Hong Kong’s ViuTV gets local remake of Nippon TV drama Life’s Punchline

Nippon TV drama series Life’s Punchline is getting a Hong King remake

ViuTV in Hong Kong is getting a local remake of Nippon TV in Japan’s drama series Life’s Punchline.

The 10×45’ Cantonese version will be produced by PCCW Media’s MakerVille, marking the first of several international remakes in the pipeline, according to Nippon TV.

Airing in 2021, the 10×60’ original Japanese series follows three young men in a comedy trio who, after 10 years of chasing stardom, decide to disband at 28. With no careers or savings and their peers moving on to marriage and stable jobs, they find themselves facing what some would call ‘failure.’

Their story intertwines with that of their biggest fan, a young woman working at a diner. Once an elite professional, she fell into despair after burnout and now lives with her younger sister. As the sisters draw hope from the trio’s performances, all five discover the courage to start over.

Each episode opens with a comedy skit performed by the main characters as a play-within-a-play, which eventually blends into the bigger plots of the drama.

The creative team behind ViuTV’s remake is led by executive producer Lorraine Ho (Infernal Affairs, Initial D, Love in a Puff). The chief screenwriter is Loong Man Hong (Trivisa) and the director is Andy Lo (Happiness, In Geek We Trust).

Lokman Yeung, leader of boyband Mirror and an actor, stars in the lead role. The other members of the comedy trio are portrayed by Alton Wong (also a member of Mirror) and Dee Ho (member of boyband Error). The sisters are played by Hanna Chan and Vanora Hui.