''Legal Mavericks'' (; literally “Crossing the Line") is a

Legal Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

Crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...

Detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...

television drama created by

Lam Chi-wah Lam or LAM may refer to: Organizations * Laguna Art Museum, California, US * Lam Eng Rubber, a Malaysian manufacturer * Lam Research, American semiconductor equipment company * LAM Mozambique Airlines, flag carrier airline of Mozambique * Librarie ...

and

TVB Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong SAR. The Company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Cantonese language service, and TVB ...

. It began principal photography in October 2016. It aired concurrently on

TVB Jade TVB Jade (), or simply Jade, is a Hong Kong Cantonese-language free-to-air television channel owned and operated by Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) as its flagship service, alongside its sister network, the English-language TVB Pearl. Bro ...

, and iQiyi. The second season of this drama aired in 2020.

Synopsis

Since losing his eyesight in an accident, Man Sun-Hop has been continually harassed and despised. But instead, his determination and perseverance are so reinforced that he has qualified as a barrister. He has also developed an acute sense beyond sight which helps him to gain the status of Blind Legal Knight in the legal profession. However, nobody really knows his true character. Fortunately, Kuk Yat-Ha, his flatmate and private detective, and Chiu Ching-Mui, a legal executive with mob connections, are two buddies he can always rely on. The trio is known as the "Three Sword Fighters" who defy the powerful and are always ready to seek justice for the underprivileged. Sun-Hop’s provocative style has aroused the fancy of judge Wong Lai-Fan, which leads to her flirting unabashedly at him. Expanded to a quartet, their fate encounters turbulent changes while handling challenging legal cases. The reappearance of Sun-Hop’s father, Man Gun-Ying, and Tai Tin-Yan, his ex-girlfriend from college, further complicates the situation, which Sun-Hop may not be able to unravel with his legal mastery.

Cast and characters

* Vincent Wong as Hope Man San-hap (), a blind barrister who strives for justice for the disadvantaged, using his other heightened senses and legally controversial methods to seek truths behind his court cases. *

Sisley Choi Sisley Choi (; born 6 February 1991) is a Hong Kong actress contracted to TVB. Early life and career Born Choi Sze-pui, she was born in Hong Kong and her ancestry can be traced back to Zhongshan, Guangdong. Her father was a police officer, wh ...

as Deanie "Dino" Chiu Ching-mui (), a legal executive working for Hope, who has a heroic spirit due to her mafia family background. In addition to being a law clerk, she also owns a bar called Pledge. *

Ali Lee Ali Lee Kai-sum ( Chinese: 李佳芯; Jyutping: Lei5 Gaai1 Sam1; born 27 November 1982) is a Hong Kong actress and television host contracted to TVB. Lee first received attention as a television presenter for Cable TV Hong Kong's entertainment ...

as Cherry "Never" Wong Lai-fan (), a district court judge who is unafraid to challenge the conservative nature of the legal system. *

Owen Cheung Owen Cheung (; born 20 July 1987) is a Hong Kong actor contracted to TVB. Cheung is best known for his roles as Kuk Yat-ha (Gogo) in ''Legal Mavericks'' (2017) and Ko Ban in '' Al Cappuccino'' (2020). After winning the 2019 TVB Anniversary Awa ...

as Gogo Kuk Yat-ha (), an ex-policeman turned private investigator due to an accident whilst investigating T.Y.. He becomes Hope Man's roommate. *

Pal Sinn Pal Sinn Lap-man (born 17 March 1959) is a Hong Kong musician, singer and actor. Sinn is noted for his roles as Sai-Mun Hing in '' The Reincarnation of Golden Lotus'', for which he received Hong Kong Film Award nomination for Best New Performe ...

as T.Y. Tai Tak-yan (), a cruel and ruthless businessman who has terrible relations with his two children due to his hunger for power. He is Yanice's father. * Tracy Chu as Yanice Tai Tin-yan (), an ophthalmologist who is constantly at heads with her father due to his problematic parenting methods. She is Hope Man's ex-girlfriend from university. *

Gilbert Lam Gilbert Lam Wai San (born 6 July 1962) is a Hong Kong actor formerly with TVB Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong SAR. The Company operates five free-to-air terrestrial televisio ...

