“Brother’s Keeper” Synopsis

TVB’s highly anticipated modern drama Brother’s Keeper <巨輪> will finally debut next Monday, September 23. Produced by Amy Wong (王心慰), the 32-episode series will explore the rapid social, economic, and political changes that have influenced Hong Kong and Macau since the 1980s, and will touch upon the themes of ethics and resilience in the face of adversity. The story follows a pair of brothers over a span of 30 years, and the lead cast members will each play their role from their 20s to their 50s. To achieve realism, TVB had put in great efforts to ensure the cast are dressed in outfits appropriate for each time period. The production team also inserted actual news footage and headlines into each episode to invoke nostalgia.

The series begins with a kidnapping case in 2013 and later shifts to the start of the story in 1980. Kiu Tin Sang (Ruco Chan 陳展鵬) and Law Wai Shun (Edwin Siu 蕭正楠) are half-brothers from Foshan, China who became separated while escaping from mainland. Tin Sang made it safely to Hong Kong on his own, and despite hardships, he eventually adjusted to the new environment and became a member of the Hong Kong Police. Later he meets fashion designer Rachel Cheuk (Linda Chung 鍾嘉欣) and the two fell deeply in love even though Rachel’s mother (Susan Tse 謝雪心) disapproves of their relationship.

Meanwhile, Wai Shun and his mother Chow Yuk Mui (Louise Lee 李司棋) end up in Portuguese Macau. The two settled there as illegal immigrants and make a modest living by selling peanut and ginger candies on the streets. Growing up, Wai Shun develops a strong friendship with tomboy Yiu Man Ying (Kristal Tin 田蕊妮) and wealthy heir Lung Fei (Louis Yuen 阮兆祥). Wai Shun dreams of owning a thriving pastry business. Through hard work, perseverance, and the help of his childhood friends, he eventually accomplished his goals and became the owner of an acclaimed pastry chain.

Kat McNamara, Dominic Sherwood shar...
Kat McNamara, Dominic Sherwood share treat for ‘Shadowhunters’ fans

Both brothers’ ambitions continue to grow as Hong Kong and Macau developed into thriving cities. While Wai Shun is slowly building his business empire with care and good work ethics, Tin Sang sought out shortcuts instead. To quickly boost his career, Tin Sang sweet-talks his way into the elite social circles, where he meets beautiful, wealthy heir Favio (Ankie Beilke 貝安琪). Later, when he becomes knee-deep in debt after the stock market crashed, Tin Sang tries to save himself by taking advantage of Favio, seducing her shamelessly for a slice of her massive family fortune. His various self-serving behaviors deeply hurt and anger girlfriend Rachel and completely destroys the remaining foundations of their shaky relationship.

Tin Sang falls even deeper into darkness at the end. He later becomes involved with triad gangster Keung Yung (Louis Cheung 張繼聰), and with Yung’s help, plans to kidnap his now wealthy half-brother Wai Shun. The two brothers meet once again at this climatic moment and the story finally comes full circle.

“Brother’s Keeper” Trailer

[vsw id=”_4qvu91Cy9I” source=”youtube” width=”500″ height=”375″ autoplay=”no”]

Source: ihktv.com

This article is written by Katrine for JayneStars.com.

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Responses

  1. Sounds like Ruco is antagonist and Edwin will be protagonist? Usually, in TVB’s logic, that makes Edwin the lead.

    Plot sounds interesting and it feels like a refreshing era to be filming about. Looking forward to seeing Kristal and Louis collaborate again.

    1. The good brother role sounds very boring, no wonder Moses turned it down.

      1. agree. we’ve seen that TVB is capable of making a character “too good to be true,” which becomes extremely boring and ridiculous.

      2. @Selena
        Dang, viewers like you are so hard to please! Give you a story-line with some sci-fi element in it like Bullet Brain, you criticise as stupid, give you something like WAB2 and it’s too complicated for you to understand, give you something down-to-earth and heartwarming, you diss it as unexciting…. The storyline of BK may not be new to you but it is new to some people like me who have not watched the old TVB dramas. Also, it is acted by different cast and directed by a different director who may give it a new twist. Seriously, after churning out countless dramas since 1967, how many permutations can you come up with? You better stick to watching your long-winded Taiwanese serials and Korean idol dramas.

