No Return (2024 TV series)

Set in the 1920s to early 1940s early Republic of China era, No Return follows the lives of Tang Kwai Sim "7th Master", and Chai 17. Tang Kwai Sim is a successful businesswoman in charge of Wing Yip Bank left to her by her late father. She is feared by many as "7th Master" being one of the ten most influential tycoons in the Shanghai Concession. She is also the only woman among the cadre of the top businesspersons. Under her ruthlessness, lies a vulnerable young woman facing adversity in both her professional and personal life. There she encounters Chai 17, an out-of-luck businessman, one who's able to give sound business advice, but unable to personally prosper. Chai 17 grudgingly saves her life and the bank from going under, and the two develop a professional relationship that blossoms into a friendship. A friendship to which both were willing to give up everything and their lives for each other.^[7] Along the way they encounter many adversaries, including Lam Mo Choi, a manipulative villain with three separate, yet identical identities. He holds a grudge against the Tang Family, and is bent on destroying 7th Master and her allies.

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Principal photography began October 7, 2023, and ended December 17, 2023.^[12] No Return aired October-November 2024 to coincide with TVB's launch anniversary date.^[13] The drama marked the return of screenwriter Cheung Wah-Biu who wrote the first two successful Rosy Business dramas, Rosy Business, and No Regrets his last script before leaving TVB in 2011.^[14]

Filming took place at the Dream Bund backlot at Hengdian World Studios. The Dream Bund, opened right after the COVID-19 pandemic, recreates the look and feel of Old Shanghai with streets and buildings built on a 1:1 scale.^[8] Nancy Wu mentioned in an interview that the bountiful environment provided by Hengdian made one feel as though one was in Shanghai. In the past, when period dramas were filmed in Hong Kong, the shooting environment was not enough to match with the drama.^[15]

Art director Sai Wan Lau designed and produced over 200 period costumes for the No Return, 30 costumes of which were for Nancy Wu's character, who wears both Chinese, and Western influenced clothing together. The artistic director said the hat style worn by Nancy not only added elegance to the costumes, but represented 1930s Western upper class society, and culture.^[16][17]

Lead actress Nancy Wu mentioned the strenous nature of the film shoot, taking place within a span of just over two months, with dozens of scenes daily, resulted in her losing weight.^[15][18] Additionally, Wu said it was mentally and emotionally draining playing the 7th Master as her character was very complex, requiring a high degree of emotional expression on top of the acting nuances required for a period drama.^[19][20]

Producer Dave Fong was satisfied with the performances of the new generation of actors Joey Law, Hera Chan, and Celina Harto, saying they were very attentive, and expressed the personalities of their characters very well.^[5] He mentioned Hera Chan has an excellent temperament and performed brilliantly in the crying scene, she has the best crying scene presently at TVB.^[21] The producer said Celina Harto grasped the essence of her role very well, somebody who looks very scheming, but actually a simple, and pitiful person.^[22] Celina Harto's performance also won approval from mainland Chinese netizens for her portrayal of a Green Tea Bitch "綠茶婊". Celina Harto mentioned she spent time researching the role, trying several variations of the personality before choosing one that was ruthless enough, but not extremely so.^[23]

No Return represents Wayne Lai and Nancy Wu's 8th collaboration together.^[24]

The sequence of flashback scenes with Wayne Lai and Nancy Wu in a coffin was a continuous 2 minute shot done in one take. ^[25]

The teahouse shootout scene was Joey Law's first action role since joining the industry. The 3 minute sequence took 2 days to film, one scene requiring over 30 takes. The director encouraged him do a Tiffany Lau kneel and spin referring to the action moves the TVB actress does in her recent dramas.^[26]

No Return is the third co-produced drama by Tencent Penguin Pictures under their Hong Kong Drama Project "港劇計劃" platform.^[27] Containing elements of mystery and suspense in the narrative, light comedy in a period drama, and high production values, producers hope No Return will attract new audiences, and old fans, to a new style of Hong Kong dramas.^[28][29]

The Chinese name for the series 巾幗梟雄 means Ambitious strong Woman. The Chinese name for the 4th installment 懸崖 means Precipice, or symbolically, at the edge of no return.

The following table reflects viewers who watched episodes live on TVB Jade television and on TVB apps online.

On Douban, No Return scored 5.6 midway through the series.^[35]

• No Return - Official Website at TVB.com (in Chinese)
• No Return - Main characters and their personalities at TVBUSA.com (in Chinese)
• No Return - Episode list and synopsis at TVB.com (in Chinese)
• No Return at IMDb