Kids' Lives Matter

Kids' Lives Matter (Chinese: 星空下的仁醫; lit. Doctors Under The Stars) is a Hong Kong medical television series created and produced by television network TVB. Directed by Ben Fong, it premiered on 18 October 2021 and continued until 22 November 2021 for 25 episodes. With pediatric surgery as the backdrop and a cast starring Kevin Cheng, Kenneth Ma, Linda Chung, and Catherine Chau, the show chronicles the lives of the medical interns, residents, and attendings working and healing the sick children at the fictional Princess Anne Hospital.

Kids' Lives Matter
Also known as	星空下的仁醫
Genre	Medical drama Pediatrics Romance
Starring	Kevin Cheng Kenneth Ma Linda Chung Catherine Chau Him Law
Opening theme	"Cherish" by Linda Chung
Country of origin	Hong Kong
Original language	Cantonese
No. of episodes	25
Production
Executive producer	Ben Fong
Production location	Hong Kong
Editors	Pun Man Hung Suen Ho-ho
Running time	approx. 45 minutes per episode
Production company	TVB
Original release
Network	TVB
Release	October 18 (2021-10-18) – November 22, 2021 (2021-11-22)

Cast

• Kevin Cheng as Dr. Johnathan Hui Gam-fung – pediatric surgeon and Consultant doctor^[1]
• Kenneth Ma as Dr. Amos Fong Chung-yan – pediatric surgeon and Consultant doctor^[1]
• Linda Chung as Dr. Eman Cheung Yi-sum – pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon^[1]
• Catherine Chau as Dr. Kay Mak Hoi-kei – chief of service of pediatric department^[1]
• Him Law as Dr. Max Man Pak-hei – pediatric resident specialist^[1]
• Mimi Kung as Dr. Flora Chung Wai-seung – Dean of School of Medicine^[1]
• Bowie Cheung as Dr. Candice Lin Cheuk-ying – anesthetic medical intern^[1]
• Regina Ho as Dr. Esther Yu Chi-wa – pediatric medical intern^[1]
• Gabriel Harrison as Dr. Paul Chow Chun-yiu – Hospital Chief Executive^[1]
• Florence Kwok as Dr. Joey Kwok Bo-ying – anesthesiologist^[1]

Plot

The story begins with a flashback in 2001 introducing Johnathan Hui, Amos Fong, and Eman Cheung as medical interns. An operation causes a rift between Hui and Fong, leading to them becoming estranged. Flash to the present, Hui and Fong are pediatric surgeons and work at North West Hospital and Princess Anne Hospital, respectively. One day, Hui asks Fong to perform a liver transplant operation jointly. An anesthetic mistake occurs during the procedure where Cheung, a cardiothoracic surgeon, appears timely to rescue. She returns to Hong Kong after being a Doctor Without Borders and is now a newly contracted doctor at Princess Anne Hospital.
With the ambitious vision of building a pediatric facility, Fong uses tactics to make Hui join Princess Anne Hospital. He then recruits Hui, Cheung, and a few other doctors, including Max Man, a resident specialist, Kay Mak, pediatric chief of service and Fong's love–interest, and Joey Kwok, an anesthesiologist, to create an "elite" surgery team, building themselves an influential reputation to pave the way for Fong's vision. The team faces various obstacles during the process, with Hui and Fong reconciling their friendship. The truth of the operation incident in the past also gets revealed. Although Fong's vision is not yet realized towards the end of the series; the doctors experience growth in both their personal and professional lives.^[2]

Production and background

The television series was directed by Ben Fong and is the first TVB's to use pediatric surgery as the main theme. The crew was assisted by a group of professional doctors in executing the technical aspect of the filming scenes.^[3] The set for the fictional Princess Anne Hospital was built based on Hong Kong Children's Hospital.^[4] Principal photography took place in August–December 2020.^[5] It was Linda Chung's first television series after six years away from the entertainment industry.^[6]

Music

The soundtrack consists of 4 individually released singles as follows:

