The city of Hong Kong is fast-paced, lively and full of character every where you turn, and while most of us may be familiar with this side of the country, there is a lesser known side to the city that we’ve yet to see — one where Hong Kong’s high society reigns and the only way to elevate your social status (or get revenge) is to try and join their ranks, by any means necessary.
While we might never know if this is how Hong Kong’s elite circle really looks like, we are able to imagine what it entails thanks to Viu’s latest original English series, THE SEASON.
Watch the trailer here.
Featuring an international cast which includes Karena Lam, Jessie Mei Li, Yvonne Chapman, Chris Pang, Justin Chien, Celina Jade, Lee Jae Yoon, Kôki, and Toby Stephens, THE SEASON takes you to some of Hong Kong’s most picturesque locations as you follow Cola Pierce (played by Jessie Mei Li), who attempts to navigate Hong Kong’s summer season as she tries to take down the powerful Hext family while protecting secrets of her own.
Prior to its release on Viu, NYLON Singapore was invited to Hong Kong for the premiere where we not only got to catch the first episode before its release, but also got a chance to chat with the cast from THE SEASON about their characters, the gorgeous filming locations, and how they would take revenge on the person who stole the last piece of egg tart. Read on for our full interview with the cast.
Hi guys, congratulations on the series! Filming the show, you were brought to quite a few iconic spots in Hong Kong. Which were your favourite spots?
Image courtesy of Viu.
Yvonne Chapman: “For me, it was Ocean Park cause I’ve been there when I was a kid and it was just like ooo I get to play at Ocean Park again and we had it all to ourselves! I mean, that’s incredible. I’ll stop talking now because I’m getting too excited but, that was my favourite.”
Karena Lam: “Discovery Bay Marina Club because that’s normally members only so it’s off limits and that’s the first time I’ve ever been there. So, that was really nice.”
Chris Pang: “Even Sha Tin Racecourse, that was the first time anyone’s been able to shoot there. So there’s been quite a few firsts for this show and we did show so many beautiful locations, this high life, but I just love local Hong Kong. I’m such a huge fan of Hong Kong as a filming location because to me it’s so romantic and I grew up watching Hong Kong film so it was a big deal for me to just shoot here.
So, my favourite scenes were the ones that really, really local ones. Like, we shot one in the little alleyway of the dim sum shop and like this to me is Hong Kong.”
Jessie Mei Li: “Oh… I’d really like to go back to Lamma Island. But, that day (of filming), that day… oh man. It was so hot and we couldn’t have the fans on because of the sound, and we had all these beautiful seafood that when it first came out, it looked delicious but by the ninth hour, it started to smell so bad. So, I’d love to go back there and just go for a nice meal when the weather is a bit of a breeze.”
Lee Jae Yoon: “Ocean Park.”
Celina Jade: “For me, it’s a walk down memory lane. It was Star Ferry that I loved the most. I thought Ocean Park was really cool too.”
Justin Chien: “Celina and I both grew up in Hong Kong and renting out an entire Star Ferry was a real special date scene that we shot so, that was really, really cool. But, one of my favourites that unfortunately didn’t make the final cut was the scene on Pedder Street and we got there at 3 in the morning and the light was still blue and magical and the sun was just starting to creep up and, it was a lovely moment.
I mean, it’s a place I walked down quite a bit when I’m in Central so, getting to film at that location, that was really cool.”
Before starring in the series, did any of you know about the boating season in Hong Kong? Was there anything that surprised you?
Image courtesy of Viu.
Yvonne Chapman: “I never really understood the boating season until this show. Like I didn’t know that there was this whole thing around it, so it was all new for me, and I’ve never been on a yacht like that before!”
Jessie Mei Li: “Oh, I had no idea.”
Lee Jae Yoon: “I had no idea either.”
Celina Jade: “I knew about the boating season. Boats used to be much cheaper when I was younger (laughs). It was only $3,000 a day and you could go wakeboarding. I mean, not like the high society thing, but you know, boating was common in Hong Kong for many, many years but now it’s a bit overpriced.”
Justin Chien: “I’ve been on boats but I didn’t know like the season was such a luxurious thing, and what I found most surprising — I heard a story from where we were filming that there was a family that would go out with two boats, like the dad will be on one and the mom on the other, and these were massive, massive vessels so I thought this was one of those eye-opening story I’ve heard.”
Karena, were there any real members of Hong Kong’s elite that inspired the way you portrayed Fiona Hext? What were some mannerisms you felt were important to include?
Images courtesy of Viu.
Karena Lam: “I mean there is a lot of real and fictional (inspirations) because you had to fit into that role. But, what I found interesting was that Marialy (the director) allowed us to have a lot of creative freedom in portraying our characters. So, yes, of course I had some reference in mind but also a lot of it is just going with the spontaneity on set.
I felt like the costume does a lot for us cause Fiona is just so different from me. So, I feel like as you’re putting on the makeup, all that hair and the costume, it really helps you get into the character and when you’re on set you just feel like she always has this string, trying to maintain this composure.”
Jessie, what were some of the challenges you faced, transitioning from bubbly Jessie to secretive Cola?
Image courtesy of Viu.
Jessie Mei Li: “Our director, Marialy, was always getting at me. She’s like stop being so nice. But, the thing is, everyone’s wearing a mask in the show and I think it was really important to make sure that Cola; we could see her mask. So, I wanted to make sure that her outside persona was friendly, smiley — which I brought some of my own vibe to. But, I also wanted to be clear that Cola’s not a good actor.
