Brother's Keeper (2013 TV Series)
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''Brother's Keeper'' () is a Hong Kong television drama serial produced by
Amy Wong This article lists the many characters of ''Futurama,'' an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a ...
and
TVB Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB; zh, t=電視廣播有限公司) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong. The company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Canton ...
. It stars
Ruco Chan Chan Chin-pang (; born 14 January 1977), better known as Ruco Chan, is a Hong Kong actor and singer. Chan is the first TVB actor to win My Favourite TVB Actor at the StarHub TVB Awards for three consecutive years (2014, 2015, 2016), and is als ...
,
Linda Chung Linda Chung Ka-yan (; born on 9 April 1984) is a Hong Kong-Canadian actress, singer and songwriter. She signed a long-term contract with TVB in 2004 after winning the Miss Chinese International Pageant. Chung ended her contract with TVB in ea ...
,
Edwin Siu Edwin Siu Ching Nam (; born 23 March 1977) is a Hong Kong actor and singer. Siu started his career as an idol singer and was formerly managed by Music Nation Group. In 2002, Siu left the Hong Kong entertainment industry to start his career in ...
and
Kristal Tin Kristal Tin Yui Nei (, born 28 September 1977) is a Hong Kong singer and a former TVB actress. Career Tin's career began with a first-place award in a singing contest in 1993. After the competition, she was offered a contract at Asia Televi ...
as the main cast of the series. It premiered on 23 September 2013 on
TVB Jade TVB Jade (), or simply Jade, is a Hong Kong Hong Kong Cantonese, Cantonese-language Terrestrial television, free-to-air television channel owned and operated by Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) as its flagship service, alongside its sister n ...
in Hong Kong. The final two episodes aired back-to-back on Saturday, 2 November 2013. The plot is based on the story of Koi Kei Bakery, which is also the show's main sponsor. The serial, set between the years 1980 and 2013, depicts the moral life struggles of two half-brothers Kiu Tin-seng (
Ruco Chan Chan Chin-pang (; born 14 January 1977), better known as Ruco Chan, is a Hong Kong actor and singer. Chan is the first TVB actor to win My Favourite TVB Actor at the StarHub TVB Awards for three consecutive years (2014, 2015, 2016), and is als ...
) and Lo Wai-son (
Edwin Siu Edwin Siu Ching Nam (; born 23 March 1977) is a Hong Kong actor and singer. Siu started his career as an idol singer and was formerly managed by Music Nation Group. In 2002, Siu left the Hong Kong entertainment industry to start his career in ...
) during the late and post-colonial periods of
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
and
Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...
. Historical events that were set against this era, including Hong Kong's 1980
Touch Base Policy The Touch Base Policy ( zh, t=抵壘政策; also known as the Reached Base Policy) was an immigration policy in British Hong Kong from 1974 to 1980 towards the refugee wave from the People's Republic of China to British Hong Kong. Under the po ...
, Macau's relaxed immigration laws of 1982, the 1991 goldsmith robberies, the
transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong The handover of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China was at midnight on 1 July 1997. This event ended 156 years of British rule in the former colony, which began in 1841. Hong Kong was established as a specia ...
and
Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...
to China in the late 1990s, the 1998 Hong Kong financial crisis, the 1999 Macanese
triad Triad or triade may refer to: * a group of three Humanities * Trichotomy (philosophy), often called triads * Triad (sociology), a group of three people as a unit of study * Triad (relationship), or ''ménage à trois'' Music * Triad (music ...
wars, the 2003 Hong Kong SARS outbreak, and the 2008 Hong Kong financial recession, serves as some of the key plot vehicles that drive the changing fates of the brothers and their families. Development for ''Brother's Keeper'' began in mid-2012. A teaser trailer was unveiled at TVB's 2013 Sales Presentation event, which was held on 8 November 2012. The trailer premiered on TVB Jade on 24 November 2012. The serial was also exhibited as one of eighteen TVB grand television drama productions at the 17th Hong Kong International Film & TV Market in March 2013. The sequel, ''
Brother's Keeper II ''Brother's Keeper II'' () is a Hong Kong television drama serial produced by Amy Wong and TVB. It is the sequel to 2013's '' Brother's Keeper'', and takes place one year after the events of the original series. It stars Edwin Siu, Kristal Tin ...
'', was released in 2016.