      3. @ Selena
        was referring to Reality Check as down-to-earth and heart warming, not BK; there shld be an edit button 🙂

      4. Not all Taiwanese series are long winded and not all Korean series are idol series.

      5. Seems boring and I agree with you shrimpboat I hate it when they make a character “too good to be true like Ruco in Reality Check GPS. Now a days most of the good script writers has moved to china and these new script writers are making there characters too good to be true.

      6. scorpio2010,

        I think most of the audience loses interest in watching dramas and movies. Don’t forget that TV was only invented in 18th/ 19th century, so it means it is already 100 years old or more. Many ideas have been used and reused and re-reused. A lot of people quit watching tv or watch less tv due to its ideas that have been used again and again. They would rather find something else to do since watching tv has no benefit at all. 100 years old from now on, nobody wants to be an actor.

      7. Continue…

        So there is no need to blame Selena for thinking that the story line seems to be very boring. Everyone has different opinions. I don’t think the story line is boring even though I am a viewer that is hard to be pleased.

    1. Totally agree; Ruco’s forte is in playing emotionally torn angst-driven characters as he’s very good with his facial expressions. So looking forward to this!

      1. i’ll never forget his role in “Every Move You Make.” It was a series about reading facial expressions/body movements and most of the actors/actresses were not natural in delivering the movements (so obvious that they made those moves on purpose), but Ruco was very natural. Just looking at his eyes and subtle body movements, you can tell which “character” he had become.

        Really hope Brother’s Keeper scores him Best Actor!

      2. @Shrimpboat we all know he’s one of the best actors in tvb but best actor award to him this year isn’t going to happen cos of favoritism by the top mgt. It’s very unfair!

      3. @ Shrimpboat
        I love ruco in EMYM too, i totally feel his pain; i can’t watch the prison scene where he was so badly beaten up without cringing and i cried with him when he read abt his wife’s death and those moments when he reminisced abt the happy times he had with her; his character was so heart-wrenching and so well fleshed out by him. I think he’s amazing as Ah Hoi in Only You too.

  2. It’s so typical of TVB to make every series so dramatic. Why don’t they make anymore lighthearted series? Instead of having Ruco’s character taking shortcuts, seducing a rich girl, and spiraling into darkness (Gallen Lo already did all of that in Cold Blood Warm Heart), why not just have the two brothers reunite and the end. Boring? Maybe. More realistic? I think yes. Less dramatic? Definitely.

    1. You’ve already got that in Reality Check. Good acting by the cast but the ratings were just so-so; on the bright side, the ratings did improve as word of mouth spread. Fairytale endings aren’t worth a dime these days.

    2. disagree. dramatic series and dramatic role js what ruco needs to get noticed and to show off his fantastic acting skills. dramatic series will get more noise and discussion than flat realistic series which resembles documentaries. ruco needs dramatic series and role like this so that tvb will notice his awesome worth and start promoting him! he’s underpromoted right now when tvb is shifting their energy to promote the likes of oscar leung and him law!

    3. It’s not the role that makes the star but the star that makes the role. If Ruco is in fact such a good actor, then he should be able to shine in whatever role he plays, dramatic or not. And who’s asking for a fairytale ending? If I want fairytale, I’d go watch a bad Disney movie. But it must be possible for a series to have a good ending, without the dramatic good brother vs bad brother crap that has been replayed so many times before, and for it to still be a good series. Or is TVB really that lacking in imagination??

      1. It’s obvious you’ve not watched Reality Check. Unfortunately, viewers like you are in the minority, how else do you explain the average ratings despite the heartwarming story and ruco’s performance in it was widely praised.

      2. Ratings do NOT prove that a series is good. I have seen a number of series that were good or at least decent but had low ratings. But I have also seen some really bad series that have high ratings.

        Just because a series has a good case that performs well does not mean a series is good. As many of us know, the script,plot and other factors are even more important than the cast. Of course having a good cast is a big plus too.

      3. @HTS “Ratings do not prove that a series is good” – try telling that to tvb executives. For the latter case (bad series with high ratings), you shld be referring to TITS2, haha. What’s the point of having a good script and plot but the cast can’t act to save their lives?

