Three Wishes (Singaporean TV series)

Three Wishes 三个愿望
Genre	Drama Family Fantasy Mystery
Written by	Molby Low 刘健财 Ho Hee Ann 何启安 Wong Lee Lyn 黄丽琳 Han Yew Kwang 韩耀光
Directed by	Chen Yi You 陈忆幼 何恕 Canter Chia 谢光华
Starring	Thomas Ong Huang Biren Zhu Houren Jin Yinji Julie Tan Shane Pow
Opening theme	稳稳的幸福 by Eason Chan
Ending theme	1) 我看见的世界 by Where Chou 2) 因爱 by Estella Seah & Julie Tan
Country of origin	Singapore
Original language(s)	Mandarin, with English subtitles
No. of episodes	20 (list of episodes)
Production
Producer(s)	Molby Low 刘健财
Running time	approx. 45 minutes
Production company(s)	Wawa Pictures
Release
Original network	Mediacorp Channel 8
Picture format	16:9 Widescreen
Original release	27 October – 21 November 2014
Chronology
Preceded by	Against The Tide
Followed by	The Journey: Tumultuous Times
Related shows	Three Little Wishes Fire Up
External links
Website

Three Wishes (Chinese: 三个愿望) is a Singaporean family mystery drama produced by production company Wawa Pictures and telecast on MediaCorp Channel 8. The show aired at 9 pm on weekdays and had a repeat telecast at 8 am the following day. The drama began production in June 2014 and made its debut on 27 October that year. This serial marked the return of acclaimed veteran actress Huang Biren, who was last seen in Mars vs Venus in 2007, ^[1] the fifth Wawa production featuring Thomas Ong, and Apple Hong's 2014 drama series after Joys of Life in 2012. It is also the fourth Wawa production to be aired on Channel 8 after Disclosed , and the 11th Wawa production overall.

Audience reception to the drama has been largely favourable, with the viewership breaking the 1 million mark on its debut episode, a phenomenon rarely seen in local dramas, ^[2] and was the fourth series at 9 pm after Soup of Life , C.L.I.F. 3 and Blessings to break the 1 million mark.

The show topped the viewership charts of MediaCorp Channel 8 dramas for that year, ^{[3] [4]} with an average viewership of 1.04 million viewers each night, with the finale episode drawing more than 1.1 million viewers. ^[5] It is also the most watched Channel 8-Wawa production to date.

Plot

Zhao Yaozong (Thomas Ong), is a middle-aged man who works as an assistant horse trainer. He loved horses since he was a kid and trained hard through the years to realise his dream of becoming a champion horse trainer. His mentor was retiring and he thought that his chance had finally come only to see the place snatched away by a foreign horse trainer, Enlai. Enlai became his superior and proposed many changes. Yaozong was afraid of inviting trouble and slogged his guts out but still didn't meet the expectations of his boss.

Yaozong has three children. The eldest son, Zhao Youting (Shane Pow), is working as a gym instructor after his graduation. His daughter, Zhao Xiaomin (Julie Tan), who is still schooling, dreams of becoming a singer one day. His youngest son, Zhao Chenglong (Tan Junsheng), is facing the stress of PSLE. Yaozong is being bullied at work but puts up a front in front of his family to maintain his integrity of being a father figure. Deep inside, he feels terrible but he puts on a brave smile everyday just so he doesn't lose the respect of his family.

Yaozong meets a mysterious old woman who sells tissue paper. She wants to give him 3 wishes for him to fulfil what his heart desires. He does not believe her. Nevertheless, she leaves him with 3 coins for his wishes.

Enlai wants to force Yaozong to resign. He speaks behind his back and makes things difficult for him. Yaozong does not want to lose this job and be separated from his precious horses. He thought of the old woman and the 3 wishes. Although still sceptical, he decided to make a wish.

A miracle happens. Yaozong manages to complete an almost impossible task and is praised by the horse owner. He starts to grow in confidence. Xiaomin meets with an accident while chasing her idol and is trapped in the car. Her family realises she is missing and searches for her frantically. Yaozong decides to use his second wish and they rescue Xiaomin to safety.

Yaozong thinks that life has changed for the better, until he finds out that his wife, Zeng Shanmei (Huang Biren), has contracted a terminal illness. He tells her not to worry as he will use his last wish on her. He tells her all about the 3 wishes and the mysterious old woman. To his surprise, Shanmei tells him that she had arranged all these to give him confidence. She bribed the old woman to lie to Yaozong. She knew she had this illness all along but did not want him to worry. She thought of this plan, hoping that Yaozong and the family can continue living comfortably after she passes on.