, as Gotham Wei Gwok-haam (), a famous and arrogant lawyer. He is one of Hope Man's major recurring opponents in court. Former mentor of Never and Walter *

Quinn Ho Quinn may refer to: People * Quinn (soccer) (born 1995), Canadian soccer player and Olympic gold medalist * Quinn (given name) * Quinn (surname) * Quinn (musician) Places in the United States * Quinn, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Quinn ...

as Luk Ka Yat (), a friend of Gogo working at the police station. *

Hugo Wong Hugo or HUGO may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Hugo'' (film), a 2011 film directed by Martin Scorsese * Hugo Award, a science fiction and fantasy award named after Hugo Gernsback * Hugo (franchise), a children's media franchise based on a ...

as Walter Wa Ye (), a prosecutor who is skeptical of Hope Man's questionable methods of treating court cases. * Jack Hui as Tai Tin-yau (), T.Y.'s son and Yanice's older brother. He was mentally and physical abuse by his father , Tai Tak-yan . He turn himself to police in episode 7 for illegal detention and mentally abusing of Suki . *

Law Lok-lam Law Lok-lam (, born 20 October 1948) is a veteran Hong Kong character actor currently under Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) management. A versatile actor who has acted in many Hong Kong television dramas since the 1970s. He has been in so man ...

as Man Gan-ying (), Hope's father, who abandoned Hope at the age of 6 not long after he went blind. He is diagnosed with ALS. *

Chun Wong Chun may refer to: Places * Chun River in Thailand * Chun District in Phayao Province, Thailand * Chûn Castle, a hillfort in the United Kingdom * Commandery (China) (), an administrative division of imperial China People and names * Jeon (Ko ...

as Chiu Cheong-Fung (), Dino's father, an ex prominent member of the mafia. *

William Chak William Chak (; born 29 March 1985) is a Hong Kong actor and presenter who achieved fame through TVB's 2010 Mr. Hong Kong contest. He formerly performed under the stage name Chak Fung (). When Chak was eighteen, he traveled to Tokyo, Japan, as an ...

as Aiden Ching Lap-Kiu (), Yanice's ex-fiancé. *

Toby Chan Toby is a popular, usually male, name in many English-speaking world, English speaking countries. The name is from the Middle English vernacular form of Tobias. Tobias itself is the Greek transliteration of the Hebrew טוביה ''Toviah'', whic ...

as Annie (Poon On) (), a male-to-female transgender. Kindergarten Teacher , Friend of Deanie. client of Hope Man , defence of the Transgender sexual assault case ( Episode 10-13) *

Li Fung Li & Fung Limited is a Bermuda-incorporated, Hong Kong-based supply chain manager. In 2020, it was reportedly struggling to turn its century-old business around for years. On 13 February 2017, it was removed from the blue chip index: Hang Seng ...

* Bob Cheung as Lau Chi-Sum (), a mentally-disabled person framed for giving poison to dogs. A client of Hope Man , defence of the Mentally handicapped poison dog case (Episode 1 - 2) *

Raymond Chiu Raymond is a male given name. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷᛁᚾᛗᚢᚾᛞ ( ...

as Henry (Ah Chun), Friend of Gogo * Ho Chun-hin as Liu Ting, gang leader who works for Tai Tak-yan. *

Zoie Tam Zoie Tam Hoi-ki (; born 10 October 1981) is a Hong Kong actress, singer and television presenter currently under Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) management. She debuted as a singer in Japan and previously acted in Japanese and Hong Kong televi ...

as Ngai Yu-Chun (), a client of Hope Man, defence of the Female performance artist assaulting case (Episode 2 - 3 ) *

Fung So-bor Fung may refer to: *Feng (surname), a Chinese surname that is ''Fung'' in Cantonese *Funj people The Funj are an ethnic group in present-day Sudan. The Funj set up the Funj Sultanate with Abdallah Jamma and ruled the area for several centuries. T ...

as Mrs. Lau , mother of Lau Chi-sim *

Fanny Lee Fanny may refer to: Given name * Fanny (name), a feminine given name or a nickname, often for Frances In slang * A term for the vulva, in Britain and many other parts of the English-speaking world * A term for the buttocks, in the United States ...