Production


Filming

A costume fitting press conference was held on 19 September 2012, and
principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...
began in Hong Kong in late September 2012. A camera commencement blessing ceremony was held on 17 October 2012. Production relocated to Macau on 21 November 2012. On 19 December 2012, the crew resumed shooting in Hong Kong. The final scenes of the drama were completed on 1 February 2013. Macau's Koi Kei Bakery is a major sponsor for the serial.


Plot

Brother's Keeper is a story about two brothers of the same mother but different fathers, "Sam" Kiu Tin-seng (Ruco Chan) and Lo Wai-son (Edwin Siu). Sam was born in Hong Kong, the son of Chow Yuk-mui (Louise Lee) and Kiu Sum (Lee Kwok Lun). Due to Kiu Sum refusing to marry Chow Yuk-mui, Yuk-mui decided to take Sam to Foshan, China to start anew. In Foshan, Yuk-mui got married with Lo Fu-shing (Lau Kong) and gave birth to Son a few years afterwards. Not long after, the family of four decided to cross the border to start a new life in Hong Kong. The family of four eventually got separated with Sam ending up in Hong Kong, while Yuk-mui, Fu-shing, and Son ending up in Macau. The two brothers lived very different lives in the course of the next 20 years. The very hardworking and ambitious Sam managed to graduate from college and became a police officer like his biological father, Kiu Sum. He has a girlfriend named Rachel Cheuk (Linda Chung) whom he is willing to do anything to fulfill her dreams of opening a fashion store. In order to achieve his goal, he seduces Fabio (Ankie Beilke) and uses her in the process. In addition, Sam also has an ambiguous relationship with a triad member named Keung Yung (Louis Cheung) who later caused Sam to end up in jail. Son, who is very simple-minded, only wants to live a peaceful and comfortable life in Macau. He is good friends with Yiu Man-ying (Krystal Tin) and Lung Fei (Louis Yuen). In order to avoid his abusive father (Fu-shing), Son works with his mother (Yuk-mui) at a restaurant. The lives of the two brothers, Sam and Son began to change after they meet up again. The two brothers in the series will go from 20 to 50 years old. This also shows the phrase "rags to riches" as Son becomes a rich businessowner from a poor young boy.


