Ferlyn Wong embarks on a journey of dual identity in Mediacorp’s Emerald Hill

SINGAPORE: The latest buzzword in town is about a popular new Mediacorp drama called Emerald Hill. The hit show starring Singaporean actress Ferlyn Wong playing double life is set in Singapore’s Peranakan community and set in the 50s and 70s.

Imagine having to juggle two completely different identities. That’s what Ferlyn’s character, or characters Zhang An Ya and Zhou Hong Yu, are going through. Zhou Hong Yu finds out her birth name is actually Zhang An Ya, and that discovery throws her whole world into chaos.

Balancing what she wants and knows is right

She’s basically trying to figure out where she belongs, which is something a lot of us can relate to, right? And An Ya? She’s super smart, but she’s always battling these inner conflicts, trying to balance what she wants with what she knows is right.

Ferlyn herself said, ‘I think many people will be able to relate to this journey because it is so deeply resonant.’ And you can tell she put a lot of work into it.

Understanding the role

To really get into the role, she watched ‘Memoirs of a Geisha’ to understand that emotional depth. She even went to Malacca, the heart of Peranakan culture, and talked to people like Lee Yuen Thien, the vice president of the Baba & Nyonya Association of Malaysia. She wanted to get it right. Plus, she worked with Christopher Lee, a really experienced actor, and got a Chinese language coach to nail the script.

It wasn’t easy, though. Ferlyn had to embrace the character’s flaws. ‘Bringing authenticity to the role requires accepting moral ambiguity,’ she said. Basically, she had to show the character’s good and bad sides, which is always tricky.

The show is a hit

And guess what? The show’s a hit! It went straight to number one on Netflix Singapore overnight after it premiered on March 10th. You can also catch it on Channel 8 and a bunch of other places.

And here’s a cool detail: Mediacorp actually donated some of the costumes to the Peranakan Museum in Singapore. Ferlyn’s outfits are even on display there! It’s a real milestone for her and for the show.