The crime drama The Bridge returns with a grittier, more action-oriented Season 2 with its star-studded cast now spanning four countries in Southeast Asia.
Singapore’s Rebecca Lim and Malaysia’s Bront Palarae reprise their lead roles as the cross-border crime-fighting duo Serena Teo and Megat Jamil.
Representing the Philippines is Joseph Marco, who plays Christian, described as a “social justice warrior” who is in love with the International Crimes Division (ICD) detective Serena. Also included in the cast are Indonesia’s Ario Bayu; Malaysia’s Wan Hanafi Su, Fikry Ibrahim and Chew Kin Wah; Indonesia’s Lukman Sardi, Amanda Manopo and Miller Khan; and Singapore’s Adrian Pang.
Pan-regional streaming service Viu produces The Bridge — the Asian adaptation of Endemol Shine’s hit Nordic noir of the same title — in collaboration with HBO Asia.
After the first season in 2018 established a “real benchmark” as far as pan-regional productions are concerned, the second season expands in more ways than one.
“We promise you that this second season is going to be even bigger and even better than ever. This time, the story is going to take us across three countries, with the action moving between Malaysia, Jakarta and Singapore,” Sahana Kamath, head of Original Production for Viu Indonesia and Malaysia, announced in a virtual interview (the new normal of press junkets nowadays) right before the series premiered on Monday, June 15.
She continued, “We have an all-star cast lineup that is a true representation of pan-Asian talent from Malaysia, from Indonesia, from Singapore and from the Philippines. We also have diversity in terms of language, so very uniquely the second season, that The Bridge will feature four languages — English, Bahasa Malaysia, Bahasa Indonesia and also Cantonese. It goes without saying this is about as complex of a production as you could ever put together.”
The new season picks up where things were left off in Season 1. It opens with a new series of murders across Indonesia and Malaysia, bringing together again detectives from the international crimes division. “In this case, the killer becomes known as the family man, and of course, ICD are called in to investigate. There’s an underworld backdrop to the season that gives it a lot of grit and a lot of atmosphere, and really keeps the stakes up and the action moving all the way through,” Kamath said.
“The backdrop also gave us a lot of things that we were able to explore that are complex but compelling, and also still relatable. So we have family but it’s juxtaposed against revenge, against corruption, redemption, valor. And this is really something that sits very well at the kind of premium series like this,” she added.
According to show producer Min Lin, she’s “nervous and excited at the same time” that the sophomore season has brought in acting talent and other elements from other parts of the ASEAN region.
“I mean, I think, this is the first time that we’ve included a third and also a fourth country. The Bridge Season 1 was really a regional show. It was the first time, I think, especially for Malaysia, that a show went out to so many territories... across Asia,” Min Lin said.
“And now you can watch it in China, and you can watch it in South Africa, you know, in a lot of places. So, we really wanted to make a show that had universal values that could be attractive to everybody across the region. So, I hope we’ve done that this time.”
She also said that the series will reflect cultural nuances of the countries represented on the show.
“The fact that you know what Joseph brings to the show (from) the Philippines and what you know our great Indonesian cast brings from Indonesia. You definitely get these like local nuances of each of those countries. And it’s amazing because we actually don’t shy away from it.”
Meanwhile, some of the stars led by Rebecca Lim as well as producer Min Lin expressed that the Philippines is the first country overseas they plan to visit (and perhaps film in?) after the pandemic is over and travel restrictions are lifted. As for Joseph Marco, he hopes he gets to experience more international projects after The Bridge.
TJ Lee and Jason Chong return to direct, alongside Zahir Omar.
The second season of The Bridge drops new episodes every Monday evening on Viu across all of its markets, and HBO Asia’s network of channels and services, including HBO Go, HBO and HBO On Demand, across 24 territories.