The folks from Viu and Media Prima are set to bring the first Asian remake of popular crime drama series “The Bridge” to the small screens this month.
Starring Bront Palarae and Rebecca Lim as the main leads, the 10-episode series is set to explore a crime mystery which involves 2 countries, 2 detectives, and a dead body.
Based on a popular Scandinavian noir crime series by Hans Rosenfeldt, the success of the original series has led to various different adaptations including a British-French adaptation, an American-Mexican remake, and a Russian-Estonian remake.
The Asian remake of “The Bridge” will debut on 26th November 2018, with new episodes out every Monday and Tuesday at 10pm on NTV7 and 11pm on Viu platform.
But before you check out the show, here are 10 interesting trivia that you should know about “The Bridge”!
1. Rebecca had to be ‘unprettified’ for her role
Award-winner Rebecca Lim is not only an actress with talent, but also a pretty face. Playing the role of Serena Teo who is rude, outspoken and sort of boyish, she has to have the right look to match her character’s personalities.
So, on top of having a character flaw, the production decided to also give her a facial flaw where she had to put on fake freckles to represent her character’s rugged characteristics. Rebecca had to spend 45 minutes each day to put on the makeup.
2. First time taking on a tough role
As mentioned in our previous article, this is the first time Rebecca plays the role of a strong, rugged character. Her previous roles were always very prim, proper and pretty. She even gave up another acting opportunity to be a part of “The Bridge”.
“For the past few years, I’ve been playing a lot of goody two shoes and very sweet kind of roles. So getting to play something more dark and gritty which include a lot of physical actions is very rare for me.”
3. Bront and Rebecca had an immediate chemistry
This is the first time Bront and Rebecca are working together. The 2 cast had never met prior to the project, but they have an immediate chemistry as soon as they’re on the set.
4. Rebecca learnt how to fight
Playing a tough character for the first time, Rebecca had to learn how to fight for the action sequences. She trained for a whole day during the 2-day shoot on the fight sequence and ended up with some bruises, but she kept on filming her scenes and was very proud of her battle scars.
5. Bront got injured on a show for the first time
This is the first time that Bront has ever got injured on a show. He tore his calf muscle and ended up on a wheelchair. The production team had to adapt and shoot creatively around him as he was only able to stand in one place at one point.
6. Controlled profanity
Since the show is going to be premiered on Malaysia’s national television, the producers had decided to avoid profanities in the show. But the cast wanted to have at least one profanity in the show, so the producers had a casting session for who will get the one profanity added to their scene.
7. The dead body is made up of silicone and burger patties
The split body is made out of silicone which was never been done Malaysian TV before. The actress who plays the dead woman has to sit there for a few hours to get moulded. Meanwhile, the internal organs are made out of burger patties.
8. Shot in real and actual locations
The show was not only shot in studio and built sets but also real, actual locations. Some of the locations include a real autopsy room with a coroner, a real slaughterhouse, a logistics container, and a boat in Sekinchan.
9. Opening sequence performed by Zee Avi
The opening sequence of the show is done and performed by Malaysian singer-songwriter and Billboard chart-topper Zee Avi, who is most known for “OlaBola” theme “Arena Cahaya”, as well as “Swell Window” and “Concrete Wall” which were both featured in the 5th season of the hit television series “Gossip Girl”.
The score for “The Bridge” is sung in both Malay and English language.
10. First Malaysian show on HBO Asia
“The Bridge” is the first Malaysian TV show to be aired on HBO Asia and is also one of the biggest budget TV series from the country.
Here’s a brief run through for the different versions of “The Bridge”.
The Bridge – Denmark-Sweden (2011) – The basic premise of “The Bridge” is about a dead body which is found in the middle of a bridge connecting 2 neighbouring countries. 2 detectives representing their respective country have to overcome their differences to find the killer.
The Tunnel – United Kingdom-France (2013) – Unlike all the other versions, the dead body is found in a tunnel instead of a bridge.
The Bridge – America-Mexico (2013) – The American adaptation diverts a lot into the Mexican drug-mule subplot and sets up an entirely original story arc for its 2nd season.
The Bridge – Russia-Estonia (2018) – The Russian-Estonian remake closely resembles the original Scandinavian series.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBqo9MPIC0M
So after seeing all the slight differences between all the adaptations, viewers can somehow expect how the Malaysian-Singaporean version will turn out to be.
“The Bridge” is part of Viu Malaysian Originals which also include 2 other original series “Salon” and “Jibril”. Download the Viu app now or visit www.viu.com to catch all of Viu original series.
