Since terminating his TVB management contract last year, Steven Ma (馬浚偉) took his talents to mainland China. TVB Production Department Director Catherine Tsang (曾勵珍) attempted several times to persuade Steven to return to his home station, promising a higher salary and better work conditions. Since Steven greatly respects Catherine, he carefully considered TVB’s offer. Recently, TVB director Leung Choi Yuen (梁材遠) confirmed that Steven will return in May to film his comeback drama, and that contract negotiations are currently underway. Steven’s comeback project Property Protector <守業者> will be a 30-episode drama set during the early Republic era. Leung Choi Yuen revealed that the drama was initially planned to take place during modern times with Steven and Bobby Au Yeung (歐陽震華) acting as brothers. Bobby had signed to film for this series earlier, but dropped out due to his busy schedule and his recent hospitalization. The production team ultimately decided to re-write the script and recruited Evergreen Mak (麥長青) to take on Bobby’s role. The drama will star Tavia Yeung (楊怡) as its female lead, and will also feature Raymond Wong (黃浩然) and Natalie Tong (唐詩詠). When asked about Steven’s contract negotiations, Leung Choi Yuen told reporters not to worry. “We are expecting Steven on the set! Right now he needs a costume fitting. We are ready to bring him in for measurements to make a brand new set of wardrobe.” Asked to confirm the news, Steven said that he will discuss further after contracts have been solidified. He admitted that Catherine Tsang indeed reached out to him several times since his departure to discuss his comeback. Steven considers Catherine as his mentor and gives her full trust in handling his new contract negotiations. When asked about the awkwardness of running into TVB executive Virginia Lok (樂易玲), who was rumored to be on bad terms with Steven, he assured that he will focus only on his work. “Don’t call it ‘leaving on bad terms’. We are all adults. I am just an actor. I was bound by a management contract [previously] and now I’m not. I will not care about anything else.” Creds: Oriental Daily