      4. @Scorpio,
        Well I did not say to get a really bad cast that cannot act at all or to not care for the cast. Of course the cast is important too, but the plot and script are more important. But of course having a good cast is a BIG plus too.
        Even if I did tell the TVB executives, like they would care what I say…. If they cared, they would have improved in the quality of their series but as everyone has seen they have not.

      5. @HTS, that’s what I’m trying to say, that TVB only cares about ratings, why else do you think they’re giving us TITS the movie? They don’t care if the plot/script is meaningful or good or if the cast acted well. Anyway, i don’t think i can bear to watch anything with a good plot/script but the cast can’t act. It would irritate the helllll out of me.

  3. Another break up scene of Linda? lol She seemed a bit toned down in the trailer. Plot sounds pretty interesting. Now, let’s see how the script plays out.

  4. Don’t know if anyone noticed this correlation but to me, a sure sign that an actor has truly reached first lead status in tvb is reflected by the number of intense and daring love scenes he has with his co-stars. For the small fries, they almost never have any such scenes shown so explicitly altho’ these are implied. In BK, Ruco will have lots of passionate scenes with Ankie- in the pool, shower, on a counter top no less lol.

  5. This is a Tamil movie script I tell you! but I look forward to it.

    1. I will take any tamil movie script sans the singing round the tree anytime 🙂

      But seriously, the plot sounds a bit like the 90’s TVB classic The Change of Time with Francis Ng and Frankie Lam. And it also has Louise Lee playing the mother to one of the half siblings (they share the same father but different mother in this one). One of my all time fave.

      Hope Brother’s Keeper lives up to the expectation.

  6. Really looking forward to it! Hope Linda will shine! Edwin and Ruco ofcourse will be amazing!

  7. wow breakhrough role for ruco and amazing storyline for brother keeper!

  8. moses is such a bad actor glad he turned this down so that we can be spared! and ruco gets a breakhrough role and pairing with a fadan both ruco and edwin gets promoted! comparing ruco and moses acting is like an oscar winner to a fail actor!

    1. moses prob knows tt ruco will outshine him so he turned down. Love ruco’s acting, he’s such a natural, his facial expressions are subtle not exaggerated unlike some other actors. The good/bad role will definitely give him lots of opportunities to shine.

      1. Ruco is like everyone favorite actor all he gets is good comments about him

      2. agree. moses probably know ruco will outshine him so maybe that’s why moses rejected the series.

    2. I don’t think Moses is a bad actor . Both of them are good. No need to condemn Moses (fail actor ). He got his BA some years back .

    3. Moses is over promoted whereas Ruco’s under. tbb mgt sucks! Moses is smart to avoid Ruco coz he knows himself well. Anyway, his rejection has given Ruco a chance to pair with Linda. The only grateful thing he did. tbb’s holding a gem-ruco but they don’t treasure him enough-foolish! Ruco’s widely beloved by the audience, an essential element for artistes. Maybe shoeshing is more important in tbb.

      1. Any idea if ruco took over moses’ role cos if he did, then it’s great that moses turned it down. Cant imagine ruco in the good brother edwin role. The older brother role suits ruco to a tee and will allow him lots of opportunities to flex his acting chops. Agree that ruco deserves much better treatment from tvb.

    4. moses looks much older than Ruco, he can’t play Ruco’s younger brothers

    5. Moses is not a bad actor, at comedy yes but he’s great in heavy production roles. As proven in When Heaven Burns, Perish In The Name Of Love and Master Of Play to name a few. Moses only fails in comedy but everything else, he’s talented in those.

      1. Agree. Moses failed in comedies. He acted very well in “When Heaven Burns”, “The Dance of Passion”, “The Ultimate Crime Fighter”, etc.

      2. moses tends to overact. I dont know why some people say he acted well in moonlight resonance (hope i got the title right, it’s the one where fala is the mute sister), every time i see him and Ha Yu doing that hahaha, i cringe. He can be silly and funny sometimes too but again, kind of exaggerated style of acting.