Cast and characters


Main cast

*
Ruco Chan Chan Chin-pang (; born 14 January 1977), better known as Ruco Chan, is a Hong Kong actor and singer. Chan is the first TVB actor to win My Favourite TVB Actor at the StarHub TVB Awards for three consecutive years (2014, 2015, 2016), and is als ...
as Kiu Tin-seng (; ''Kiu Tinsang'') — also known as Sam. Independent, clever, and talented, Sam is a distinguished police officer for the
Royal Hong Kong Police Force The history of the Hong Kong Police originates in 1841, when the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) was officially established by the British colonial government, the same year that the British had settled in Hong Kong. While changes have been impl ...
, taking him only five years to get promoted from the sergeant rank to the chief inspector rank. Sam is Chow Yuk-mui's eldest son, sired by Kiu Sum, who is also a Hong Kong police officer. Rejected by his biological father, Sam suffers through a tremendously difficult childhood and is emancipated by his parents at an early age. Sam is regarded as the serial's main tragic hero. Though he is innately a good-hearted person, his tragic flaws—ambition and greed—eventually leads to his downfall by the end of the story. ''Brother's Keeper'' is Chan's sixth collaboration with producer Wong. His breakout performance in Wong's 2011 TVB legal drama ''
The Other Truth ''The Other Truth'' is a 2011 Hong Kong television legal drama serial produced by Amy Wong and TVB. The drama centers on a group of young barristers and solicitors working in Clayton Hau Chamber and Wallace Cheuk & Co. Solicitors, two fictional ...
''—his third collaboration with Wong—was what led Wong to cast Chan as the lead actor for most of her newer works. Chan expressed that he has high expectations for the serial and compares its time-lapsing scope to the likes of critically successful dramas such as ''
The Greed of Man ''The Greed of Man'' is a Hong Kong television series first broadcast on TVB Jade in 1992.Dianying.com.Dianying.com" ''The Greed of Man.'' Retrieved on 2009-08-11. The story, spanning three decades from the 1970s to the 1990s in Hong Kong and T ...
'' and ''Vanity Fair''. *
Linda Chung Linda Chung Ka-yan (; born on 9 April 1984) is a Hong Kong-Canadian actress, singer and songwriter. She signed a long-term contract with TVB in 2004 after winning the Miss Chinese International Pageant. Chung ended her contract with TVB in ea ...
as Rachel Cheuk (; ''Ceok Zing'') — Sam's girlfriend. Rachel is the second daughter of Lau Lai-kuen, who is the second wife of the wealthy Philip Cheuk. Despite her parents' objections, Rachel insists to date Sam. With Sam's help, Rachel eventually fulfills her dream of owning her own fashion boutiques to sell her own brand designs. She was involved in love triangle with Sam and Son for more than 20 years. Wong had been wanting to work with Chung ever since she started production on her 2012 comedy, ''
No Good Either Way ''No Good Either Way'' is a Hong Kong television comedy-drama serial produced by TVB under executive producer Amy Wong. It stars Ruco Chan, Kristal Tin and Louis Yuen, with Natalie Tong, Jason Chan Chi-san, Stephen Au and Florence Kwok as the ma ...
'' in late 2011. Chung was one of the first cast members of ''Brother's Keeper'' that was announced in mid-2012. On her role, Chung said, "The role grew up overseas, so I naturally get to speak English! I grew up in Canada as well... speaking English dialogue is a very comfortable feeling for me." *
Edwin Siu Edwin Siu Ching Nam (; born 23 March 1977) is a Hong Kong actor and singer. Siu started his career as an idol singer and was formerly managed by Music Nation Group. In 2002, Siu left the Hong Kong entertainment industry to start his career in ...
as Lo Wai-shun (; ''Lo Waiseon'') — Sam's younger half-brother. The younger son of Chow Yuk-mui, Shun is sole offspring of Mui's only marriage with Lo Fu-shing. Due to his father's poor business, Shun spends most of his time in the streets of Macau to handle his own peanut brittle vendor business. Resourceful, persistent, and confident, Shun's small mobile food business eventually expands to a large multi-chained bakery shop, the Pasterilia Lo Son Kei. The simple-minded Shun serves as a foil to Sam's guileful character. Shun's story from rags to riches is also inspired by the real-life story of Leong Chan-kuong, the owner of Macau's most famous bakery shop, Koi Kei