Kids' Lives Matter
Soundtrack album by Various Artists
Released	October 2021 (2021-10)
Genre	Cantopop
Language	Cantonese, English
Label	The Voice Entertainment Group
Producer	Herman To & Joseph Wei & Alex Lau

Track Listing

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist(s)	Length
1.	"Cherish (好好珍惜自己)"	Cheung Mei-yin	Linda Chung, Nick Wong	Linda Chung	3:45[7]
2.	"Couldn't Tell (不敢開口)"	Vivian Koo	Andy Ho & Johnny Yim	Vivian Koo	4:37[8]
3.	"Fear In My Heart (我會害怕)"	Hayes Yeung	Johnny Yim & Alan Cheung	Hana Kuk	3:46[9]
4.	"Never Too Late"	Quinn Lui	Kong Fai & Marley Chan & Chan Chung-wai	Quinn Lui	3:53[10]

Reception and ratings

Kids' Lives Matter garnered mainly positive reviews from the audience and media, who commented on the show's "convincing" acting and "moving" storyline.^{[11][12][13][14]} Lam Seun-ging from HK01, on the one hand, criticized the series's overall storyline direction for being old-fashioned but nevertheless indicated "the compactness of the script, the richness of the story's content, and the actors' performance set the show as a TVB's masterpiece in recent years and a classic among medical dramas".^[15][16] An editor from Hong Kong Economic Times praised Linda Chung's maturity in her acting skills and wrote that she could fully "express the tenderness of maternal love when interacting with sick children".^[17] Although Chung did not win in the end, she was noted by the media to be among viewers' favorites for the "Best Actress" title at the 54th TVB Anniversary Awards.^[18][19]

Week	Episodes	Airing dates	Average ratings[a]	Ref.
1	1 – 5	18–22 October 2021	18.5 points	[21]
2	6 – 10	25–29 October 2021	18.9 points	[22]
3	11 – 15	1–5 November 2021	19.4 points	[23]
4	16 – 20	8–12 November 2021	19.3 points	[24]
5	21 – 24	15–18 November 2021	19.9 points	[25]
6	25	22 November 2021	22.8 points	[26]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Results	Ref.
2021	54th TVB Anniversary Awards	My Favorite Television Series (Malaysia)	Itself	Won	[18]
		My Favorite Actress In A Leading Role (Malaysia)	Linda Chung	Won	[19]
		My Favorite Actor In A Leading Role (Malaysia)	Kevin Cheng	Nominated	[27]
		Best Television Series	Itself	Nominated	[28]
		Best Actor	Kevin Cheng	Nominated
			Kenneth Ma	Nominated
		Best Actress	Linda Chung	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor	Him Law	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress	Regina Ho	Nominated
		My Favorite Male Character In A Television Series	Kenneth Ma (for Amos Fong)	Won	[18]
		My Favorite Female Character In A Television Series	Linda Chung (for Eman Cheung)	Nominated	[28]
		Best On-screen Partnership	Kevin Cheng & Linda Chung	Nominated
		Best Television Theme song	"Cherish"	Nominated
2022	Asian Academy Creative Awards	Best Television Series	Itself	Won	[29]
		Best Actor	Kenneth Ma	Won

Overseas releases

In Singapore, the series was broadcast in June 2022 on Mediacorp Channel 8 with Mandarin dubbing. The original Cantonese version was made accessible through the Mediacorp OTT service MeWATCH. In Malaysia, the series was aired in October 2022.