      3. Moses overacts on comedy roles definitely, I couldn’t stand him in Yes Sir Sorry Sir, Heart Of Greed, Moonlight Resonance basically any roles he did that was suppose to be a comedy relief. I just think Moses himself is not someone who is funny so therefore he doesn’t know how to approach those type of characters. In terms of dramatic roles, he’s great.

      4. Exactly, that is how I feel about Moses’ acting. He cannot act any comedic characters, including the one which he won the Best Actor award, “Heart of Greed”. He tends to over-exaggerate in his acting in those comedic roles.

      5. Aw, as much as I HATE Moses in comedic roles, I thought he did fine in Heart of Greed; the exaggerated style suits his character since he was a bit… “leung” (god, no idea how you spell this, but it rhymes with ginger in Cantonese). He can be grating in other dramas, but he was actually rather endearing as Dak Dak Dei. It helps that DDD has an abundance of good qualities to balance out the comedy…

    6. Lol Moses is a way better actor than Ruco and Ruco gets Favorited too but I dont think he will win tvb king this year. Feel like in 2 more years when like ATF comes out Ruco might win Tvb King cause he got a really good undercover role that Ron should have got.

      1. Moses can’t be better than Ruco according to majority here. Ruco knows his standing and is not eager for the awards. The most important thing is he gets the recognition of majority audience-which can simply be seen here.

      2. Ruco’s acting is widely acknowledged to be among the best out of all the current siu sangs. Except that tvb protocol and mgt favoritism will cost him his BA award this year. It’s some comfort, at least, to know that he has so many supporters here 🙂

      3. I think Ruco is a better actor.Better looking too. Have you seen Moses in those old movies ? ( saw a couple in YouTube ) He was so darned ugly. But I must said his acting has improved a lot.

  9. Everyone who has good taste and a brain knows that ruco is a very good actor who’s so under-valued by tvb. Tvb mgt sucks!

    1. sorry, the above is a reply to lol.
      Forget to add that he’s also a good singer. The first time i heard him sing, i was blown right away.

      1. Ruco & Edwin are singing the theme song together, a very nice one. I think it will help to boost the series a bit.

      2. Edwin was a pop singer in Hong Kong many years ago, but Ruco can also sing well. He has a good and strong voice.

  10. “Growing up, Wai Shun develops a strong friendship with tomboy Yiu Man Ying (Kristal Tin 田蕊妮) and wealthy heir Lung Fei (Louis Yuen 阮兆祥).”

    So, Kristal and Loius Yuen will be Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley to Edwin Siu’s Harry Potter. Any chance Kristal will end up with Edwin instead of Louis?

    1. There doesn’t seem to be a mention of Edwin’s love life. Would much prefer him with his own girl rather than a love triangle with Ruco & Linda.

    2. I LOLed so hard at your comment. I don’t know, but I think I got the impression (from kristal’s weibo perhaps, i’m not very sure) that if Edwin ends up with anyone, he ends up with Kristal.

      So yes, I guess there is a chance. (Though I swear at this point there are already protests that she looks too old for him).

  11. i am not any one’s fans in this drama…but i put high hope in this drama…hope it is a great drama…love all the actor/actress in this drama

  12. Hum, sounds this synopsis sounds nice. And the actual news inserts seems like how ATV would do in their dramas. That’s very interesting and Ruco is in there so I will must certainly check it out. Linda’s hairstyle is awwww….. but I guess since it’s 80s she can’t look too modern.

  13. What happened was that Ruco was supposedly Mose’s little brother but since he dropped out, Edwin’s character was added in and was changed into the younger brother

    1. no, i mean as in was ruco supposed to play that good/bad role all along or was it meant for moses?

      1. From what I heard Ruco was supposed to play the half bad half good brother all along, but Moses who is the good brother will be the older one and the lead. Then when Moses turned it down they discarded Moses’ role and make Ruco the half good brother the elder one and add new character Edwin as a good younger brother.

  14. WTH? I thought this was Ruco’s series? If he’s the bad guy, then he’s not the lead, it would be his role model brother Edwin Siu. That has always been the TVB way. Not happy, not happy at all 🙁

    1. @Megamiaow: Actually, it’s a good thing because the ‘second lead’ villain characters are almost always written more complicated and is a great way for an artist to showcase their acting chops….plus in these types of situations, the villain character gets ‘noticed’ more than the ‘good guy / protagonist’ characters.

