Forever Young at Heart


Forever Young at Heart is a Hong Kong musical television series produced by television network TVB. It premiered on 5 December 2021 and continued until 13 February 2022 for 10 episodes. With school campus setting as the backdrop, the show chronicles the lives of a group of secondary school students and their internal struggles at the fictional Innovative Dreamers' College.

Synopsis

School life is often regarded as the most vibrant and carefree phase in a person's life. However, it is not without its share of psychological and behavioral challenges. This plot revolves around the journey of a group of young secondary school students as they navigate the complexities of their family dynamics, relationships, friendships, bullying, and the confusion that often accompanies adolescence. Ultimately, they overcome these obstacles and uncertainties, demonstrating their personal growth along the way.

Cast

  • Gigi Yim as Gigi Ho Chin-chin
  • Chantel Yiu as Chantel Chan Ting
  • Yumi Chung as Yumi Yip Man-yee
  • Windy Zhan as Windy Ngai Wan-dik
  • Aeren Man as Aeren Yeung Ngoi-lam
  • Sherman Poon as Sherman Cheung Siu-man
  • Kaitlyn Lam as Kaitlyn Lee Heung-lin
  • Venus Lam as Venus Fung Lok-si
  • Lolita Tsoi as Lolita Lo Lai-sing
  • Aska Cheung as Aska Ngai Ka-dik
  • Archie Sin as Archie Yip Ar-chee
  • Rock Ho as Rock Mak Lok-hak
  • Eden Lau as Eden Yan Yin-tang
  • Lee Siu-kin as Lai Siu-kin
  • Felix Lam as Felix Ko Fu-nik
  • Steven Suen as Hu Ji
  • Hugo Wong as Hugo Wu Hiu-kong

Supporting cast

Production and background

TVB's singing competition television series Stars Academy was premiered in April–July 2021 to considerable popularity. In June 2021, the TVB's then-Deputy General Manager Eric Tsang had an idea to create a tailor-made musical television series starring the show's contestants after its conclusion. Some contestants from TVB's dancing competition show Dance for Life were also cast. He invited content creator to be its creative director. The plotline contains psychological elements, including mental health issues teenagers experience during their adolescent years, infusing with singing and dancing in a secondary school setting. Screenwriting involved the help of counseling psychologists and the incorporation of real-life cases. As the cast transitioned from singing to their first attempt at acting, the writers closely followed the contestants' traits while creating the characters and plotline to match their background. Li personally met with the actors and was inspired by some of their own struggle stories.
Principal photography ran through September–November 2021. Some of the school-age actors mainly filmed during the weekends to accommodate their academic schedules. The shooting took place at various school locations including Kowloon Tong and Sha Tin, Hong Kong. The series features various original songs with musician Johnny Yim serving as the musical director and as the dance director. Several Stars Academy contestants were involved in the composition and writing process, including Archie Sin, Aska Cheung, Rock Ho, Kaitlyn Lam, and Aeren Man. The series featured supporting appearances by well-known Hong Kong singers, including JW, Jinny Ng, and James Ng.

Music

Physical release

The physical soundtrack album was released on 14 February 2022 and contains all the digital released songs, excluding "BroMance" and "Had It All". It peaked at number one on Hong Kong Record Merchants Association chart. A second edition was released on 14 March 2022 following its first print's popularity and also peaked at number one on the same chart.

List of cover songs

Viewership ratings

EpisodeAiring dateAverage ratingRef.
15 December 202116.8 points
212 December 202114.6 points
319 December 202111.5 points
426 December 202112.1 points
59 January 202216.1 points
616 January 202216.5 points
723 January 202214.6 points
830 January 202214.9 points
96 February 202214.7 points
1013 February 202216.2 points

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryNominated workResult
2022New York Festivals TV & Film AwardsChildren/Youths Entertainment ProgramForever Young at Heart
2022Asian Academy Creative AwardsBest Theme Song Or Title Theme"Forever Young At Heart" by Archie Sin & Rock Ho