With the exodus of Lobang King that cracked viewers up on Saturday nights, a new sitcom arrives to fill the Ch 8 prime time slot amid high expectations. A Toast of Love, a spin off from the drama series Vive La Famille shown last year, stars popular veteran artistes Liu Qianyi, Hong Huifang, Lin Meijiao and Chen Huihui.
Centred on a kaya toast [coconut jam on bread] business, the characters "experience different love and relationship issues in the show", according to executive producer Michael Woo in fluent Mandarin. He explains the symbolic meaning of the kaya toast in the show, "Bread is a daily need, just like love. All of us need some love in our lives from family or friends."
Speaking of love, the show is boosted by 2 new characters played by popular ex-DJ/actor Dasmond Koh and actress/singer Rui En. Apparently, both characters in the show have a disliking for each other from the beginning, but it seems there's more than meets the eye. "My character does not like Dasmond from the first episode, but whether we share any on-screen romance remains to be seen," teases Rui En.
Rui En, the Mandopop singer last seen in Ch 5's Chemistry, seems to be a winner in the fame game, taking on various acting roles and warming viewers to her spunky personality. Playing an aspiring photographer in the show, Rui En remarks on her acting skills, "I have improved quite a lot because acting in a 'dramedy' is stressful due to the quick pace.
"I enjoy working with everyone, and I am known as a chor lo [rough in Hokkien] girl among the cast. But I always get bullied by the veterans!" she laughs. It was evident throughout the press conference, that her established colleagues like Qianyi, Huihui and Meijiao were teasing and laughing incessantly at Rui En.
When UrbanWire asked Rui En how it feels to work with these veterans, she innocently replied, "I am smaller and…" Before she could even complete her sentence, Huihui, who was sitting next to her, pointed at Rui En's chest and protested, "You call this small?"
We have utmost confidence this sitcom will bring in the laughs, sexual jokes or otherwise.
A Toast of Love airs on Sat, 9 pm from Oct 11.