Tiger Cubs (TV series)

Premise

The drama follows a fictional team of elite paramilitary officers from the Special Duties Unit of the Hong Kong police force. They specialise in counter-terrorism, hostage rescue, and crimes that are deemed too dangerous for regular police to handle. The unit works closely with the Organised Crime and Triad Bureau (OCTB) to crack down on terrorist groups.

Production

Written by Lee Yee-wah, Tiger Cubs began pre-production with the backing of the Hong Kong Police Force, which supported the drama with their newest SDU equipment. With a budget of over HK$15 million, each episode took HK$1 million to make, three times more expensive than an average TVB drama production. On 3 January 2011, it was announced that Joe Ma, a former VIPPU officer, and Jessica Hsuan had been cast in the lead roles. On 5 January, a press conference and costume fitting was held at TVB City, Tseung Kwan O. Filming commenced on 20 January and ended in April, taking four months to complete. To keep up with the demanding and flexible physical requirements of the drama, most of the main cast members consistently underwent special training between filming schedules. Him Law, who portrays SDU A-Team officer Yue Hok-lai, reported that he lost about 10 pounds after filming the first episode. On 10 February, guest star Ngo Ka-nin injured his right knee while filming a fight sequence with Dan Jun-wai, who injured his head. A TVB spokesperson later announced that they were both fine. Earlier, Savio Tsang, who portrays SDU A-Team sub leader Yip Shu-fai, was injured in the face by a plastic bullet, and Christine Kuo injured her head from a telephone booth.

Manila hostage crisis dramatisation

The production of Tiger Cubs was announced shortly after the Manila hostage crisis, causing the media to speculate if the incident had inspired the production of Tiger Cubs. Producer Lam Chi-wah denied the claims, saying that he had intentions to produce a drama about the SDU even before the crisis happened. On 30 March 2011, a tourist bus hostage scene inspired by the Manila hostage crisis was filming near Kai Tak Airport. The actors involved in the shoot admitted afterwards that they rather not have filmed it, and guest star Kenneth Ma, who portrays the hijacker, said he was afraid the scene would tarnish his public image. Nonetheless, the cast and crew "did their job" and filmed a majority of the action sequence in the first two days. On 1 April, TVB executives decided to cancel the scene, stating that the plot was too sensitive and disturbing for the Hong Kong people. They re-filmed the hostage scene from hijacking a tourist bus to hijacking a boat.

Main characters

Supporting characters

Critical reception

The critical reception of Tiger Cubs has been generally positive. On Douban, the first series received a rating of 7.8 out of 10 based on over eleven thousand votes. Based on 87 reviews from Mtime, the first series received an overall rating of 7.5, with the critical consensus "it's worth to take a look."

Ratings

The following is a table that includes a list of the total ratings points based on television viewership. Tiger Cubs will be aired every Sunday for episode 1 - 3 and then twice a week on Saturday and Sunday afterwards.