1991: The Era of Hong Kong Dramas

Huo Sheng stayed in his office for three days straight.

The remaining employees in the cubicles were quite a surprise. Everyone else was on vacation, but screenwriter Xiao Huo was even more diligent than when he was filming. He was working from dawn till dusk, and no one knew what he was busy with.

On the fourth day.

Huo Sheng finally broke free of his self-isolation and knocked on the door of Wei Jiahui's office in the administration building.

"Ah Sheng, what brings you here?"

Wai Ka-fai was checking the finished product on the monitor when he heard a knock on the door. He looked up, smiled, and said, "Ying-ming and I will handle the post-production. You can go back and get some more sleep."

"I've had enough rest."

Huo Sheng closed the door and sat down beside him. "Brother Jia Hui, there's something I'd like to talk to you about."

Wai Ka-fai glanced at him, reached out and paused the monitor, asking curiously, "What's wrong?"

"I've got some inspiration for my next film."

"Oh?"

Wai Ka-fai paused for a moment, then laughed, "We only wrapped filming a few days ago, and the post-production dubbing isn't even finished yet, and you're already thinking about the next one?"

"Inspiration is something that can come suddenly."

"What inspired you? Tell me!"

"It's about legal matters."

Huo Sheng cleared his throat and said, "I'm planning to write a play about a lawsuit, involving judges, lawyers, advisors, and sergeants. They each have their own expertise. After work, they drink and chat, but in court, they argue fiercely."

After listening, Wai Ka-fai asked, "It's just a lawsuit, what's so interesting about filming it?"

"It's not just about the lawsuits, but also the various stories that unfold from them. Where there's a defense, there are conflicts: domestic violence, teacher molestation of female students, medical malpractice, abuse of power by the wealthy, juvenile delinquency... all of these can be discussed."

After all, every issue has both positive and negative aspects; exploring it through litigation is where its true value lies.

"..."

After listening, Wai Ka-fai remained silent, stood up and walked around a few times, and said, "It sounds good, but for screenwriters, legal dramas are not that simple. It's not just about finding a few people in suits to stand there and read lines."

As you said, the real selling point is the multiple defenses presented. Therefore, the cross-examination in court and the logical arguments presented one after another are crucial. If you get even one point wrong, the whole thing will fall apart.

"I know."

"Then why did you choose it?"

Huo Sheng shrugged and said, "Difficulty doesn't mean it's impossible. On the contrary, it's precisely because the subject matter is difficult that there's an opportunity."

The crimes I just mentioned that could go to court would pique the curiosity of housewives and resonate with them, creating a huge market potential. But because they're difficult to film, nobody makes them.

"What about cross-examination?"

"I can disguise myself as a legal advisor to attend court hearings, or I can spend some money to chat with detectives; these are not problems."

Ok?

Wei Jiahui was taken aback, then realized what he meant and looked at him with interest: "So you had this planned all along. What are your plans?"

Huo Sheng met his gaze and said firmly, "I want to try filming it myself."

Wai Ka-fai didn't speak, waiting for him to continue.

"I know it's not my turn yet based on seniority," Huo Sheng said. "But with 'The Great Era,' I followed the whole process from scriptwriting to on-set and post-production, and I learned a lot. I want to take this opportunity to see if I can take another step forward."

Wei Jiahui leaned back in his chair and gently shook his head.

"You're exaggerating a bit too much, kid. It's not that easy. All eighteen producers in our station worked their way up to that position after ten years of hard work."

Their roles are all still waiting in line for release dates. Even if I wanted to recommend you, I couldn't let you cut in line; there are so many people eyeing the project.

"No, no, I wasn't expecting to get a normal time slot."

Huo Sheng said, "As long as it can be in the experimental unit drama slot, that's fine."

"An episodic series?" Wai Ka-fai frowned slightly. "There aren't many viewers in that time slot. If the ratings don't go up, your next series will be even more difficult."

