While Netflix is barred from entering mainland China as a video platform operator, the streaming giant is expanding its roster of Chinese-language original content. Production is now under way in Malaysia on “The Ghost Bride.”
The six-part series is adapted from a novel of the same title created by Choo Yangsze. The screen adaptation is by a team of U.S. and Taiwanese writers headed by Wu Kai Yu (“Hannibal,” “The Flash”).
The show is being jointly directed by Malaysian directing duo Quek Shio Chuan (“Guang The Movie”) and Ho Yuhang (“At the end of Daybreak,” “Mrs K”). Production is by Ideate Media. No air date has been announced.
The story is set in 1890s Colonial-era Malacca and sees a woman receive a proposal from a wealthy family to become the ghost bride of their recently deceased son. The position is financially lucrative, but means she will be haunted for the rest of her life. Her escape is even more complicated.
The cast is headed by Taiwan’s Wu Kang Ren (“White Ant”) in the lead male role, and Huang Peijia (“Roseki,” “Cha Cha for Twins”) as the female lead. Ludi Lin (“Power Rangers,” “Aquaman”) also joins as the third element of the love triangle. The cast is rounded out by Malaysian, Mandarin-language musical and theater artist, Tian Tze Kuang.