Latest drama series captures the world of journalism
Launch of FRONTPAGE drama series
FRONTPAGE - Sneak peek into journalism
FRONTPAGE Teaser : Tony
FRONTPAGE Teaser : Cheryl
FRONTPAGE Teaser : Jehan
Ever wondered what really goes on in a newsroom? ntv7’s latest series FRONTPAGE is all prepared to unlock the “secrets” for the benefit of all readers out there.
A sneak preview of the first episode of the 13-episode show was held recently in GSC at The Pavillion Kuala Lumpur attended by producers, sponsors and cast members.
The production is a joint partnership between The Star Publications Berhad, ntv7, and Juita Viden, the largest independent television programme distributor in Malaysia.
The guests-of-honour present include ntv7 CEO Datuk Anthony Bujang, The Star Publications group managing director and CEO Datin Linda Ngiam, Juita Viden’s group executive director Francis Foo and also main sponsor The Munchy’s Group CEO C.K.Tan.
After mingling around at Level 5, guests were then ushered upstairs to Hall 11 to watch the exclusive screening of the episode called No Way Out.
Ngiam said the idea for the show was mooted many years ago, but it was only two years ago it took off.
“It was actually one of our editor’s idea of converting newsroom into something real,” said Ngiam.
“We had worked with Juita Viden previously during the Spirit of KL event thatwas shown over 8tv, and it was then we decided to go ahead with this project.”
She said The Star’s input for the show was providing story content for 13 episodes culled from its archive covering impressive headlines of the last 37 years.
As for Anthony, he believed great stories must be well-told to the audience and that itself presented the biggest challenge.
“Putting stories into a well-scripted drama is not easy. Of course, a good director and cast play an important role.
“While FRONTPAGE is in English and Malay, certain episodes include dialogues in Cantonese, Hokkien, and Tamil reflecting our multiracial society.
“The storyline is solid with unique plots each week, which we know our viewers will enjoy,” he said.
The one-hour drama details the inner workings of the daily paper called The Voice. It focuses on six individuals working for the paper played by actors Bernie Chan, Tony Eusoff, Jehan Miskin, Cheryl Samad, Nell Ng, and Nurakhtar Mohd Amin.
The cast members said they had known each other for a long time which made the working part easier.
They also sang praises for director Kabir Bhatia who according to them gave enough freedom to develop their characters.
Bhatia said some of the scenes for the drama were shot in actual newsrooms.
FRONTPAGE will be aired every Sunday on ntv7 at 9.45pm starting Sept 7.