as Bo Bui-yee (), Hope Man's landlord and Gogo's aunt. *

Tong Chun-ming Tong may refer to: Chinese *Tang Dynasty, a dynasty in Chinese history when transliterated from Cantonese *Tong (organization), a type of social organization found in Chinese immigrant communities *''tong'', pronunciation of several Chinese char ...

as Dragon , employee of Pledge bar *

Tse Ho-yat The abbreviation TSE can refer to: Education *Toulouse School Of Economics, in Toulouse, France *Turku School of Economics, in Turku, Finland *TSE (examination), Test of Spoken English Health *Testicular self-examination *Transmissible spongiform ...

as Tiger , employee of Pledge bar * Virginia Lau as Zhu , employee of Pledge bar *

Hebe Chan Hebe may refer to: Mythology * Hebe (mythology), the goddess of youth in Greek mythology Arts and entertainment * Hebe (Marvel Comics), a Marvel Comics character * Cousin Hebe, a character in Gilbert and Sullivan's ''H.M.S. Pinafore'' * '' Hebe: ...

as Hillary, Poon On's ex girlfriend before Poon On undergoes gender transformation. Initially, refuses to help female transgender, Poon On testify in a sexual assault case because Hillary does not want her current fiancé to find out she dated a transgender. * Poon Fong-fong as Kindergarten principal , Former supervisor of Annie (Poon On) * Nicole Wan as Mrs.Wu , mother of David was a student of Annie. She accused Annie of alleged indecent in tennis court female locker room because her husband is a homosexual and she targeted discriminate against them. * Otto Chan (actor) as Hilton , husband of Mrs.Wu and secretly a homosexual who has an affair with a physical trainer , Mountain * Man Yeung as Fong Kin Chung , Husband of Yeung Mei Ling and father of Sing , client of Hope Man , defence of the Neglect of child care case (Episode 7-10) *

Janice Shum Janice may refer to: * Janice (given name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) * ''Janice & Abbey'', a reality TV series * Processor codename of the Samsung Galaxy S Advance Android smartphone * Janice, Łódź Voivodes ...

as Yeung Mei Ling , Stepmother of Sing , client of Hope Man , defence of the Neglect of child care case (Episode 7-10) * Kimmi Tsui as Lee Wai Sze , Biological mother of Sing. Scheme and framed both Fong Kin Chung and Yeung Mei Ling for neglecting and child abuse to gain back the custody of kid Sing *

Chiu Lok-yin Chiu is a romanization of various Chinese surnames, based on different varieties of Chinese. It may correspond to the surnames spelled in the following ways in Mandarin pinyin: * Zhào () or Zhāo (), from the Cantonese pronunciation * Zhāng () ...

as Rivet , lackey of Liu Ting * Aaryn Cheung as Wu , employee of Pledge bar

Critical reception

''Legal Mavericks'' received positive responses. On

Douban Douban.com (), launched on 6 March 2005, is a Chinese online database and social networking service that allows registered users to record information and create content related to film, books, music, recent events, and activities in Chinese c ...

, a Chinese media database, the drama received a rating of 7.9 out of 10 based on 5000+ votes. The cast of Legal Mavericks won numerous awards the 2017

StarHub TVB Awards The StarHub TVB Awards () is an awards ceremony held every year to recognise the achievements by Hong Kong television dramas and artists in Singapore. The awards are presented by StarHub, VV Drama, and E City, and are given for TVB productions and ...

: *FAVOURITE TVB ACTOR - Vincent Wong *FAVOURITE TVB ACTRESS -

*FAVOURITE TVB SUPPORTING ACTOR -

*FAVOURITE TVB FEMALE TV CHARACTERS -

and Tracy Chu Vincent Wong won the Best Actor award at the 2017

TVB Anniversary Awards The TVB Anniversary Awards (), officially known as the TVB Awards Presentation, is an annual awards ceremony honoring TVB's programming achievements in Hong Kong television; despite claims that it is the region's equivalent to the American Emm ...

, and Sisley Choi won the Most Popular Female Character award with her role as Deanie Chiu. In 2018, New York Festivals ''a''warded ''Legal Mavericks as'' finalists in Best Screenplay and in Best Entertainment Program Open & Titles.

References

{{reflist TVB dramas Hong Kong action television series 2010s Hong Kong television series Hong Kong crime television series