Wu Kang Ren, 40, is determined to uncover the grisly murders in his latest drama, 'Copycat Killer'. Photos: Handout
On the surface, Copycat Killer may seem like your everyday murder mystery drama. But, deeper than that, it’s a show that carries many important life lessons.
Shot over a month in Taiwan, this 10-episode Netflix series is the Mandarin adaptation of the popular Japanese crime mystery novel of the same name.
Set in 1990s Taipei, the drama follows the journey of an intelligent prosecutor named Kuo Hsiao Chi as he tries to solve a string of grisly murders that have thrown the city into chaos.
As the killer takes advantage of the media’s interest over his murders – manipulating victims, police and turning the murders into a spectacle – Kuo is determined to uncover the identity of the killer, even if it means risking his life.
The show is led by award-winning actor Wu Kang Ren and also stars Alice Ko, Hsia Teng Hung and Tuo Tsung Hua.
In an exclusive virtual interview with StarLifestyle, Wu said that this drama contains valuable lessons that can be applied to maintain harmony in a family.
“As someone who grew up in a Chinese family, I think many seniors in our culture say things like, ‘This is for your own benefit’ whenever they give advice.
“But they don’t explain why they think it will benefit us. This is something that is shown in the drama.
“I think it serves as an important lesson for families to reflect and learn how to communicate better with each other so that conflict can be reduced in the household,” he said.
Echoing a similar sentiment is Hsia who plays as Hu Jian Ho, an introverted photojournalist who used to be severely bullied in school.
“In Asian culture, I think it’s quite rare for anyone to say simple things such as, ‘I love you’ or ‘thank you’ to another family member on a regular basis.
“If there’s anything I’ve learned after filming this, it would be to be brave to show your love to your family members without feeling embarrassed,” he said.
Family is a theme that’s highlighted in the earlier episodes of the series.
A supporting character in the drama is Lin Shang Yong (Tuo Tsung Hua), a seasoned Interpol police officer who leads an investigation team at the police precinct.
One thing that sets him apart from the other characters is the family aspect.
In the series, Shang Yong is a father who has a tense relationship with his teenage daughter, Lin Yu Tong (Ally Chiu), whom he wants nothing more than to keep safe and have a good relationship with.
However, Yu Tong is resistant and prefers hanging out with her friends at a club instead.
Inspector Lin Shang Yong (Tuo Tsung Hua) will do whatever it takes to protect his daughter from harm.
After playing Shang Yong in Copycat Killer, Tuo said that he felt a stronger sense of love and appreciation for his family.
“Working on this drama has given me the opportunity to rethink how I show gratitude towards my own family members, so it’s definitely a great experience,” he explained.
Aside from the importance of communication in the family, the series also sheds light on important social issues such as bullying, violence against women, mental health, and more.
To produce a crime and mystery thriller of such intricacy, the production team spent over three years on preparation, adaptation, filming and post-production.
“Copycat Killer depicts a story of how desires, when out of control, can cause evil to go viral in a city,” said producer Hank Tseng in the production notes.
“We hope that the convergence of good and evil in the series will be able to provide healing to our viewers in this world of madness, where a lot more can be done to help and support one another.”
Getting into character
As a series that touches on many significant social issues, Wu said that he felt obligated to give his character a realistic portrayal, especially since he’s the lead in Copycat Killer.
To understand his role as a prosecutor, the 40-year-old revealed that he spent two months consulting with real prosecutors.
“Before filming began, I had the opportunity to meet up with a few prosecutors.
“To be honest, I wasn’t curious about the big or bizarre cases these prosecutors were involved in.
“I was more invested in learning about the emotional aspect, like how they’re able to get used to working on a cruel and gory case while simultaneously maintaining empathy for the people involved,” he said.
Alice Ko and Wu Kang Ren star as a criminal psychologist and prosecutor respectively.
Wu added that since he was one of the first to join the cast, he had more time to liaise with the director, scriptwriters and prosecutors about how he can build his character.
Meanwhile, Ko – who stars as Hu Yun Huei, Jian Ho’s criminal psychologist sister – also said that she met up with a psychologist to prepare for her role.
“The psychologist I met up with is someone who specialises in criminal psychology.
“She regularly visits prisons and speaks to prisoners very often, so I learned quite a lot from her,” she said.
Ko added that apart from meeting with experts, she also did her own research about criminal psychology to buff up her knowledge on the subject.
“Before filming began, I also read lots of books and watched videos about criminal psychology.
“Some of the things I learned include how to observe people or criminals, and how to present myself as a psychologist.
“It took me a few weeks to prepare for everything,” she explained.
Copycat Killer is now streaming on Netflix.