Notes

1. According to Hong Kong's Nielsen TV rating system, each rating point represents about 64,200 viewers.^[20]

References

1. "台慶劇《星空下的仁醫》 醫者童心 奇蹟降臨" [Kids' Lives Matter Characters]. TVB Weekly (in Traditional Chinese). 16 October 2021. Archived from the original on 8 January 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
2. "星空下的仁醫．劇情︳雙視帝＋回巢舊將主導 真係冇得輸？" [Kids' Lives Matter Episodes Summary]. Yahoo Hong Kong Entertainment (in Traditional Chinese). 21 November 2021. Archived from the original on 8 January 2022. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
3. Wong Yan-wa (19 October 2021). "星空下的仁醫︱首部定檔54周年台慶劇 鄭嘉穎回歸竟未算最大亮點" [Kids' Lives Matter is TVB's 54th Anniversary TV Series; Kevin Cheng's TV comeback is only one among other highlights of the show]. HK01 (in Traditional Chinese). Archived from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
4. "星空下的仁醫｜張寶兒曝光絕密拍攝場景 「安妮醫院」只有一樣唔係道具" [Bowie Cheung takes the audience to the set of Kids' Lives Matter]. Oriental Sunday (in Traditional Chinese). 2 November 2021. Archived from the original on 11 April 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
5. "【兒科醫生】鍾嘉欣回港拍劇與子女分隔兩地落淚 鄭嘉穎催馬國明：有仔趁嫩生【有片】" [Linda Chung returns to Hong Kong to film new pediatric TV series]. Hong Kong Economic Times (in Traditional Chinese). 22 August 2020. Archived from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.

   • "【一家團聚】拍畢《兒科醫生》回加拿大與家人團聚 鍾嘉欣感激丈夫照顧子女" [Linda Chung returns to Canada after finished filming the pediatric TV series; she is grateful of her husband for taking care of their children]. Hong Kong Economic Times (in Traditional Chinese). 8 December 2020. Archived from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
6. Chan, Ilsa (17 March 2022). "Linda Chung Turns Down Role In Sequel To TVB Drama Kids' Lives Matter". 8 Days. Media Corp. Archived from the original on 11 April 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
7. "Cherish (Theme from TV Drama Kids' Lives Matter) by Linda Chung on Apple Music". Apple Music. Hong Kong. Archived from the original on 6 February 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
8. "Couldn't Tell (Interlude from TV Drama Kids' Lives Matter) by Vivian Koo on Apple Music". Apple Music. Hong Kong. Archived from the original on 6 February 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
9. "Fear In My Heart (Ending theme from TV Drama Kids' Lives Matter) by Hana Kuk on Apple Music". Apple Music. Hong Kong. Archived from the original on 6 February 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
10. Never Too Late (Interlude from TV Drama Kids' Lives Matter) by Quinn Lui on YouTube. YouTube. Hong Kong. Archived from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
11. Cheryl (22 November 2021). "星空下的仁醫｜大結局團圓誕生多對CP 揭20年前事故真相 罕有被讚平實出色" [Kids' Lives Matter happy ending; the truth of 20-year incident was uncovered; the television series was praised]. HolidaySmart (in Traditional Chinese). PressLogic. Archived from the original on 11 April 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
12. "【星空下的仁醫】鍾嘉欣演技大躍進挑戰視后寶座 病危星仔告別父母情節感人" [Kids' Lives Matter Linda Chung's acting was praised; moving scene of critically-ill patient bidding farewell to his parents]. Hong Kong Economic Times (in Traditional Chinese). 23 October 2021. Archived from the original on 11 April 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
13. "細仔肉緊陪睇《星空下的仁醫》結局 鄭嘉穎大讚︰TVB製作進步咗" [Kids' Lives Matter finale; Kevin Cheng praised Kids' Lives Matter as a good TVB production]. ULifeStyle (in Traditional Chinese). 24 November 2021. Archived from the original on 11 April 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
14. "鬥氣冤家CP值爆燈 鄭嘉穎向大肚鍾嘉欣表白" [Kevin Cheng and Linda Chung play a couple in Kids' Lives Matter, showing their chemistry]. Oriental Daily News (in Traditional Chinese). 4 November 2021. Archived from the original on 12 April 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2022.

