''Heartlanders'' is an

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

telecast on MediaCorp TV Channel 5. Based on the encounters of two

officers An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

of the

Singapore Police Force The Singapore Police Force (SPF) is the national and principal law enforcement agency responsible for the prevention of crime and law enforcement in the Republic of Singapore. It is the country's lead agency against organised crime; human, wea ...

. The first season aired on 5 July 2002, and has since another three seasons have aired, with the last season being shown from 12 July 2005. There are no indications as yet if a fifth season will be produced. While the show evoked comparisons with '' Triple Nine'', telecast from 1995 to 1999, ''Heartlanders'' was distinctively the first Singaporean English television series to be based primarily on uniformed patrol officers. The show was set in the

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

heartland Heartland or Heartlands may refer to: Businesses and organisations * Heartland Bank, a New Zealand-based financial institution * Heartland Inn, a chain of hotels based in Iowa, United States * Heartland Alliance, an anti-poverty organization i ...

s and in a typical

public housing Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, def ...

setting, hence the name ''Heartlanders''. The show starred

Vincent Ng Vincent Ng Cheng Hye (born 6 December 1975), also known as Weng Qinghai, is a Singaporean martial artist and former actor. He was prominently a full-time Mediacorp actor from 1997 to 2007. He is best known for acting in Chinese-language televisi ...

and Aaron Aziz as the main casts. It was Ng's first foray into an English drama, and helped to expose the latter to the non-Malay television audience. Other cast members included Tracy Tan and Natalie Faye in Season 1, Corrine Adrienne in Seasons 1 and 2,

Steph Song Steph Song () is a Malaysian actress of Chinese heritage, raised in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada and Australia. She was voted sexiest woman in the world by Asian readers of ''FHM'' magazine. Song has received five Leo Award nominations an ...

in Season 2,

Julian Hee Julian Hee (, born 11 June 1978) is a former Singaporean Chinese actor and model. He was a prominently a full-time Mediacorp artiste from 2001 to 2014. His younger brother, Haden Hee, 许立楷 was also a former Mediacorp artiste. Career Model ...

in Season 3 and 4,

Priscelia Chan Priscelia Chan Shih Mei, also known as Zeng Shimei, is a Singaporean television actress and host. Career Chan was a tax auditor before taking part in Star Search Singapore 1999. Despite being eliminated in the semifinals, she was offered a co ...

in Season 3 and 4, Desiree Siahaan in Season 3 and 4, and

Shaun Chen Shaun Chen (; born 3 November 1978) is a Malaysian actor and former national badminton player who is based in Singapore. He started as a host for the variety show ''City Beat'' alongside Sharon Au, Jeff Wang and Fiona Xie. In 2003, he made h ...

in Season 4. News of Aaron's planned departure to break into the Malaysian entertainment scene in late 2003 threatened the show's main lineup, and producers banked on the suspense by having Aaron's character almost killed off early in Season 3. This show also featured future Star Search contestants

Andie Chen Andie Chen () is a Singaporean actor, host and vlogger. He was prominently a full-time Mediacorp artist from 2007 to 2017 but continues to film on an ad hoc basis. Career Chen's first appearance on television was in the Channel 5 series '' Grow ...

who would later become the Star Search 2007 champion and

Romeo Tan Tan Romeo (; born 9 April 1985) is a Singaporean actor, who has been named as one of the 8 Dukes of Caldecott Hill. Tan came into prominence after finishing in fourth place on the tenth season of the television series ''Star Search'' in 2010. ...

who is the finalist of the Star Search 2010.

Cast

– Cpl Ricky Soh * Aaron Aziz – Cpl Jamal Bin Salleh * Tracy Tan – Sharon Choo * Corrine Adrienne – ASP Angela Soh *

– Rachel Kang *

– Cpl Darren Ho *

– Lisa Gan * Desiree Ann Siahaan – Cassie *Natalie Faye – Choon Yuen *

– James

Episodes

Season 1 (Fridays, 8:30 p.m.)

*1. (5 July 2002): *12. (27 September 2002): *13. (4 October 2002):

Season 2 (Tuesdays, 8:30 p.m.)

*1. (4 March 2003): *13. (27 May 2003):

Season 3 (Tuesdays, 8:30 p.m.)

*1. (30 March 2004): *13. (22 June 2004):

Season 4 (Tuesdays, 8 p.m.)

*1. (12 July 2005): *2. (19 July 2005): *3. (26 July 2005): *4. (2 August 2005): *5. (9 August 2005): Girl Gang *6. (16 August 2005): The Girl who Bled *7. (23 August 2005): The Kill *8. (30 August 2005): Payback *9. (6 September 2005): Grown Ups Do It *10: (13 September 2006): Little Girl Lost *11: (20 September 2006): The Wrath of Chinese Women *12: (27 September 2006): Vengeance Part I *13: (3 October 2006): Vengeance Part II *1. (19 July 2005): Happiness is a Warm Gun

References

External links

Dreamforest ProductionsHeartlanders Season Three (Making of)Heartlanders Season Three (Interviews)
{{Singapore Police Force Singaporean crime television series 2002 Singaporean television series debuts 2005 Singaporean television series endings Channel 5 (Singapore) original programming