Urrghh…the final episode of ‘The Queen Of News’ has already been released in streaming platform yesterday ahead of its airing date on Friday next week. I would not have any new exciting episode to catch up on evening from tomorrow onward sadly. What should I do?
‘The Queen of News’ (新聞女王) is a Hong Kong drama that centers on the challenges faced by journalists, their dedication to uncover the truth, and the conflicts that arise in their personal and professional lives in and out of their news reporting office. Themes such as journalistic integrity, ethical dilemmas and the pressures of the media industry are explored throughout the series. This 26-episode drama starred Charmaine Sheh, Kenneth Ma, Selena Lee, Samantha Ko, Regina Ho, Venus Wong, Matthew Ho, Eric Tang, Shaun Tam, Mimi Kung, etc.
26 episodes aren’t enough for me (and I believe for many audiences too). The storyline could easily be expanded to 30 episodes or more without losing its intensity and appeal. Some of the characters’ conclusion felt rushed and there are some unanswered questions (maybe hinting a sequel?). I felt like the last episode was way too rushed too although the outcome is still extremely fantastic (and very touching) which featured a case of which Joel Chan took kids at a childcare centre as hostage as he could not come to terms with his own daughter’s death. The ending which saw the five main female leads finally settled aside their differences after the incident is resolved brought a warm and beautiful closure to the series.
Charmaine Sheh impressed everyone with her superb performance and breathtaking charisma in this series. Critically lauded for that, many has already predicted her to clinch her third best actress win at the upcoming TVB Anniversary Awards 2023 to be held next month (its nomination list had just been released yesterday with huge support to this series as expected). However, I would prefer more if both she and Selena Lee were crowned best actress together. Selena Lee also delivered outstanding work in this series and their on-screen intense interactions were brilliantly executed. Selena is always solid in her performance. She deserves best actress and shouldn’t be outshined by Charmaine.
The other actresses who tagged along were doing fine too. Let’s not forget the actors. Kenneth Ma was ordinary until the very last episode on a scene when he teared up during a live broadcast after streaming showing Charmaine in danger at the childcare centre was interrupted and he revealed his honest feeling of Charmaine as his friend (finally not viewing her as work nemesis). Although Joel Chan was only participating in the last episode, but his role as the mentally disabled father who lost his daughter is very engaging. Eric Tang do stood out too in his supporting role as a chief director here.
Excellent script, impressive performances, fast-paced development, engaging storyline, and thought-provoking plots that revealed lessons in journalism and life; what else do you need to be crowned best series of the year? ‘The Queen of News’ is not only the best of the year, but also the best in recent years. Out of 10 points, I rate it 8.7.
(Images in this post are from various online sources)