Daddy Dearest (2016 TV series)

Daddy Dearest (Chinese: 超能老豆; literally "Super Daddy") is a 2016 Hong Kong modern family comedy television drama produced by Poon Ka-tak for TVB, starring Johnson Lee, Jason Chan Chi-san and Mandy Wong as the main leads. It premiered on August 1, 2016, airing every Monday to Friday on Hong Kong's TVB Jade, Malaysia's Astro On Demand and Australia's TVBJ channels during its 8:30-9:30 pm timeslot, concluding August 26, 2016 with a total of 20 episodes.

Synopsis

Ku Tse-keung (Johnson Lee) is an absentee father who boasts to his son, Ku Tui-nam (Marcus Lo), of his busy life because of his important business meetings and huge deal makings. However, Tse-keung is really just an ordinary real-estate agent who cares more about work than spending time with his son. His work life is so important to him that he would rather cancel his parental visits with Tui-nam and use his personal time to socialize with his boss. Tse-keung's inability to keep promises to his son has left him in a strained relationship with his ex-wife and her fiance, having to take on daddy duties for Tui-nam. When his ex-wife leaves Hong Kong to get married and go on a honeymoon, Tui-nam is left in Tse-keung's care for an extended period. Jealous that his son is growing closer to his new step-father, Tse-keung takes this task seriously to be a dutiful responsible dad. However, not being used to taking care of his son has left Tse-keung often overlooking his son's needs and feelings.

After seeing his client Ophelia Chu Lei-fa (Mandy Wong), who is a teacher at a learning center teaching Tui-nam how to do homework, Tse-keung decides to enroll Tui-nam in Ophelia's learning center instead of having Tui-nam tag along with him to work. When Flower and her landlord finds out Tse-keung had doctored their rental lease in order to complete a sale, they file a complaint against Tse-keung. Due to his underhand actions to complete a sale, Tse-keung's real-estate license is suspended for 6 months. Tse-keung notices Ophelia's learning center struggling because she is too nice to her students by refusing to charge extra for overtime and collect tuition when a student cannot pay. After a teaching staff quits and threatens to take Flower's students with her, Ophelia ask Tse-keung who is business minded to advise her on how to save the learning center. Tse-keung instead suggests he become a business partner at her learning center. In exchange, Ophelia advises Tse-keung on how to be a caring parent to Tui-nam, who she notices is often neglected due to his independence.

Marius Seung Nim-shu (Jason Chan) is also an absentee father, but unlike Tse-keung, his long business trips takes him away from his family. As an architect, his career takes him away from his family for months. However, he is always thinking of his family and can't wait to get back to them. Even though he is a loving dad to his kids, his hectic work life causes him to miss out on important events in his children's life and getting both his daughter Seung Yee and son Seung Yi's birthday's mixed up. After being lectured by his academic importance father, Marius becomes concerned for his son Seung Yi's (who is entering elementary school soon) academics. Marius request time-off from work, but his boss depends on him and refuses to allow him any time-off, even suggesting Marius takes his entire family with him on his next business trip. Feeling his son is more important, Marius quits his job and decides that for the next 6 months, he will concentrate solely on finding the right school for Yi.

Tse-keung and Marius first meet when the two fight for the same robotic toy for their sons. The two meet again when Marius joins Ophelia's learning center as a part-time tutor in order to help his son.

Cast

Ku family

• Johnson Lee as Ku Tse-keung (谷自強)

Ku Tui-nam's father and Bella Fung Yuet-na's ex-husband. He is an real-estate agent that is the top salesman at his branch because he is very dedicated to his work and he uses underhand tactics to steal accounts from other salesman at his branch. He is put in extended care of his son when his ex-wife gets remarried. Due to doctoring a lease agreement without the homeowners consent his real-estate licensee is suspended for six month. Unable to find work he decides to invest in Chu Lei-fa's struggling learning center.

• Marcus Lo as Ku Tui-nam (谷莜楠)

Ku Tui-nam's and Bella Fung Yuet-na's young son. He is left in extended care of his father when his mother marries her new husband Pacino. Living with his father, he has to learn to fend for himself since his father is not used to caring for him and does not understand his needs.

