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Netflix to launch A Taiwanese Tale of Two Cities

The series is yet another original series produced from Taiwan after the previously announced one "Bardo" (擺渡身).

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American streaming platform Netflix has been working closely with Taiwan's film productions and workers. (Source: Pixabay)

American streaming platform Netflix has been working closely with Taiwan's film productions and workers. (Source: Pixabay)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — After Netflix announced the shooting of “Bardo” (擺渡身) this August, the platform’s first original Chinese-language series produced from Taiwan, the American TV streaming company confirmed September 20 that it was working on another original series, “A Taiwanese Tale of Two Cities (working title), in collaboration with a Taiwanese filmmaker and local production teams.

The 20-episode series set to be shot later this year is said to focus on cross-cultural issues through the stories of two women, one a local Chinese medicine practitioner in Taipei and the other a Taiwanese-American programmer in San Francisco, particularly their adventure as they swap homes to experience a different culture in each other’s home city.

The series will be directed by Nelson Yeh (葉天倫), the Taiwanese filmmaker who previously directed “La Grande Chaumiere Violette” (紫色大稻埕) and “The Mad King of Taipei Town” (西城童話), and will be produced by KBro Media (凱擘影藝) and Good Image Production (晴天影像). The series has also received a government grant from Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture in an attempt to support “a Taiwanese story with a global perspective,” according to the platform’s press release.

“’A Taiwanese Tale of Two Cities’ with its universal appeal is more than just a collaboration with Netflix, it’s an opportunity for Taiwan content creators on the world stage,” said Yeh.

The series is among Netflix’ recent collaborations with film productions and workers in Taiwan in 2017. Apart from the series “Bardo” (擺渡身) that involves Taiwan-based Malaysian director Sam Quah (柯汶利) and IFA, a Singaporean-headquartered media company which produced the HBO popular series “The Teenage Psychic” (通靈少女), Netflix also bought eight Taiwan's television series from Q Series (植劇場), a television project sponsored by Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture, in August for them to be available for the platform's global users.

“We are excited about ‘A Taiwanese Tale of Two Cities’ bringing the multi-cultural worlds of Taiwan and America to our 104 million members across 190 countries,” said John Derderian, Director of International Originals at Netflix.