So, I was trying to balance Cola on how she was actually feeling versus what she is trying to project but also making sure that we can tell that she is not really feeling like how she is feeling. It was like juggling a lot of things.
Our director Marialy was brilliant in making sure we kept all of these different feelings going at the same time so sometimes it was tricky to make sure that I had all the right thoughts in the right spots but it was a fun challenge to make sure that we really believe what she is really feeling.”
Yvonne, having played roles with action influences, how does it feel to be portraying a relatively different type of character like Madeline Wong who fights with words?
Images courtesy of Viu.
Yvonne Chapman: “It’s fun. You know, I think sometimes Madeline probably wished she could have used her fists. And, she is very unfiltered, so there is something about Madeline that I wish I personally had more in my life.
Like, have you guys ever been in a situation where like someone says or does something to you that just sucks and you walk away from it thinking oh, I wish I said this or I wish I did that? Madeline just says it. She just says it. She doesn’t really have much of a filter and I think that’s really interesting about her so that’s something I got to do through her that I don’t necessarily do in real life.”
Similar to Yvonne, Justin, this is the first time you play a role that has no action scenes. What was the transition like for you?
Justin Chien: “It was interesting. Even though there were no fight scenes, David has a lot of internal struggles which he has no outlet to take it out on. So, unfortunately, he takes it out on himself and the people around him.
Images courtesy of Viu.
Chris, when we meet Andrew Fung, he comes off a bit of a douche. Did you find it a challenge to play characters like this? Were there things that you tried to improv that did not make the cut?
Chris Pang: “There’s not really much of Chris Pang in this character at all. He is a douchebag, yes, we don’t like him. I think honestly, it was a lot of fun to play him just because of that. I think he is someone that just speaks his mind freely and that’s very refreshing, especially in this world of the upper class elite where people are always very sharp-tongued and like very processed in their thoughts.
He’s just an open book and he’s quite despicable and so I think the character discussion that we had very early on was how do we make him likeable.
And you asked about bringing some of myself to the character and improving — we definitely did all of those and I’m not going to repeat them because you’re Singapore media and we will get cancelled.”
Images courtesy of Viu.
Celina, off-screen, you’re a woman of many talents and on-screen, you play an immensely talented and capable Carrie Shen. Were there any of your own personal traits that you included in shaping her as a character?
Celina Jade: “What was interesting for me was playing a financial analyst and investor because I think ever since I graduated from university where I studied economics and management, I never really used it. So, it was kind of fun to play a character that’s very close to my heart and also my friends. So, that was fun for me.”
Jae Yoon, what do you find more challenging — filming a drama series or a survival series?
Lee Jae Yoon: “I guess I’m more used to filming a drama than a survival show because a survival show is not scripted so everything that happens there is real. It was very tough. So, I think shooting a drama is so much better for me.”
Even though the drama is fully in English, we do see moments where characters would speak in Cantonese. Did you guys have any difficulty in toggling between languages?
Jessie Mei Li: “Argh, so many challenges! The thing is my dad’s from Hong Kong and his first language is Cantonese but no one ever spoke to me in Cantonese growing up. So, my cantonese is very, very basic and I can understand more than I can say, and it was so fun filming because I learned a lot of swear words.
It was a few lines that I had to learn in cantonese and I was so nervous. For me, being half Chinese, you always feel like you’re not enough of something so the language thing was a huge deal. It felt like very emotional for me; I felt very vulnerable having to speak Cantonese but it was a very important challenge for me because I think it helped me to get over my fear of trying to speak so now I’ll be more confident in the future.”
Image courtesy of Viu.
If there is any advice that you could give the character you play, what would it be?
Chris Pang: “I think the thing with Andrew Fung is he presents a certain way. He projects this image of himself that’s very alpha, where he’s in control with everything going on and everything is fine, but, he’s not. At the end of the day, he just wants to be loved and accepted. So, my message to Andrew Fung would be: You are enough.”
Jessie Mei Li: “Just relax girl. Cola just needs to chill out. Just stop and relax. (laughs)”
Lee Jae Yoon: “For John Kim, I think, keep a good distance. You’ll see what I mean.”
Yvonne Chapman: “I think with Madeline, she ends up taking on behaviours of things that she despises in the society because she thinks she needs to in order to play the game so she’s playing fire with fire. But, I would advise her: You don’t need to do that because spoiler — it doesn’t turn out that well.”
Justin Chien: “I would tell my character David… it’s okay to forgive yourself.”
Celina Jade: “I would tell Carrie, girl, don’t undersell yourself.”
Karena Lam: “I think for Fiona, I would want to tell her: It’s okay to not be okay. I just feel like she’s just trying so hard; whether it’s hiding secrets or to not expose certain things to her daughter… I just feel like yeah, it’s okay to be not okay, and I wanna give her a hug. (chuckles)”
Image courtesy of Viu.
Since one of the themes of the show is about revenge, what would be your ideal revenge on someone who stole the last piece of egg tart?
Chris Pang: “Punch him in the face. That’s unforgivable. I’ll never talk to them again.”
Yvonne Chapman: “Who is this person?! How dare they?! That’s jail time! That’s not a good friend, I’m emotional about this (laughs).”
Karena Lam: “Red flag! Red flag!”
Lee Jae Yoon: “Just not give him any drinks.”
Justin Chien: “I’ll probably make a point of it every other time there is an opportunity. I’ll be like, hey everyone, just so you know, this is for EVERYBODY. Everyone gets one except for you, don’t take two.”
Celina Jade: “I’ll just bring Justin!”
Jessie Mei Li: “I’ll probably just never speak to them again.”
