"Sometimes, I watch South Korean movies or dramas. Even if I don't understand what the characters are saying without reading the subtitles, I still find the scenes captivating," he says. "If a Chinese film in Mandarin or Cantonese can entice foreign audiences to follow along through subtitles, that means it's successfully gone abroad."

In addition, Chan believes that nuanced emotions, such as those of traditional family interactions, can distinguish Chinese programs from their Hollywood counterparts.

Director Wong Kwok-keung says that the core of the story is love. He says that the show's exploration of how an individual struggles through adversity while depicting brotherhood, friendship, and family affection, interwoven with elements of redemption and revenge, was what attracted him to the project.

The drama debuted to a rating of 8.3 out of 10 on the Asian show review aggregator MyDramaList, and became the second most popular Hong Kong TV series on Netflix on its third day of release.

Contact the writer at xufan@chinadaily.com.cn