“Left Behind” (not to be confused with Christian book series that takes place after the Rapture) is Channel 5’s new 10 pm drama that features Fiona Xie in the role of Dr Jennifer Leong, a spunky psychiatrist with a dark past. Since it’s at 10 pm, you know it’s going to be edgier and darker than the usual family friendly dramas that we’re more used to seeing. It’s even got a story about transgenders in it — a topic that we usually keep away from with a 10-foot pole!
In fact, we’ll be seeing more of such dramas on Channel 5. “This is some of the content that we will be coming out with more,” said Debra Soon, Head of Family (English) Segment at Mediacorp. “If you haven’t watched us recently, please do.”
“Left Behind” is a mystery drama that sees Dr Jennifer Leong investigating cases of elder abuse, cyber bullying, gambling, mental disorders, and transgender issues, even while she hides a terrible secret of her own.
First time jitters
Directed by Gavin Lim, who previously did “The Best I Could” (a docudrama about the late Subhas Anandan), the 7-episode mystery drama is the first time he has worked with all of the cast members on the show — Fiona Xie, Aden Tan, Randall Tan, Jason Godfrey, and Oon Shu An.
“We had Fiona coming back, so it was really quite nerve-wracking and exciting,” said Lim. “Every day, I was asking if she was showing up,” he joked.
“Please be forgiving and accepting,” asked Xie. “I haven’t done a show in 7 years, and I’m very excited for everyone to watch it. It’s the first time I’m doing English drama in a serious role, and it’s very nice to emote in the language I’m most comfortable with.”
“It’s so nice to speak in English, yay!” she cheered.
Jason Godrey, actor and writer
Besides playing Xie’s character’s colleague Dominic Gan, Jason Godrey also has writing credit for “Left Behind.”
“Most of the plot was done by the main writer,” said executive producer Kenneth Liang. “Jason came in when she had to take leave. He has a good knack for dialogue.”
“I’m never written episodic, and I’ve never written collaboratively,” said Jason Godrey. “Gavin had the scripts laid out and I sort of came in and I was just tweaking it, along with Gavin of course.”
“I put in a lot of admiration from the other characters about my character,” Godrey joked.
However, Godfrey’s Canadian background did cause some discrepancies in the script.
“There were quite a lot of Canadian terms coming in,” said Lim. For example, instead of saying “pen knives,” Godfrey used the word “box cutters” instead, which gave Lim some pause in the editing room.
“But he’s tenacious in really rewriting,” added the director.
More of a mini-series than a procedural
Although the drama sounds like a procedural, with Xie’s character investigating different cases across the series, it’s more of a mini-series in terms of story structure.
“It’s written like a mini-series, and we do have a case every episode,” said Lim of the drama. “But we have cases which bleed over into the next episode.”
Since Xie’s character is not in law enforcement, there are some restrictions in how much she can investigate each case.
“The danger is that she’s not a cop, so it makes it more difficult for her to run around (and solve cases). But we made her a “naughty” psychiatrist,” explained Lim.
“She helped people beyond what a doctor would do,” added Liang. Professionals were consulted for the authenticity of the cases and the episode, he elaborated, “and they said for drama purposes it’s OK. Normally a doctor would just say, and then be hands off.”
But we’re sure Xie’s character’s patients wouldn’t mind her prying a little bit more.
“Left Behind” premieres 22 August, 10 pm, on Channel 5, and every Monday thereafter.
This article was also published on Yahoo!.
she has aged !
Indeed, people age.
Aged alot but still not matured yet, still behaving and talking like a spoilt child or trying to act “cute”. If she failed in Channel 8 how could she be successful in Channel 5. Will get goose pimple if continue to watch further. Mediacorp lacks acting talents – year in year out some old faces!
Well you’re still watching her 😀