SINGAPORE - Dick Lee's popular stage musical Fried Rice Paradise will be retold in a 13-part television series slated for telecast in 2019.

The new project is part of Mediacorp's Lights. Camera. Singapore initiative, which will see the reworkings of familiar Singapore stories, as well as reruns of popular Singapore films, on Channel 5 and streaming service Toggle.

The new initiative was announced on Tuesday (Nov 20). It kicks off on Nov 27 and will run every Tuesday at 10pm.

Lee said in a press statement: "The upcoming iteration is centred on protagonist Choo Bee Lean in the 1980s, who is struggling to keep her father's coffee shop afloat. Our national identity is something we must never take for granted, so I'm always mindful of imbuing my work with a sense of Singaporean-ness."

Besides Fried Rice Paradise, which is set to air in July 2019, Michael Chiang's play Mixed Signals will also be retold as a 13-part television series. The series, about dating in the digital age, will premiere in October 2019.

Chiang said: "The humorous high jinks will be heightened for television. I want to introduce new characters that will allow for some truly unexpected sub-plots. Possibly throw in a song or two?"

A number of award-winning Singapore films will also be aired as part of the initiative. These include Anthony Chen's Golden Horse Best Picture family drama Ilo Ilo (2013), Kirsten Tan's set-in-Thailand road movie Pop Aye (2017) and anthology film 7 Letters (2015).

Chen said: "It's tremendously gratifying to be able to introduce my work to a fresh audience five years after its inception. I hope the touching tale will resonate with a new generation of Singaporean fans the way it has with viewers all around the world."

Correction note: This article has been updated to reflect the correct name of Mediacorp's Lights. Camera. Singapore initiative. We are sorry for the error.