    • Hung Hiu-suen (16 November 2021). "星空下的仁醫｜鄭嘉穎搶救鍾嘉欣母子曬演技 BB道具造價達5位數" [Kevin Cheng tries his best to save Linda Chung and her baby during an operation in Kids' Lives Matter; the prop for this particular scene costs up to 5 figures]. HK01 (in Traditional Chinese). English translation for both articles at Jaynestars. Archived from the original on 14 April 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2022. {{cite web}}: External link in |others= (help)
15. "星空下的仁醫．全劇評｜還原度高但悶 點解唔轉一轉套路玩法？" [Kids' Lives Matter Review]. HK01 (in Traditional Chinese). 23 November 2021. Archived from the original on 5 May 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
16. "星空下的仁醫｜演員終極評核報告 鍾嘉欣用自身經驗技入角色加分" [Kids' Lives Matter Actors' Performance Review]. HK01 (in Traditional Chinese). 23 November 2021. Archived from the original on 5 May 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
17. "【萬千星輝頒獎禮】鍾嘉欣演技大躍進封后呼聲高 李佳芯演機械人贏盡網民心" [TVB 54th Anniversary Awards: Linda Chung shows great maturity in acting; Ali Lee wins the hearts of the audience by acting in a robot role]. Hong Kong Economic Times (in Traditional Chinese). 30 December 2021. Archived from the original on 20 April 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
18. "Netizens Say Linda Chung Was "Robbed" Of Best Actress Award, Slam TVB For Giving It To Rosina Lam Instead". Today Online. 4 January 2022. Archived from the original on 8 January 2022. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
19. Lim Ruey Yan (4 January 2022). "Hong Kong's Linda Chung misses out on Best Actress award for 11th time". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 8 January 2022. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
20. Nip, Amy (9 August 2013). "Slide in television ratings is no drama, says TVB". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 22 December 2020. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
21. "台慶劇收視出爐 《換命真相》揮低《仁醫》" [TV Ratings Report for Kids' Lives Matter and Take Two are released]. Oriental Daily News (in Traditional Chinese). 25 October 2021. Archived from the original on 4 November 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
22. Wong, Tsz-hang (2 November 2021). "三台收視報告｜TVB劇集質數勝收視 ViuTV即將大爆發" [TV Ratings Report for the week of October 25–31, 2021]. HK01 (in Traditional Chinese). Archived from the original on 4 November 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
23. Wong, Tsz-hang (9 November 2021). "三台收視報告｜兩台交鋒第一輪成績 多咗觀眾睇電視唔係仲好咩？" [TV Ratings Report for the week of November 1–7, 2021]. HK01 (in Traditional Chinese). Archived from the original on 8 January 2022. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
24. Wong, Tsz-hang (16 November 2021). "三台收視報告｜《演鬥聽》贏口碑 《全民造星IV》仲有得升" [TV Ratings Report for the week of November 8–14, 2021]. HK01 (in Traditional Chinese). Archived from the original on 8 January 2022. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
25. Wong, Tsz-hang (22 November 2021). "三台收視報告｜《換命真相》暫排全年尾六 ViuTV下跌但不用緊張" [TV Ratings Report for the week of November 15–21, 2021]. HK01 (in Traditional Chinese). Archived from the original on 8 January 2022. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
26. Wong, Tsz-hang (6 December 2021). "三台收視報告｜《拳王》令人跌眼鏡 《星空下的仁醫》暫排尾六" [TV Ratings Report for the week of November 22–28, 2021]. HK01 (in Traditional Chinese). Archived from the original on 8 January 2022. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
27. "TVB Jade Power: Top 5 Finalists of TVB Anniversary Awards (Malaysia)" (in Traditional Chinese). TVB via Facebook. 23 December 2021. Archived from the original on 14 May 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
28. "TVB頒獎禮 最後5強名單出爐 《星空下的仁醫》包攬11項提名" [54th TVB Anniversary Awards: Kids' Lives Matter was nominated among Top 5 in 11 categories]. Bastille Post (in Traditional Chinese). 20 December 2021. Archived from the original on 23 April 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
29. "Asian Academy Creative Awards National Winners 2022" (PDF). Asian Academy Creative Awards. 30 September 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 October 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2022.

External links

• Official website