Mark Lee, Dennis Chew, Marcus Chin parody Emerald Hill in sarong kebayas as 'little nyonyas'
Jan Lee
The Straits Times
April 21, 2025
Singapore's biggest show of the moment, Mediacorp's Mandarin drama Emerald Hill – The Little Nyonya Story, wrapped its run on Netflix and mewatch on April 21. Channel 8 will air the series finale later in April.
And the co-hosts of Love 972 radio programme The Breakfast Quartet – Mark Lee, Dennis Chew and Marcus Chin – have jumped in on the action. They dressed in sarong kebayas to parody the series, a spin-off of the hugely popular drama The Little Nyonya (2008 to 2009).
Fellow programme host Chen Biyu was not part of the parody.
They posted a clip, titled Pearl Hill Episode 1, on Instagram on April 15, before following up with Pearl Hill Finale on April 21.
In the videos, Lee takes on the role of protagonist Zhang Xinniang, played by Tasha Low in the series. Chew parodies Zhang Anna, the villain and Xinniang's nemesis, played by Chantalle Ng. And Chin plays matriarch Liu Xiuniang, portrayed by Zoe Tay.
The three men recreate the opening sequence of Emerald Hill, walking into a room and looking into the camera pointedly, set to the series' theme song, Flowers Falling Like Rain by local singer Kit Chan.
Instead of focusing on the complicated relationships of the central Zhang family, the DJs' version starts with Lee, 56, accusing Chew of betraying Love 972 by working for another Mediacorp radio station, Yes 933. Chin, 70, comes in and breaks up the fight.
Chew, 51, who has a small role in Emerald Hill as a street storyteller, hosts programmes on both stations.
In the finale episode, Lee and Chew continue to fight, this time over the affections of Zuye, a character played by Zhang Zetong who is the love interest of Anna and Xinniang.
At one point, Lee calls Chew 'Ne Zha', referring to the Chinese mythological figure from hit animated film Ne Zha 2 (2025). The double bun hairstyle Chew sports resembles Ne Zha's. Anna sports a similar hairstyle in Emerald Hill.
Chin enters to break up the fight once more and settles their marriage plans. He betroths Chew to Capital 958 radio personality Pan Jiabiao, and tells Lee he has been promised to Capital 958 DJ Qiu Shengyang, which causes Chew and Lee to break character and burst into laughter.
The parody has been warmly embraced, with Emerald Hill cast members Low, Jesseca Liu, Dawn Yeoh and Chen Liping reacting with laughing emoji.
Emerald Hill has stayed in the top 10 most-watched series on Netflix Singapore since it premiered on the streaming platform on March 10.
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