To say The Little Nyonya is one of the most successful local dramas of our time is an understatement. Mediacorp’s 2008 decades-spanning epic about a Peranakan family was a smash hit not just in Singapore but all over Asia.
Who can forget Jeanette Aw’s turn as the long-suffering Yue Niang? Or Joanne Peh’s award-winning performance as the tragic Yuzhu? Not us for sure.
Now it’s time for fans of this iconic drama to rejoice.
Mediacorp announced today that a new drama Emerald Hill, which is part of the The Little Nyonya franchise as it features characters from the original series, is in the works.
It is slated to air in the first half of 2025.
Emerald Hill will similarly follow the story of a big Peranakan family, and promises to be “as enchanting and emotionally charged as its predecessor”, according to a Mediacorp spokesperson.
Tasha Low, 30, is set to play the new ‘Little Nyonya’, Zhang Xin Niang.
Xin Niang starts out as a homeless child who fends for herself on the streets with her foster mother, played by Chen Liping.
She later finds out she is the long-lost daughter of the wealthy Zhang family, and reunites with her birth mother, who is played by Jesseca Liu.
Of course, lots of drama will ensue.
The big bad of the drama is Chantalle Ng, 28. She plays Anna, Xin Niang’s cunning and vindictive cousin, who tries to sabotage Xin Niang at every turn. Fun fact: Chantalle’s mum, Lin Meijiao, also played a villain in the OG drama. One can say she’s carrying on her mum’s legacy.
Ferlyn G stars as Zhang Anya, the Zhang’s family’s real long-lost granddaughter. So yes, that means Xin Niang is… not a Zhang. Dun dun duuun….
Ah Jie Zoe Tay plays the Zhang’s family matriarch, Liu Xiu Niang. Her eldest son, played by Shaun Chen, is married to Jojo Goh’s character. The couple have a son, played by Nick Teo.
Waitaminute… Will Zoe, who looks nowhere near old enough to have a son Shaun Chen’s age, be decked out in old lady make-up for the entire drama? We’ll have to wait and see.
Jesseca Liu’s character is married to Zoe Tay’s second son, but as of press time, the actor playing that role has yet to be announced.
Romeo Tan plays Ah Jie’s third son, while Sheila Sim plays her youngest daughter.
The star-studded cast also includes Tyler Ten and Zhang Zetong, both of whom will romance Tasha, as well as Dawn Yeoh, Desmond Ng, Zhang Yaodong, Herman Keh, Zhai Siming, and Yes 933 DJ Zhu Zeliang.
Oh yes, Jeanette Aw will be reprising her role as Yue Niang — who is the mum of Zetong’s character — though we’ll have to watch it to see how much she actually appears.
If that’s all too much to digest for now, don’t worry, you have more than enough time to familiarise yourself with the family tree.