The Defected
The Defected (; lit. Iron Detective) is a 2019 Hong Kong television drama produced and directed by So Man-Chung, with Carmen So serving as co-director. It is a co-production between the Hong Kong broadcasting company TVB and China's Tencent Penguin Pictures, a television production unit launched by Tencent. It stars Benjamin Yuen as Inspector Sheung Sing, a policeman who becomes embroiled in a conspiracy plaguing the high-ranking officials due to an incident that almost cost him his life. The drama premiered on TVB Jade in Hong Kong, Macau and on Astro On Demand in  Malaysia on April 1, 2019, and aired its final episode on May 10, 2019. In Mainland China, the first five episodes were released on Tencent Video on April 1, and the next five episodes were made available for VIP members. Tencent Video released five new episodes every week. "The Defected" premiered with the highest first episode ratings since 2019, with a viewership rating of 29.5 points. On April 5, 2019 it was announced that Netflix has purchased the rights to distribute "The Defected" internationally, becoming the first TVB drama to be shown on Netflix. Plot. Inspector Sheung Sing (Benjamin Yuen ) miraculously survives a near-fatal shot to the head after attempting to save a colleague, but the incident leaves him with PTSD, repeatedly envisioning the event in his head over and over again. The shooter, Bingo (Philip Keung), turns out to be an undercover cop working for Chief Superintendent Man Hei-wah (Kara Wai) who actually accidentally shot Sing in an attempt to threaten Chief Man for constant abuse of power and disregard for police lives. She has been in a long power-struggle with Chief Superintendent Kan Kwok-Chu (Benz Hui) and Wan Sir (Lee Sing-cheong) for the  position of Commissioner of Police, and in her endeavors to win merits to rise in power, she sets Bingo free, with intentions of getting him to provide her with intel during operations to ensure her stability in the police force goes smooth-sailing. Determined to pull Man down from power after her excessive abuse of authority in countless occasions goes out of hand, Bingo teams up with Sheung Sing to collect evidence of Man's dutiful negligence to prevent her from ascending towards the Commissioner position, only to be shot down once more. Production. "The Defected" had been in the  making since as early as 2016, when TVB announced its plans for more collaboration projects with Chinese media giants iQIYI and Tencent. Chu Kang-ki pitched the story to producer So Man-chung at around that same time, who immediately expressed interest in working on the show. For the next two years, Chu and his wife Lau Siu-kwan worked on perfecting the script. The duo drew many inspirations for the story from the Gallant Garden, a public cemetery for civil servants, specifically the 55 Hong Kong police officers buried at the cemetery. The Gallant Garden is also a setting  that appears frequently throughout the show. Chu said the story of "The Defected" is a homage to 90's era Hong Kong police films and television dramas, in which bravery and honour were central themes. Casting began soon after the script for "The Defected" was completed. Kara Wai was the first choice to play Man Hei-wah, an ambitious and ruthless police official who vies to become the first female commissioner of police. Benjamin Yuen lost 20 pounds for his role as Sheung Sing.