      Ruco fans should actually be happy that he got the role because this is actually his opportunity to shine (and possibly give him the boost he needs to reach that ‘first line’ status). Look at Deric Wan and Gallen Lo — 2 great examples right there of great actors who shot to first lead status with memorable, well-written villain roles (though of course their awesome performances contributed greatly as well).

      Personally, I don’t care much about the series itself, but I’m definitely looking forward to Ruco’s performance.

      1. Ruco has more screen time than edwin by a lot apparently. he’s the main character.

      2. Even with equal screen time, Ruco will still outshine Edwin by his awesome acting. Besides, by seeing the trailers, Ruco’s role is more eye catching and impressive. Feeling heartache after watching promo 3.

    2. It’s not as common in TVB, but they have had villain protagonists: Maggie Siu (Conscience), Gallen Lo (Born Rich), Adam Cheng (The Greed of Man). (Perhaps the last 2 are considered more co-leads? Or was Ray the lead in Born Rich?) That’s all I can remember off the top of my head right now.

      And Ruco’s name is always listed before Edwin’s.

      1. @skinnymocha: IMO, Born Rich doesn’t count, since that falls more into the ‘ensemble cast’ category where the lines between 1st/2nd/3rd lead and also supporting are less clearly drawn. But yes, the other 2 are good examples of ‘villain’ characters having the ‘1st lead’ role, so it could very well happen with Brother’s Keeper as well….I guess we will have to wait and see….

      2. Almost the entire lead cast of Sisters of Pearl were antagonists – Bowie, Kiki, Michael, Jessica, Joyce. Thought it was a brilliant script, although the ratings indicated otherwise.

      3. Hmm. I think some viewers may have had trouble with finding a character worth rooting for in Sisters of Pearl.

        Just a note: antagonists aren’t synonymous with villains – they simply oppose the protagonist (the main focus of the story).

    3. what are you even talking about? ruco is evidently the first lead! agreed with others that it’s awesome thaf ruco got the not so good brother because this type of role is between good and evil it will be great for ruco to flex his acting skills

    4. I believe Ruco is first lead, though with the recent heavy promotion by TVB, Edwin’s picture on the new official poster shares an equally prominent position which I’m not happy about too. This shld be Ruco’s series.

      1. Well, actually, I don’t think the line between first and second lead for this series is very clearly defined at this point, so we will likely have to watch the series in order to find out.

        Not sure how many people are familiar with the background, but Brother’s Keeper is actually loosely based on the life story of Leung Chan Kong, who is the founder/owner of Macau’s famous Koi Kei Bakery (note that the bakery is also one of the series’ commercial sponsors). Edwin’s character is supposed to be based on Leung Chan Kong himself – so in that sense, it does sound like Edwin is being billed as the ‘first lead’…but of course, just like with most TV series or movies ‘loosely based’ on real-life people / events, majority of the details are changed in order to accommodate the flow of the script (I’m sure everyone remembers TLSA? That series was also based on real-life people/events, but yet TVB only kept like 1% of the real-life story – everything else was fictional/made up).

    5. I don’t think being the bad guy means that you are not the lead. Being the villain is not necessarily a bad thing since I personally think playing the bad guy is more challenging and memorable instead of the typical good guy role. I am sure Ruco will shine if he performs well.

    6. tbb is making use of Ruco’s popularity to bring up newbies or 2nd line-like Jason in NGEW, Priscilla in RC,Tony Hung in OL, now Edwin. Even in SBH he was the false male lead, he’s there to support v rating instead of leaving Ray wong alone. But this shows tbb has confidence in him though not fair. I am sure he will shine in this series with this good/bad role and Edwin can’t take over him as 1st lead.

  15. MG! Im counting d hrs mann n longing for dramatic series as such. Hope d ending is shocking n sad!!!!!

  16. This series looks promising and I hope it does live up to expectations. I have no qualms about the fantastic cast. Edwin and Ruco can pull off as villains/goody two shoes! Both are extremely versatile actors! I’m just worried about the script.

