Qiulian 陈秋莲 |
| 16, 18–20, 22–23, 25, 27-28 |
Kym Ng 钟琴 | Liu Xinyu 刘心雨 |
| 19-25 |
Zheng Geping 郑各评 | Fang Guodong 方国栋 | Uncle Curly Hair (卷毛叔)
| 1–2, 4, 6–7, 9–10, 12–15, 17–21, 26-30 |
Cassendra See 薛淑珊 | Zhao Meili 赵美丽 | Auntie Fang (方姨)
| 1, 7, 10, 13–15, 17, 19, 21, 26-30 |
Jin Yinji 金银姬 | Fang Yahua 方亚华 | Guanghui's Grandmother (光辉的阿嬷)
| 1-6, 8–12, 14–15, 18, 21–23, 25-26 26-27, 30 (flashback) |
He Yingying 何盈莹 | Jing Jing 晶晶 | Villain but repented
| 19–23, 29-30 |
Michael Huang 黄仲昆 | Ma Xinghai 马兴海 |
| 1–8, 12, 15-18 |
TV Station's Celebrities/ Extras
Cast | Character | Description | Episode Appeared |
---|---|---|---|
Rebecca Lim 林慧玲 | Lin Meizhen 林美真 | See Main Cast | |
Shaun Chen 陈泓宇 | Xie Guanghui 谢光辉 | See Main Cast | |
Andie Chen 陈邦鋆 | Hong Deping 洪德平 | See Main Cast | |
Julie Tan 陈欣琪 | Fang Anya 方安雅 | See Main Cast | |
Chen Hanwei 陈汉玮 | Lin Xiaohu 林小虎 | See Supporting Cast | |
Xiang Yun 向云 | Chen Xiangrong 陈湘容 | See Supporting Cast | |
Terence Cao 曹国辉 | Guo Liwei 郭立威 | See Supporting Cast | |
Jasmine Sim 沈家玉 | Huang Meina 黄美娜 | See Supporting Cast | |
He Yingying 何盈莹 | Jing Jing 晶晶 | See Supporting Cast | |
Elizabeth Lee 李巧儿 | Xue Bing 雪冰 |
| 7-9 |
Li Wenhai 李文海 | Zheng Jiang 郑将 |
| 16-17 |
Alvin Tho 卓汉隆 |
| ||
| 17 | ||
Eugene Tay 郑建龙 |
| 5,16 | |
Fang Rong 符芳榕 | Yao Yao 瑶瑶 |
| 19-20 |
TV Station's Heads
Cast | Character | Description | Episode Appeared |
---|---|---|---|
Zheng Geping 郑各评 | Fang Guodong 方国栋 | See Supporting Cast | |
Cassendra See 薛淑珊 | Zhao Meili 赵美丽 | See Supporting Cast | |
Marcus Mok 莫健发 | Adam |
| 17–18, 25 |
Michael Huang 黃仲崑 | Ma Xinhai 马兴海 | See Supporting Cast | |
Cynthia Koh 许美珍 | Chen Qiulian 陈秋莲 | See Supporting Cast | |
Wang Yuqing 王昱清 |
| 1, 28 | |
Michelle Tay 郑荔分 |
| 8-10 | |
Wallace Ang 洪圣安 | Qiang-Ge 强哥 |
| 10–11, 16, 18 |
Uncredited |
| 28 | |
Uncredited | Mr Soh |
| 28 |
TV Station's Instructors Directors/ Reporters/ Producers
Cast | Character | Description | Episode Appeared |
---|---|---|---|
Rebecca Lim 林慧玲 | Lin Meizhen 林美真 | See Main Cast | |
Guo Liang 郭亮 | Li Wei 李伟 |
| 1-2 |
Louis Wu 伍洛毅 | Ken |
| 4-5 |
Ryan Lian 廖永谊 | No Role |
| 7 |
Tay Ping Hui 郑斌辉 | Himself |
| 13-14 |
Chase Tan 陈锦宏 | Chase |
| 18–19, 21-24 |
Kenneth Chung 钟坤华 | No Role |
| 19 |
CKay Lim 林志强 | Xu Zhiguang 许志光 |
| 19–22, 27-28 |
Bukoh Mary 巫许玛莉 | Mary |
| 27 |
Fraser Tiong 张家奇 | No Role |
|
Others
Cast | Character | Description | Episode Appeared |
---|---|---|---|
Zhu Xiufeng 朱秀凤 | Sister E 鹅姐 |
| 3-4 |
Jaslyn Theen 汤妙玲 | Lin Bixia 林碧霞 | Villain
| 10-16 |
Hu Wensui 胡问遂 | Villain
| 12-15 | |
Benjamin Tan 陈俊铭 | Eric Hong | Villain
| 12–13, 22, 26-28 |
Charlie Goh 吴清樑 | Jack | Villain
| 20-26 |
Dylan Quek 郭景豪 | Jay | Villain
| 20-26 |
Teo Sili 张思丽 | Auntie Hong 洪婶 |
| 22, 27 |
Hoong Kuo Juey 洪国锐 | Uncle Hong 洪叔 |
| 22, 27 |
Larry Low 刘龙伟 | Xiao Ma 小马 |
| 23 |
Nick Teo 张鈞淯 | Deng Yongkang 邓永康 |
| 25 |
Uncredited | Mr Li 李先生 |
| 26-28 |
Uncredited | No Role |
| 27-28 |
Alston Yeo 杨峻毅 | No Role |
| 27 |
Original Sound Track (OST)
No. | Song Title | Singer(s) |
---|---|---|
1) | 初衷 (Main Song for the series) | Tay Ping Hui |
2) | 谈到爱 | Ling Kai |
3) | 记得 | JJ Lin 林俊杰 |
4) | 亲密爱人 | 王芳 |
Awards and nominations
The Lead is up for 5 nominations.
The other drama serials also nominated for Best Theme Song nomination with Dear DJ, Life Less Ordinary , Dream Coder & When Duty Calls.
It won 3 out of 5 nominations. It swept almost all the awards except for Best Director and Best Theme Song.
The Star Awards are presented by Mediacorp.
Star Awards – Performance Awards | |||
---|---|---|---|
Accolades | Nominees | Category | Result |
Star Awards 2018 Creative Achievement Award Ceremony 专业奖项颁奖礼 | Loo Yin Yam 卢燕金 | Best Director 最佳导演 | Nominated |
Star Awards – Acting Awards | |||
---|---|---|---|
Accolades | Nominees | Category | Result |
Star Awards 2018 Awards Ceremony 红星大奖2018颁奖礼 | Damien Teo 张值豪 | Young Talent Award 青苹果奖 | Nominated |
Isabel Yamada 山田熙 | Won | ||
Tay Ping Hui 郑斌辉 | Best Theme Song 最佳主题曲 《(初衷)》 | Nominated | |
Chen Hanwei 陈汉玮 | Best Supporting Actor 最佳男配角 | Won | |
Rebecca Lim 林慧玲 | Best Actress 最佳女主角 | Won |
Development
- Filming began in November 2016 and wraps in March 2017[citation needed]
See also
- List of MediaCorp Channel 8 Chinese drama series (2010s)
- List of The Lead (TV Series) episodes
References
- ^ Seah, May (2 November 2016). "Rebecca Lim to play an actress who can't act". Today.