Barrack O'Karma 1968
Barrack O'Karma 1968 is a 2022 Hong Kong supernatural romantic drama television series produced by TVB. It stars Joel Chan and Selena Lee as the main leads. The series is a reboot of the 2019 drama Barrack O'Karma and centres around the theme of parallel universes.
Production
Filming started in September and ended in November 2020.Synopsis
Maurice had gone missing in Twilight Mansion. When he was found, Maurice has lost all of his memories. To find out what had happened to him, Ella, Maurice’s girlfriend, went to Twilight Mansion...Cast and characters
Main cast
- Joel Chan as Maurice, a barista and Ella’s boyfriend.
- *Chan also portrayed Joey Chow Yi, a freelance journalist.
- *Chan portrayed a psychiatric patient in the 1960s as well. In fact he was Joey who travelled through different parallel universes.
- *Chan portrayed an architect in 1960s who designed Twilight Mansion in episode 20.
- *Curtis Ho as young Joey.
- Selena Lee as Ella, Maurice’s girlfriend.
- *Lee also portrayed Lydia, an actress.
- *Lee portrayed a psychiatrist in the 1960s as well.
- *Tse Yu-yan as young Ella.
Recurring cast
Ep. 1-2
- Timothy Cheng as Chan Hei-lik, a funeral director, Chan Kin-lik‘s father and Chan Sang-lik’s son.
- Randal Tsang as Chan Kin-lik, a funeral apprentice, Chan Hei-lik‘s son and Chan Sang-lik’s grandson.
- Henry Yu as Chan Sang-lik, Chan Hei-lik’s father and Chan Kin-lik‘s grandfather.
Ep. 3-4
- Christine Ng as Lee Shuk-fun, Kwok Miu-miu’s mother.
- Chloe So as Kwok Miu-miu, Lee Shuk-fun‘s daughter whose face was disfigured by corrosive liquid.
- *Sophia Lam as young Kwok Miu-miu.
Ep. 5-6
- Willie Wai as Yam Sai-ka, Yam Tin-tong‘s father.
- Jazz Lam as But Tak-liu, a game character.
- Enson Lau as Yam Tin-tong, Yam Sai-Kay’s son who suffered from Lou Gehrig's disease, and teammate of Yeung Yeung, Ho-keung and Ah Ching when playing computer games.
- Zac Liu as Yeung Yeung, teammate of Yam Tin-tong, Ho-keung and Ah Ching when playing computer games.
- Thomas Ng as Ho-keung, teammate of Yam Tin-tong, Yeung Yeung and Ah Ching when playing computer games.
- Aurora Li as Ah Ching, teammate of Yam Tin-tong, Yeung Yeung and Ho-keung when playing computer games.
Ep. 7-8
- Geoffrey Wong as Ng Nai-keung, Chow Siu-hung’s husband, Lulu’s father, Ah Bong’s father in law and Louisa’s employer.
- Amy Fan as Chow Siu-hung, Ng Nai-keung’s wife, Lulu’s mother, Ah Bong’s mother in law and Louisa’s employer.
- Franchesca Wong as Louisa, a Filipino domestic worker employed by Ng Nai-keung and Chow Siu-hung.
- *Wong also portrayed Lulu, Ng Nai-keung and Chow Siu-hung’s daughter, and Ah Bong’s wife. She had died in a traffic accident.
- Lam King-ching as Ah Bong, Lulu’s husband, and Ng Nai-keung and Chow Siu-hung’s son in law.
Ep. 9-10
- Candice Chiu as Sei Ye, a real estate agent and Lee Mau-on’s supervisor.
- *Chiu also portrayed Jessie Yuen, a barrister, Ella’s good friend, Leo’s colleague and girlfriend.
- Derek Wong as Lee Mau-on, a real estate agent and Sei Ye’s subordinate.
- *Wong also portrayed Leo Man, Jessie’s colleague and boyfriend.
Ep. 11-12
- Chiu Chung-yu as Law Yee-lai, a single mother and Cheung Tsz-long‘s mother.
- Hung Cheuk-lok as Cheung Tsz-long, Law Yee-lai‘s son.
- Penny Chan as Raymond Ho Yee-sing, a candidate in the District Council election.
Ep. 13-14
- Roxanne Tong as Lai Sin-yi, a private tutor and Kim’s die hard fan.
- Arnold Kwok as Kim Seok-hun, better known as Kim, a popular K-pop singer and Lai Sin-yi’s idol.
Ep. 15-16
- Karl Ting as Kam Yat-hung, better known as Ah Kam, a food deliverer and Suki’s boyfriend.
- Kelly Ng as Suki, a cosmetic sales and Ah Kam’s girlfriend.
- Chloe Nguyen as Nana Wong, better known as “Marble”, chief creative director of MIA.
- Jason Lau as Tong Kwai-cheung, who believed Jessica F was his missing daughter.
- Kayan Choi as Jessica F, a KOL who was suspected to be kidnapped.
Ep. 17-18
- Hubert Wu as Siu Ching, a Qipao tailor who had a crush on Florence.
- Shiga Lin as Florence Yip Fo-wan, a secretary and Dave’s fiancée.
- Jeremy Wong as Dave Lee, Florence’s fiancé.
Ep. 19-20
- Bob Cheung as Ah Lam, the new owner of Ella father’s camera shop who knew about the existence of parallel universes in Twilight Mansion and could travel through different universes. He was in fact Lam Yeuk-sze in the first series.
- Lau Kong as Lam Yeuk-sze.
Controversy
In episode 7-8 of the series, Canadian-Hong Kong actress portrayed Louisa, a Filipino domestic helper. Her performance was praised by local media and audience. During filming, Wong applied cosmetics to darken her skin. However, this ignited criticisms of brownface and racial discrimination from overseas media. The controversy received international attention and was reported by media from Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, The Philippines, India and The United States.On 14 April 2022, TVB publicly apologised and stated that there was no intention to express disrespect or discrimination against any nationalities. On 20 April, Wong publicly apologised via her Instagram account for the negative impacts caused by the series and her character, and expressed that she had no intention of disrespect or discrimination against any ethnicities.