Filming began on 16 December 2011 in Hong Kong, and ended on 9 April 2012 in the Hengdian World Studios. The Confident Eunuch premiered the first two episodes on 1 November 2012 at The Grand Cinema in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon.
The series has an indirect sequel, Short End of the Stick (2016).
Synopsis
Li Lianying (
Wayne Lai) and
An Dehai (Raymond Cho) came from poor families and were sold to become palace eunuchs at a young age. The two later become apprentices of senior eunuch Lau Dor-sang (
Chung King-fai) and developed a deep brotherly relationship. Both became important high-ranked officials for Empress Dowager Cixi (
Michelle Yim). Unfortunately, Tak-hoi had a heart of greed and eventually his relationship with the careful Lin-ying started drifting apart. Chan Fuk (
Elliot Ngok) is the head of the eunuchs, but he saw he was losing his authority because Lin-ying and Tak-hoi won the Empress' favor. He started plotting against the two, but Lin-ying was fortunate to have palace maid Sin-yung (
Nancy Wu) and the eunuch pharmacist, Yiu Sheung-hei (Raymond Wong Ho-yin) assistance. Meanwhile, it's time for the
Tongzhi Emperor (
Oscar Leung) to choose his empress, which worried Empress Dowager Ci'an (
Maggie Shiu) that Cixi may get even more powerful. She joins forces with Prince Kung (Cheung Kwok-keung) to drive Cixi into an isolated and helpless position.
..
Cast and characters
- Character names are in Cantonese romanisation.
Royal family
-
Michelle Yim as Empress Dowager Chee-hei (慈禧太后), the current de facto ruler of China, and Tung-chi's mother.
-
Maggie Shiu as Empress Dowager Chee-on (慈安太后), the co-de facto ruler of China.
-
Oscar Leung as the Tongzhi Emperor (同治帝),
-
Natalie Tong as Empress Bo-yum (寶音皇后), a relative of Chee-on and Tung-chi's wife
-
Cheung Kwok-keung portrays Prince Gong (恭親王), Tung-chi's uncle.
-
Aimee Chan as Princess Wo-shek (和碩公主), Tung-chi's aunt.
-
Selena Li portrays Dowager Concubine Yuen (婉太繽), Xianfeng Emperor's concubine residing in King-yan Palace.
Imperial servants
-
Wayne Lai as Li Lianying (李連英), the main protagonist, a eunuch who initially serves Concubine Yuen and become fourth-ranking Head of Eunuch.
-
Raymond Cho as An Dehai (安德海),
-
Raymond Wong Ho-yin as Yiu Sheung-hei (姚雙喜), a seventh-ranking eunuch who serves in the medical department.
-
Edwin Siu as Ling Tim-sau (凌添壽),
-
Power Chan as Pang Sam-shun (彭三順), a seventh-ranking eunuch who serves in the management bureau.
-
Nancy Wu as Sin-yung (倩蓉),
-
Elliot Ngok as Chan Fuk (陳福), the fourth-ranking Head Eunuch.
-
Chung King-fai as Lau Dor-sang (劉多生), an elderly eunuch who serves in the archives room; he is also the sifu of Lin-ying and Tak-hoi.
Production
Pre-production and casting
Catherine Tsang, one of the deputy chief directors of TVB's drama department, initially created the idea of producing a drama based on
Li Lianying.
A pre-production trailer was filmed in late 2010 for TVB's 2011 Sales Production Presentation, and it was the last and longest trailer to broadcast at the ceremony. At the time, the temporary cast featured in the trailer consisted of
Wayne Lai as Li,
Michelle Yim as Cixi,
Bosco Wong as the
Guangxu Emperor,
Tavia Yeung as
Pearl Concubine,
Susanna Kwan as Li's mother, with
David Chiang,
Elliot Ngok, and
Chung King-fai as prominent government officials. When production for
The Confidant was announced, only Lai was confirmed to star. The drama was originally slated to begin production in March 2011, but it was pushed back to end of the year due to production difficulties.
In October 2011, TVB confirmed that the drama would begin filming in December 2011, and would move its location filming to Hengdian World Studios in March 2012.
The official press conference and costume fitting for The Confidant was planned to be held on 24 November at TVB City, but due to costume problems, the presscon was cancelled.
Filming
Filming officially began on 16 December.
Production was planned to be moved to Hengdian World Studios on March 12, however, it was postponed to a week later due to the date of Hong Kong International Film & TV Market.
The filming in Hong Kong ended on March 10, followed by a supper at night.
At 22 March 19:30pm, the trailer shown in FILMART is broadcast on Jade and HD Jade with a line "aired in 2012 eye-catchingly".
On 19 March, the cast went to Hengdian at night and a pray was held on the next day. Filming ended on 9 April and the main cast flew back to Hong Kong on 12 April.
Awards and nominations
Accolades
|
|
| 2012 | My AOD Favourites Awards | My Favourite Drama Series | The Confidant | Entered | |
| My Favourite Actor in a Leading Role | Wayne Lai | Entered | |
| My Favourite Actress in a Leading Role | Michelle Yim | Entered | |
| My Top 15 Favourite TV Characters | Michelle Yim | N/A | |
| Wayne Lai | |
| TVB Anniversary Awards | Best Drama | The Confidant | Entered | |
| Best Actor | Wayne Lai | Entered | |
| Best Actress | Michelle Yim | Entered | |
| Best Supporting Actor | Power Chan | | |
| Elliot Ngok | | |
| Best Supporting Actress | Aimee Chan | | |
| My Favourite Male Character | Wayne Lai | | |
| Raymond Wong Ho-yin | | |
| My Favourite Female Character | Michelle Yim | | |
| Most Improved Male Artiste | Oscar Leung | N/A | |
| Edwin Siu | |
Viewership ratings
The following is a table that includes a list of the total ratings points based on television viewership.
|
|
| 1 | 5–9 November 2012 | 1 — 5 | 31 | 36 | |
| 2 | 12–16 November 2012 | 6 — 10 | 31 | 33 | [Week] |
| 3 | 19–23 November 2012 | 11 — 15 | 31 | — | [Week] |
| 4 | 26–30 November 2012 | 16 — 20 | 30 | 33 | [Week] |
| 5 | 3–7 December 2012 | 21 — 25 | 30 | — | [Week] |
| 6 | 10–13 December 2012 | 26 — 29 | 32 | — | [Week] |
| 6 | 14 December 2012 | 30 — 31 | 26 | — | |
| 6 | 16 December 2012 | 32 — 33 | 35 | 36 | |
| 6 | 10–16 December 2012 | 26 — 33 | 31 | 36 | [Finale] |
External links
