Things have been heating up for Hong Kong’s television broadcasting company, TVB. Although things looked fine on the surface, it turns out there has been a lot of turmoil internally, especially at the top.
It was recently revealed that TVB’s Chief Creative Officer Wong Cho Lam (王祖藍) had a falling out with executives Catherina Tsang (曾励珍) and Virginia Lok Yee Ling (乐易玲). Their dispute involved TVB’s actress Linda Chung (鍾嘉欣) and their treatment of her during their recent award ceremony.
Comedian Cho Lam became TVB’s Chief Creative Officer last year (2021) when Hong Kong artist Eric Tsang (曾志偉) became their deputy general manager. Cho Lam was fairly successful in his endeavours. He created several programs, such as “Have A Big Laugh (开心大综艺)”, “Dub of War (好声好戏)” and “Top Sales (识货)”, all of which were well received.
However, netizens noted that despite his contributions, Cho Lam has been missing from TVB’s public scene since last year. This included TVB’s famed award ceremony “TVB Awards Presentation 2021 (万千星颁奖典礼2021)”, held earlier this year.
As it turns out, this is because Cho Lam is currently working in China. He uploaded a photo of himself with other artists, claiming they were there for a group exchange programme. However, netizens suspect he was planning to stay longer in China. Additionally, there are rumours he is hoping to act as an agent for other artists there.
Some suspect Cho Lam’s decision to further his career in China came after the “TVB Awards Presentation 2021″. Few were happy with how the award ceremony turned out. In fact, some felt TVB’s “Best Actor” Shaun Tam only won because of his father. Aside from the disagreement surrounding Shaun Tam, many also felt the award ceremony had been unfair for actress Linda Chung. This included Cho Lam.
Linda’s performance in her 2021 drama “Kids’ Lives Matter (星空下的仁醫)” impressed many. Netizens loved her and it seemed she would be a sure win for TVB’s “Best Actress”. Cho Lam too was convinced as he actively persuaded her to attend the ceremony. However, it appeared that the two TVB executives didn’t agree.
Catherina Tsang and Virginia Lok supposedly obstructed the drama from winning the “Best Drama” award. This also lowered Linda’s chances at nabbing “Best Actress”. Cho Lam fought for Linda, however, he didn’t manage to change their minds. In the end, Linda walked away with the “Best TVB Actress in Malaysia” award. The drama too was awarded “Malaysia’s Favourite TVB Drama Series”. The outcome supposedly disappointed Cho Lam and led him to work from China instead.
This isn’t the first time TVB has supposedly been biased towards their actresses. Netizens noted their unfair treatment towards actress Grace Wong too when publicity for the drama “The Righteous Fists” avoided mentioning her, even though she was a lead.
Although it is confirmed Cho Lam is in China, his interest in acting as an agent for other artists remains a rumour. For now, his relationship with TVB remains stable, even if it is tenuous. Only time will tell if TVB will lose Cho Lam to China, or if he will stay and continue working for them as their Chief Creative Officer.
Sources: China Press, Xuan
