Actress Shu Qi hopes Netflix show The Resurrected can be a global Asian hit like Squid Game

LOS ANGELES – In the Netflix revenge drama The Resurrected, Taiwanese actress Shu Qi and Malaysian actress Lee Sinje play grieving mothers whose young daughters are kidnapped and tortured.

But after culprit Chang Shi Kai (Fu Meng-po) is executed for murder and assault, Wang Hui Jun (Shu Qi) and Zhao Jing (Lee) feel like he has not been punished sufficiently.

So they perform a ritual to bring him back from the dead for seven days, to make him suffer like their girls did.

The two stars hope that this Mandarin series, a tentpole title in streaming platform’s expanding Asian TV slate, can become a global hit in the same way K-dramas such as Squid Game (2021 to 2025) have.

In a recent Zoom interview from Taoyuan, Taiwan, where the cast were doing press for The Resurrected, Shu Qi tells The Straits Times in Mandarin through an interpreter: “This is definitely our goal. We will hopefully make this series a global phenomenon, especially as everyone – our directors and the entire crew – put everything we could into making it a success.”

“Maybe it cannot be as successful as Squid Game, but we do hope we can create a global phenomenon close to that,” adds the 49-year-old, known for films such as the Chinese martial arts drama The Assassin (2015) and action flick The Transporter (2002).

Co-star Lee, 49, known for Asian horror films such as The Eye (2002) and Re-cycle (2006), echoes the sentiment, but is uncertain how the supernatural theme will fare with global audiences.

“As an actress, I think The Resurrected is a very great and profound story, and we have a very strong crew, good directors, and excellent actors and actresses, so it’s a fantastic project.

“But I don’t dare to have any expectations for whether international audiences will like it or not.

“I do hope so, because we worked very hard to present this drama, and we might have this opportunity because The Resurrected is being released globally on Netflix.

“So we wait and see,” says Lee.

She is more confident that viewers in Asia will enjoy the film.

“They will connect with the supernatural ideas easily. We have so many famous horror and ghost movies, and I feel like Asian audiences really like supernatural creations.

“And it’s good that our directors brought this topic into The Resurrected and have presented it with a very interesting and mysterious situation,” she says, referring to acclaimed Taiwanese co-directors Leste Chen and Hsu Chao-jen, who also collaborated on the drama series Delicious Romance (2021).

Lee, who is married to 49-year-old Hong Kong film-maker Oxide Pang and has nine-year-old twin sons, feels like her character defies certain Asian cliches, though.

“She is a very powerful, non-stereotypical and non-traditional Asian female character.

“She is a woman who will stand up for herself. That’s very powerful, and I can say this character is so different from all the characters I have played before,” says Lee.

Shu Qi says her character, in contrast, is more passive and weak – at least at first.

“She’s a victim of domestic violence and doesn’t want to step outside of her comfort zone. Even when her daughter is lying unconscious in hospital, she doesn’t want to do anything.

“That’s quite the opposite of me, so I had to really suppress my personality, put myself in her shoes and give her some sympathy,” says the star, who is married to Hong Kong actor-director Stephen Fung, 51.

“Then Zhao Jing comes into her life and says: ‘Let’s resurrect Chang Shi Kai,’” she adds.

“That is when her life changes profoundly. Her nature changes from weak to strong, and that was intriguing to me.”

According to an Oct 15 statement, The Resurrected surged to the top of Netflix Taiwan’s daily series ranking within 48 hours of its Oct 9 premiere. It also broke into the top 10 daily rankings in Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam.

Shu Qi said in the statement: “These past few days, every time I look at my phone, I see messages from friends – even some I’ve not been in touch with for a while – telling me, ‘I’m watching The Resurrected.’

“This is my first time taking on a series project in over 20 years, so I was quite nervous before it premiered. Seeing such lively discussions has been truly gratifying. The comment that struck me most was: ‘I can’t wait for Season 2.’ When I see reactions like that, I feel that the show has already succeeded.”

The Resurrected is available on Netflix.