Moses Chan Moses Chan Ho (born 16 April 1971) is an actor from Hong Kong. Career and personal life Chan lived and studied in Australia (Melbourne, Brisbane, and Sydney) for 10 years prior to returning to Hong Kong to embark on his acting career. On 17 No ...
was originally cast for the role of Shun, which was announced simultaneously with Ruco Chan's casting in the late summer of 2012. In August 2012, approximately a month before the serial was to commence shooting in Hong Kong, Chan was reassigned to play opposite
Wayne Lai Lai Yiu-cheung (; born 4 May 1964), better known as Wayne Lai, is a Hong Kong actor. He became one of Hong Kong's most successful television actors after starring in TVB hit drama series '' Rosy Business''. Lai won three TVB Anniversary Awar ...
in TVB's legal drama, ''
Will Power William Steven Power (born 1 March 1981) is an Australian racing driver who competes in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 12 Dallara-Chevrolet for Team Penske. He won the 2018 Indianapolis 500 and has won the IndyCar Championship twice, in ...
''. After Siu replaced Chan, the character of Shun was rewritten to be younger. *
Kristal Tin Kristal Tin Yui Nei (, born 28 September 1977) is a Hong Kong singer and a former TVB actress. Career Tin's career began with a first-place award in a singing contest in 1993. After the competition, she was offered a contract at Asia Televi ...
as Yiu Man-ying (; ''Jiu Manjing'') — nicknamed Chang-kai Ying (; literally "Shrewish Ying"); Son's best friend. Peevish, boyish, but loyal, Ying is one of Shun's closest childhood friends. Ying falls in love with Shun and is a major supporter in Shun's quest to open up his multi-chain business. *
Louis Yuen Louis Yuen Siu-cheung (born May 23, 1967) is a Hong Kong TVB actor. He co-hosted the Super Trio series, ''Super Trio Supreme'', in season 8 with Eric Tsang, Chin Kar-lok, and Wong Cho-lam. He also co-hosted the Fun with Liza and Gods series ...
as Lung Fei (; ''Lung Fei'') — nicknamed Young Master Lung (); Son and Ying's best friend. Educated overseas, Lung hails from a wealthy family in Macau, and is the heir of his family business, although he prefers to work as an insurance sales agent. Despite his family business being one of the biggest rivals of Pasterilia Lo Son Kei, Fei and Son are best friends. Fei has an obvious crush on Ying, but he is supportive when Ying begins to date Son. *
Louise Lee Louise Lee Si-kei (; born 26 September 1950, Tianjin) is a Hong Kong actress and former Chinese Canadian newscaster. Biography Lee was crowned in 1968 when she competed in the Hong Kong Princess beauty pageant. Lee left Hong Kong in the mid to ...
as Chow Yuk-mui (;
jyutping The Linguistic Society of Hong Kong Cantonese Romanization Scheme, also known as Jyutping, is a romanisation system for Cantonese developed in 1993 by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong (LSHK). The name ''Jyutping'' (itself the Jyutping ro ...
: ''Zau Jukmui'') — Sam and Shun's mother. Mui gave birth to her first-born, Kiu Tin-seng, in Hong Kong during the late 1960s. Kiu Sum, her son's policeman father, refuses to marry Mui after their son's birth, and in a blaze of anger, Mui destroys her son's Hong Kong birth certificate and moves back to her hometown in
Foshan Foshan (, ; Chinese: 佛山) is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. The entire prefecture covers and had a population of 9,498,863 as of the 2020 census. The city is part of the western side of the Pearl River Delta m ...
, China. There, she meets her husband, Lo Fu-shing, and gives birth to Shing's only son, Lo Wai-shun. In 1980, Mui and her family attempt to sneak across the Hong Kong borders to escape mainland China's tumultuous social unrest, but the family is separated by external forces. Mui, Shing, and Shun land in Macau, while Sam lands in Hong Kong.