• Li Shing-cheong as Ku Seun-chiu (谷順潮)

Ku Tse-keung's father. Ku Tui-nam's grandfather. Chan May-lin's husband.

• Deborah Poon as Chan May-lin (陳美蓮)

Ku Seun-chiu's much younger second wife. Ku Tse-keung's step-mother.

Chu family

• Alice Chan as Judy Chu Lei-san (諸麗仙)

Ophelia Chu Lei-fa's older sister. She is the CEO of their learning centers and goes from city to city to opening new learning centers without realizing their business is struggling.

• Mandy Wong as Ophelia Chu Lei-fa (諸麗花)

Judy Chu Lei-san's younger sister. She manages her older sister's Hong Kong learning center. She meets Ku Tse-keung when he is the real-estate agent that shows her an apartment for rent. Integrity is very important to her and she shows Tse-keung how to be a better person when he is in the presence of his son Tui-nam.

Seung family

• Pat Poon as Seung Sun (常新)

Marius's father. Carrie Ho Lok-ti's father in-law. Seung Yee's and Yi's grandfather. He is a retired Chinese Medical physician. Academics is very important to him. Wanting his grandson Yi to get into a good elementary school he gets a job at that school in hopes that his connections will get his grandson in.

• Jason Chan Chi-san as Marius Seung Nim-shu (常念書)

Seung Sun's son. Carrie Ho Lok-ti's husband. Seung Yee's and Yi's father. He is a successful architect. His career takes him away from his family for extended periods, making him often miss out in important events in his children's life. Worrying about his son Yi, he quits his job to concentrate on making sure his son gets into a good school.

• Candice Chiu as Carrie Ho Lok-ti (何樂姿)

Marius's wife. Seung Yee's and Yi's mother. Seung Sun's daughter in-law. She is a former Physical Therapist who gave up her career in order to care for her children and look after the home due to her husband's demanded job.

• Pearl Chan as Seung Yee (常逸)

Marius's and Carrie's first born child. Seung Sun's granddaughter. Yi's older sister. She is academically smart and received praises from her grandfather. Her family nicknames her Ah Yut (which means "one" in Cantonese).

• Chan Pak-hei as Seung Yi (常懿)

Marius's and Carrie's younger child. Seung Sun's grandson. Yee's little brother. He is shy and an introvert. He is not as academically smart and is often compared to his sister. His family nicknames him Ah Ye (which means "two" in Cantonese).

Learning Center staff

• Carat Cheung as Mak Ka-ka (麥家嘉)

A teacher Ophelia's leaning center. Aware of the learning center struggling she quits her job and steals the student to open her own learning center. After getting problems with the new boss, she became unemployed and begging Chu Lei San to give her another chance to work at the center. Pity of her because she has to care about her little child, Chu Lei San accepts.

• Janice Shum as Teacher Si (施老師)
• Kenny Chan as Teacher Chan (陳老師)
• Kanice Lau as Teacher Lam (林老師)
• Ice Chow as Teacher Yeung (楊老師)
• Kimmi Tsui as Wing
• So Lai Ming as Sa (Sa姐)

Real-estate staff

• Jerry Ku as Stone Sek Dong (石冬)

Ku Tse-keung's best friend and work colleague. He is the worst real-estate agent at his branch and depends on Tse-keung giving him completed sales to survive at work.

• Billy Cheung as Michael

The boss of the real-estate firm Tse-keung works at. He is friendly and nice to Tse-keung until Tse-keung's real-estate license is suspended.

• Mandy Lam as Helen

Tse-keung's work rival and enemy at the same real-estate firm. Tse-keung often mocks her because she has to leave work early or on time to care for her child. He also steals her accounts when she is not at the office. She takes over all of Tse-keung's accounts when his real-estate license is suspended.

• Bob Cheung as Real-estate employee (地產經紀)

Tse-keung's immature work colleague. He is nicknamed Kwok Fu-sing (郭富城; Hong Kong singer Aaron Kwok's Chinese name) because they think he looks like him.