    1. haha, i so agree. The actors are competent, hope the script writers are too 🙂

    2. That’s why our expectations should not be too high or else we will get disappointed.

      1. well, I’m still watching it, good or bad for ruco’s acting, he never fails to amaze with his range of emotions.

  17. The plot sounds like an old serial – A Change in Time. Two bothers (Francis and Frankie) separated in HK and mainland, and one brother took the road of no return for wealth and fame. And Louise Lee was the mother in that series too.

    1. My mom told me that was a great series but i never get to see it since it’s really old.

  18. Can someone pls enlighten me what it means to be a TVB anniversary series? I’ve seen that description being thrown around for some dramas and am wondering what it means.

    1. A TVB anniversary series is usually a big production with promising cast, and is being aired a month or so before TVB’s Anniversary in order to give the audience a fresh and good memory for awards voting.

      1. NK is the lighting anniversary series, this series highly promoted series is Hippocratic Crush 2 and Will Power

  19. I just listened to the song on utube.
    Ruco seriously have a great voice. Edwin’s voice is just so so to me.
    Even thou he might play an evilish character I hope it’s still admirable enough for him to shine. Add oil!!!

    1. don’t think ruco’s character is evilish, more like flawed. very excited for him to get this role……a flawed character is so much more interesting to watc. No doubt abt it that if the script is good, ruco will shine in this role.

      1. Yes, I hope so too. Even thou it might be a devilish character I will still check it out since I always think Ruco is such a underrated good actor. Complicated characters are seriously much more interesting to watch anyway. I never particularly like Edwin’s acting even if he is a lead. He’s kind of boring to watch.

  20. Hope Ruco’s character is well written with realistic character development. I thoroughly enjoy Ruco’s acting; he can act superbly using just his eyes, facial and body movements. He is definitely one of the better actors in TVB but I don’t think he will receive any award from TVB this year. Too bad!

    1. I second what you say but not only that, Ruco can also act with his voice. My fave moments in that extended trailer are at
      1. 1.58 min – listen to the glee in his voice when he makes his first pot of gold; he leaves the viewer with no doubts that he’s going to be hooked on making easy money in the stock market thereby leading to his downfall
      2. 2.15 min visiting Linda at the hospital, the pain and regret in his voice gives me goosebumps
      3. 2.46 min where Edwin visits him in prison; when he lashed out at Edwin, not just his facial expression but his voice conveys his anger so naturally.
      Very subtle touches but adds so much depth to his acting, no wonder I’m hooked on him. So sad that he’s not going to get any BA award this year no matter how deserving he is; for that boo to tvb.

    2. @Clover: Totally agree! Ruco is one of the best actors TVB has right now – the way he does his facial expressions and body movements as well as how he handles his emotional scenes are all superb. In my opinion, he actually blows most of TVB’s current siu sangs out of the water in the acting department (his emotional scenes in EMYM and RC were especially phenomenal – even if I didn’t like the series itself, still greatly enjoyed Ruco’s performances).

      Based on TVB’s ‘rigged’ award system, it’s pretty much 100% guarantee that Ruco is not going to win anything, no matter how many great performances he had this year (a bit sad, since he had so many series airing this year). Hopefully, he at least gets nominated (though it’s hard to say with the way TVB did the nominations last year….from what TVB execs have said so far, looks like they are planning to keep the same format for this year’s awards). Personally, TVB’s awards are meaningless to me and I could care less who wins anymore…but unfortunately, the reality is that the HK television industry is ‘governed’ by such awards and they play a huge role in determining an artist’s public ‘worth’ in their craft (we can disagree with it all we want, but it’s still reality)….therefore, for Ruco’s sake, I hope that he at least gets some type of recognition at the ceremony, even if it’s only in the form of a nomination….

      1. You’re right. If i were him, i’d feel very discouraged too. Hope he gets a nomination at least.

  21. I believe Ruco will steal the limelight through Brother’s Keeper, much better role than playboy type “Cool Mor” by Julian Cheung :p Go Ruco!

  22. Ruco’s role is certainly more complicated and challenging (physically as well as he has to do those dangerous stunts) than that fluffy playboy pilot role. Btw, Ruco in police inspector uniform is drop dead GORGEOUS <333333, so sharp, cool and smart.

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