The suspenseful crime drama series “Who is the Victim” is set to launch its second season, with Chang Hsiao-chuan this time portraying a murder suspect in the story, engaging in a “duel of wits” with prosecutor Tang Okuda. Chang Hsiao-chuan revealed that despite it being their first collaboration, he and Tang Okuda, who both love Muay Thai, had already known each other, and filming this time has made them even closer.
In the first season, Chang Hsiao-chuan interpreted the character of Fang Yi, a genius forensic expert with Asperger’s syndrome. In the second season, he is faced with a new cast member, Tang Okuda, who plays Prosecutor Zhang Genghao and directly points to him as the prime suspect in a past murder case, leading to a showdown between the two. Wang Shih-hsien, who plays Captain Zhao Chengkuan of the Criminal Investigation Division, continues the revolutionary emotional connection with Chang Hsiao-chuan from the first season, firmly believing in his innocence and setting up a triangle of mutual restraint, with tensions escalating in the legal and law enforcement world.
Talking about his first collaboration with Japanese actor Tang Okuda in “Who is the Victim: Season 2,” Chang Hsiao-chuan expressed that the two, who share a love for Muay Thai, had already known each other for quite some time. Even though they were not very close previously, filming this time has brought them closer, making working together with a friend a joy. He noted that it was a significant challenge for Tang Okuda, who is not a native Chinese speaker, to interpret the various complex legal terms used by the prosecutor in Chinese throughout the production.
Chang Hsiao-chuan mentioned that Tang Okuda had high demands on himself during their collaboration, saying, “We had many scenes together, and during one shoot, although the director had already called it a wrap, and I felt I was in a good state, he insisted on doing it one more time for the sake of perfection.”
He pointed out that the dynamic between their characters in the show is one of the highlights, with the atmosphere between Fang Yi and Zhang Genghao being very subtle. Although they appear to be at odds, they exchange information during certain investigative moments, creating a state of tension and mutual suspicion.
Tang Okuda returns to Taiwanese dramas after many years and mentioned that he spent a long time taking Chinese language courses and practicing lines before the official filming began. He dedicated himself to daily practice and continued learning pronunciation adjustments from a Chinese teacher during breaks on set.
Tang Okuda even visited real-life prosecutors to prepare for his role and shared an astonishing experience he had during a class with a prosecutor, saying, “I was deeply impressed when one time, during a lesson with the prosecutor, they received an urgent call and started directing an arrest operation through that call right in front of me! It felt very real and intense.”
The series “Who is the Victim: Season 2” depicts the puzzle of a chilling string of serial killings, as former forensic expert Fang Yi (Chang Hsiao-chuan) reunites with his daughter Jiang Xiaomeng (Li Mu) as she leaves a psychiatric facility, and the two, along with Xu Haiyin (Hung Wei-ning), a former journalist turned foundation PR, embark on a new life only to be entangled in a series of deadly events, with Fang Yi becoming the prime suspect.