• Milkson Fong as Real-estate employee (地產經紀)

Tse-keung's other immature work colleague.

Physical Therapy center

• Henry Lo as Kwok Jo-hong (郭早康)
• King Lam as Si Hing (施興)
• Ceci So as Brenda Wong Fan-nuen (王芬暖)
• Kirby Lam as Lam Siu-ping (林少萍)
• Alan Tam Kwan-lun as Hung Wing-leung (洪永良)
• Joan Lee as To Kit-yee (杜潔兒)

Extended cast

• Snow Suen as Bella Fung Yuet-na (馮月娜)

Ku Tse-keung's ex-wife. Ku Tui-nam's mother. Pacino's newly wed wife. Due to getting married and honeymooning she has to leave her son for an extended period with her ex-husband. She and Tse-keung have a strained relation because he is unable to keep promises to his son. Being use to Tse-keung's unreliable behavior she testes him and waits for him to fail at taking care of their son.

• Brian Burrell as Pacino

Bella Fung Yuet-na's newly wed husband. Ku Tui-nam's new step-father. Ku Tse-keung doesn't like him and nicknames him Bat-chi-lo (白痴佬; "idiot" in English and Chinese homphone to the pronunciation of his name). Due to Tse-keung always being absent from Tui-nam's life, he has had to take over as a father figure to Tui-nam's, which Tse-keung becomes aware of and grows jealous of.

• Toby Chan as Pat

Ex-secretary of Marius architect's job, she renewed contact with him and get Kuk Tsz Kung wrongly judge Marius to having an affair extra-conjugal while having a happy family. She's just want to get attention because she hasn't got a lovely and unique mariage, doesn't care that her child are too young, she's try to commit suicide, Marius and Tse-keung saves her.

• Joe Junior as Mr. Kong (龔先生)
• Lo Mang as Rocky

Ku Tse-keung's former real-estate client. Owner of an import logistic company. When Tse-keung's real-estate license is suspended and out of work, Rocky hires him as a shipment delivery person.

• Adam Ip as Lee Seung-yau (李相佑)
• Aaryn Cheung as Dave Lee Man-ko (李敏高)
• Fanny Lee as Mrs. Cheung (張太)

Ophelia's landlord. Ku Tse-keung's client who file a compliant to against him because Tse-keung doctored her rental lease agreement between her and Ophelia.

Development

Daddy Dearest main cast at the costume fitting ceremony, on August 5, 2015.

• The costume fitting ceremony was held together on August 5, 2015 at 12:30 pm Tseung Kwan O TVB City Studio One.^[1]
• The blessing ceremony was held on September 22, 2015 at 2:30 pm Tseung Kwan O TVB City Studio sixteen.^[2]
• Daddy Dearest was originally scheduled to premiere on March 28, 2016 to take over TVB's 8:30-9:30 pm timeslot following after Short End of the Stick. The broadcast schedule was changed two weeks before the drama was to premiere with The Last Healer In Forbidden City premiering on March 28, 2016. Daddy Dearest was then pushed back to premiere after The Last Healer In Forbidden City on April 25, 2016.
• Due to concerns with ratings, Daddy Dearest was pushed back further with My Dangerous Mafia Retirement Plan premiering on April 25, 2016 and Presumed Accidents premiering on May 30, 2016.
• In June 2016, the series was pushed back for the fourth time to air on August 1st during TVB's 2016 Amazing Summer. The Chinese title was also changed from 爸B有話兒; literally "Daddy Has Something to Say" to 超能老豆; literally "Super Daddy".^[3]

Viewership ratings

International broadcast

Network	Country	Airing Date	Timeslot
Astro On Demand	Malaysia	August 01, 2016	Monday – Friday 8:30 – 9:15 pm
TVBJ	Australia	August 01, 2016	Monday – Friday 7:15 – 8:15 pm
Starhub TV	Singapore	October 03, 2016	Monday – Friday 8:00 – 9:00 pm

Awards & Nominations

References

External links

• Daddy Dearest Official TVB website (Chinese)