Recurring cast

*
Louis Cheung Louis Cheung (; born 11 January 1980) is a Hong Kong singer, songwriter, and actor. He is an alumnus of The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, majoring in acting. His first play was in 1997, and he has performed in a total of more than 20 ...
as Keung Yung (; ''Goeng Jung'') — a
triad Triad or triade may refer to: * a group of three Humanities * Trichotomy (philosophy), often called triads * Triad (sociology), a group of three people as a unit of study * Triad (relationship), or ''ménage à trois'' Music * Triad (music ...
leader who strikes an ambiguous friendship with Sam. *
Lau Kong Lau Kong () is a Hong Kong actor known for his roles in TVB dramas. He left the network in 2020, after starring in over 300 dramas in his 38 years with TVB. Biography Little is known of Lau's private life, but he has been acting since 1976, when ...
as Lo Fu-shing (; ''Lo Fusing'') — Son's father and Mui's only husband, whom she met in Foshan. Shing owns a struggling peanut brittle shop in Macau. *
Susan Tse Hung Ling-fook (, born 1 November 1951), better known as Susan Tse Suet-sum (), is a Hong Kong television actress, who started her career in Chinese opera. She is the 76th generation descendant of Confucius.Yahoo.com.Yahoo.com" ''國家確認 ...
as Lau Lai-kuen (; ''Lau Laigyun'') — Rachel's mother, the second wife of Philip Cheuk. *
Leanne Li Leanne Li Yanan (; born 25 November 1984) is a Chinese-born Canadian actress and television host. She was the 2005 Miss Chinese International Pageant winner hailing from Vancouver, British Columbia. Early life Leanne's family originates from S ...
as Emily Cheuk (; ''Coek Ning'') — Rachel's older sister. * Henry Yu as Philip Cheuk (; ''Ceok Jatfaan'') — Rachel and Emily's father. * Becky Lee as Inspector Mandy Yeung (; ''Joeng Maanzi'') — Sam's best friend. * Ankie Beilke as Michelle Fabio — one of Sam's love interests. Ankie is attracted to Sam and attempts to seduce him. Eyeing Fabio's wealth and power, Sam eventually gives in to her seduction. * Joseph Lee as Kiu Sum (; ''Kiu Sam'') — Sam's father, a Hong Kong police officer. Sum does not wish to acknowledge his relationship with Sam in public, which indirectly influenced Sam's decision to become a cop. * Stephen Wong as Kiu Wai-kin (; ''Kiu Waigin'') — also known as Kim, Sum's second son and Sam's younger half-brother. *
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 (surn ...
as Yiu Han (; ''Jiu Hang'') and Ho Yuen-tung as Yiu Ho-nam (; ''Jiu Hounaam'') — respectively Ying's father and Ying's younger brother. * Yue Chi-ming as Lung Kwong-kam (; ''Lung Gwonggaam'') and
Angelina Lo Angelina Lo (盧宛茵; Lo Yuen Yen) is a semi-retired veteran Hong Kong actor noted for her five decade career and frequent appearances in television sitcom roles. Lo was born in Hong Kong in 1953. In 1973, she entered the television industry af ...
as Yuen Shuk-ngo (; ''Jyun Sukngo'') — Fei's parents. * Timothy Cheng as Chief Inspector Wong Kam-ho (; ''Wong Gaamhou'') — also known as K.O. Sir, Sam's mentor and Sum's biggest rival. *
Rosanne Lui Roseanne, Rosanne, Roseann, or Rose Ann is a feminine given name. The name means “graceful rose” or “favored rose”, from Rose and Anne, meaning “grace” or “favored”. It may refer to: People * Roseanne Barr (b. 1952), also known ...
as Lee Wai-bing (; ''Lei Waibing'') — Sum's wife and Kim's mother.


Reception


Critical response

''Brother's Keeper'' has received generally positive reviews from critics. 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 ci ...
, the serial received a rating of 7.7 out of 10 based on over two thousand votes.


Ratings

The following is a table that includes a list of the total ratings points based on television viewership. "Viewers in millions" refers to the number of people, derived from
TVB Jade TVB Jade (), or simply Jade, is a Hong Kong Hong Kong Cantonese, Cantonese-language Terrestrial television, free-to-air television channel owned and operated by Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) as its flagship service, alongside its sister n ...
ratings (including TVB HD Jade), in Hong Kong who watched the episode live. The peak number of viewers are in brackets.


Accolades


TVB Awards Presentation 2013


External links


Official TVB website


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brother's Keeper (2013 Tv Series) TVB dramas 2013 Hong Kong television series debuts 2013 Hong Kong television series endings Hong Kong drama television series Television series set in the 1980s Television series set in the 1990s Television series set in the 2010s