Turner Asia Pacific and China’s Tencent are joining forces for “Second Time Around,” a Chinese drama that will air later this year. The series makes use of Tuzki, a Turner owned animated character that has become famous as an emoticon in Tencent’s WeChat universe. Turner is licensing the character and will invest in the series production.
The live action show will see Tuzki feature heavily, as well as in animated shorts at the end of each episode. The story involves a female animation fan who falls in love with her divorce lawyer after her marriage fails.
The series is directed by Chen Ming-zhang (TV’s “Diamond Lover,” “MVP Lover” “Frog Prince”) and is expected to run to 50 episodes. Tuzki’s creator Momo Wang, will design new characters, and is the inspiration for An’an, the leading character (played by Olivia Wang) in “Second Time is a Charm.” Edward Zhang (“The Devotion of Suspect X”) also stars.
Turner and Tencent previously cooperated in a Tuzki animated series and on an upcoming theatrical movie. The deal was announced Wednesday on the margins of the APOS conference in Indonesia.