"There's no other way; if you want high returns, you have to take high risks."

As he spoke, Huo Sheng took out several stacks of papers from his bag and handed them over: "I'm thinking of following the structure of an episodic drama, one case per episode, which fits perfectly with the experimental broadcast format. The cases are independent, but the relationships between the characters are consistent throughout, so if viewers miss an episode, it won't affect their ability to catch up on the next one."

This is the overall project plan description, and this is a brief summary of a few cases and courtroom dialogues that I've written down..."

"Oh?"

Wei Jiahui glanced at Huo Sheng with some surprise; even the plan was comprehensive and watertight.

He took the stacks of papers and began to carefully turn the pages one by one. The office remained quiet for a while, the only sound the rustling of the pages.

He put the project down only after reading the last paragraph.

"How do we solve the budget issue?" His tone was gentler than before, and he seriously considered the options for him. "I'm afraid Sister Zhen won't give you much money."

"I've thought about it."

Huo Sheng said, "I plan to use only three main sets for the entire series: a courtroom, a law firm, and a bar. We'll use three cameras for filming, so the actors can move while the cameras stay still, which will save a lot of money on set construction."

The cast is all unknown actors; legal dramas sell the cases and dialogue, not big names.

Upon hearing this, Wei Jiahui remained silent for a moment, then looked up at him, as if reassessing this young man with whom he had been working for more than half a year.

After a while, he took his hand off the armrest and slammed it on the table: "Put the plan here, I'll take a closer look."

After saying that, he added, "If there aren't any major problems, I'll help you apply."

Huo Sheng was taken aback.

He originally thought that Wai Ka-fai would think he was being unrealistic, but he didn't expect that the other party would even take on the task of applying for the schedule.

This is selfless help.

He opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything for a moment. After a long while, he finally said, "Brother Jia Hui, thank you for believing in me and giving me this opportunity."

Wei Jiahui shook his head: "Ah Sheng, you gave me the opportunity."

"After I came back from ATV, I was lost for a long time until you came to me with a notebook."

He paused, then continued, "I really like the drama 'The Greed of Man' and I hope you can stay and help me, but I can sense that you have bigger ambitions."

"..."

Huo Sheng was about to say something when Wei Jiahui raised his hand to stop him.

"Actually, it's not so much ambition as drive. You've already figured out what you want to do as soon as you arrived. You won't stay by my side as a screenwriter forever, and there's nothing wrong with that... I'll try my best to help you; it's what I should do."

Huo Sheng sighed inwardly. He thought he had hidden it well, but he didn't expect that Wei Jiahui knew everything in his heart, but just didn't say it.

There is indeed no fool in this world.

He raised his eyes and glanced at Wai Ka-fai.

"Thanks."

"do not mention it."

Wai Ka-fai waved his hand and smiled, "We're not from any faction, we're friends. Once the application period is over, if we're successful, please don't hesitate to ask if you need anything from me regarding personnel."

……

leave the office.

As Huo Sheng trudged downstairs, he felt a mix of emotions, including inevitable excitement.

"The File of Justice" was TVB's first attempt at making a workplace drama.

At the time, the higher-ups suspected that housewives didn't like watching professional dramas, so they decided to test the waters by airing them in late-night slots. However, they were unexpectedly well-received, achieving a 30% viewership rating in the late-night time slot, which made the TV station take professional dramas seriously and stop treating them as perfunctory.

Later, the show gained more and more positive reviews, so it was moved to prime time and filmed one season a year. At its peak, it achieved an effective viewership rating of 35%.

This is why Huo Sheng chose this role.

As long as the show performs consistently, he will have made a smooth transition from screenwriter to producer.

Regardless of whether this producer is the lowest-ranking one in TVB's hierarchy, the very act of crossing that threshold is incredibly important.

Then, it would be easy to switch to normal shooting hours and film what I really wanted to film.