Taiwanese drama The World Between Us returns with new star Vic Chou as a grieving dad

SINGAPORE – When Taiwanese drama The World Between Us premiered in 2019, Taiwanese producer Jayde Lin had no idea if it would be well received by critics and audiences because of what she called its “hardcore” themes.

The series chronicled the fallout of a mass shooting at a movie theatre from various perspectives and discussed hefty social issues such as the death penalty, mental health support and media sensationalism.

But it ended up being a huge hit, winning six prizes at Taiwan’s Golden Bell Awards, including Best Television Series. It also scored a 9.4 rating out of 10 on Chinese review site Douban.

A second season has finally arrived with a new cast and story. The upcoming series, slated to premiere in Taiwan in 2025, follows over 20 years six families whose lives have been affected by a major case of arson.

While in town for the Asia TV Forum & Market at Sands Expo and Convention Centre on Dec 5, Lin and Taiwanese stars Vic Chou, Hsueh Shih-ling and Nikki Hsieh shared five things about what to expect.

1. A 20-year epic

As The World Between Us 2 spans more than two decades, several cast members were subject to de-ageing technology, which required them to have black dots pasted on their faces for certain scenes.

Hsieh (Light The Night, 2021 to 2022), 39, said: “I was very scared that I would break out in laughter seeing the dots, but my very first scene involving de-ageing was not light-hearted, but very emotional, so I got used to it very quickly.”

Producer Lin said the de-ageing is only a small part of making the story believable. The 10-parter, which has more than 50 characters, was reportedly filmed with resources normally allocated to three drama series.

She added: “People may not understand what’s difficult about portraying the lives of six families over 20 years, but it’s not a one-and-done flashback sequence. Everyone in our story – and we have so many characters – has to experience these 20 years together. So, while we certainly have a few money shots, we spent the majority of our resources fine-tuning the details of how we present the weight of these 20 years.”

2. Vic Chou plays grieving dad

In the series, Chou portrays a bereaved father and psychiatrist who loses his wife and son in an arson incident and becomes deeply depressed.

The 43-year-old actor, who has an eight-year-old daughter with his Taiwanese actress-wife Reen Yu, said he never leans on his life experiences to get into character because that has the potential to be very emotionally fraught.

“When I’m preparing for a role, I’m using that character as a premise to decide how he feels and deals with things. I don’t want to use my emotions and make a judgment call to say that these are the exact emotions my character would have, because we are different people.”

The former member of Taiwanese boy band F4 added: “Of course, there are some similarities, especially as a parent. I don’t dare to think, even once, about something like this happening to my child.”

3. Mama’s boy takes on Congress

Hsueh has a less depressing storyline compared with Chou or Hsieh, who plays a woman whose mentally unwell husband is arrested for killing a cop.

Hsueh, recently seen in hit Taiwanese Netflix drama Born For The Spotlight (2024), plays an idealistic young man who becomes a politician thanks to the connections of his mother, a veteran politician (Yang Kuei-mei).

Does he like his “mama’s boy” role?

“It’s hard to say. Oftentimes, there’s a negative connotation associated with the label, but that’s not what the series is saying. This character had his family’s support, so he could go to law school and do things he thinks are good for society, which he might not have been able to do otherwise.

“But on the flip side, he can be spoilt and pampered. It’s not a black-and-white thing. And the character himself goes from severely disliking this label to almost reluctantly accepting it near the end.”

4. A first-time Best Actor meeting

Chou and Hsueh, who both have Best Actor Golden Bell Awards under their belt, are working together for the first time in The World Between Us 2. And they portray best pals, who see each other go from carefree young men to adults diminished by the realities of their lives.

Chou, who won the accolade for period drama Home (2012), praised Hsueh’s work. “I’m in the audience in one of the scenes in which he’s addressing people as a politician. And I was, like, this is what acting is about. Actors need to have this certain level of ‘crazy’ to fully embrace the moment. You can’t always predict what Shih-ling’s going to do, you don’t know what’s going to trigger his emotions, but that’s what makes him amazing.”

5. In the footsteps of a masterpiece

The first season of The World Between Us has been hailed as one of the finest examples of Taiwanese television in recent years. So did they feel pressure living up to the high standards of its predecessor?

Hitmaker Lin also produced the 2023 political drama Wave Makers, which helped kick off Taiwan’s #MeToo movement that year. She said with a laugh: “Honestly, after five years, it’s not that bad. I did many things in between that diffused some of that tension.

“But no matter what, there’s some pressure there and I think that’s why our scriptwriter (Lu Shih-yuan), who took a lot of convincing before she agreed to write a second season, took four years to work on this script. And the only thing we can do to protect the story is by giving it all that we have.”

Hsieh, who said she loved the first season, added: “Of course, it’s a bit stressful but more than anything, it’s excitement and anticipation.”