Yaozong is devastated to learn that his 3 wishes were fake. Nevertheless, he uses the third wish coin to wish that Shanmei will be cured. Miraculously, his wish came true. After Shanmei recovers, she wants him to believe that the miracles were not caused by pure luck so she arranges for him and the old woman to meet. When they eventually meet, Yaozong exclaims that the wishes were true! The old woman that Shanmei arranged to meet was not the one that Yaozong met in the park that night.

When the mysterious old woman appears in front of Yaozong again, he gets greedy and request for 3 more wishes. She tells him that the previous 3 were given without asking for anything in return. However, if he were to ask for more wishes, the next 3 wishes will be granted in exchange for something else. The greater his wish, the greater the price he will have to pay. Nonetheless, he insists on getting the 3 wishes.

What price is Yaozong's family willing to pay for the wishes? Will Yaozong's family succeed in breaking this curse or be stuck in this never-ending chain reaction of unfortunate events?

Cast

Main cast

Cast	Role	Description	Episodes Appeared
Thomas Ong 王沺裁	Zhao Yaozong 赵耀宗	Zeng Shanmei's husband Zhao Haiguang and Yang Bamei's eldest son Zhao Youting, Zhao Xiaomin and Zhao Chenglong's father Zhao Yaozu's elder brother Winnie Guo and Volunteer Lin's father-in-law Anna's brother-in-law Ex-assistant horse trainer Received three wishing coins from Granny, three more after he used up the first three. Used the first wishing coin to get his job at the stable back. Used the second wishing coin to save Zhao Xiaomin from being trapped in her idol's car boot. Used the third wishing coin to save Zeng Shanmei from a terminal disease. Used the fourth wishing coin to ensure a windfall. Zhao Xiaomin lost her two legs in return for his wish. Used the fifth wishing coin to save Zhao Haiguang when he was pronounced brain-dead. Yaozong got amnesia as a result of his wish and his memory was limited to that of below 10 years old. Did not use the last coin. He would die if it was used. Younger version played by Ivan Lo	1–20
Huang Biren 黄碧仁	Zeng Shanmei 曾善美	Zhao Yaozong's wife Zhao Youting, Zhao Xiaomin and Zhao Chenglong's mother Zhao Haiguang and Yang Bamei's daughter-in-law Winnie Guo and Volunteer Lin's mother-in-law Zhao Yaozu and Anna's sister-in-law Huijing's friend	1–20
Zhu Houren 朱厚任	Zhao Haiguang 赵海光	Yang Bamei's husband Zhao Yaozong and Zhao Yaozu's father Zeng Shanmei and Anna's father-in-law Zhao Youting, Zhao Xiaomin and Zhao Chenglong's grandfather Cai Hua's friend	1–20
Jin Yinji 金银姬	Yang Bamei 杨八妹	Zhao Haiguang's wife Zhao Yaozong and Zhao Yaozu's mother Zeng Shanmei and Anna's mother-in-law Zhao Youting, Zhao Xiaomin and Zhao Chenglong's grandmother	1–20
Julie Tan 陈欣淇	Zhao Xiaomin 赵晓敏	Zhao Yaozong and Zeng Shanmei's daughter Zhao Haiguang and Yang Bamei's granddaughter Zhao Youting's younger sister Zhao Chenglong's elder sister Zhao Yaozu's niece Volunteer Lin's fiancee Winnie Guo's sister-in-law Junhao's ex-girlfriend	1–20
Shane Pow 包勋评	Zhao Youting 赵佑庭	Winnie Guo's husband Zhao Yaozong and Zeng Shanmei's eldest son Zhao Haiguang and Yang Bamei's grandson Zhao Xiaomin and Zhao Chenglong's elder brother Zhao Yaozu's nephew Volunteer Lin's brother-in-law	1 – 16, 20
Tan Junsheng 陈俊生	Zhao Chenglong 赵成龙	Zhao Yaozong and Zeng Shanmei's youngest son Zhao Haiguang and Yang Bamei's grandson Zhao Youting and Zhao Xiaomin younger brother	1–20

Supporting cast

Cast	Role	Description	Episodes Appeared
Yao Wenlong 姚彣隆	Zhao Yaozu 赵耀祖	Supporting Villain Anna's husband Zhao Haiguang and Yang Bamei's youngest son Zhao Yaozong's younger brother Zhao Youting, Zhao Xiaomin and Zhao Chenglong's paternal uncle Zeng Shanmei's brother-in-law Younger version played by Li Hong
Apple Hong 洪乙心	Anna 安娜	Main Villain Zhao Yaozu's wife Zhao Haiguang and Yang Bamei's daughter-in-law Zhao Yaozong's sister-in-law Zhao Youting, Zhao Xiaomin and Zhao Chenglong's aunt Tried many ways to get the wishing coin from Yaozong and Shanmei
Hayley Woo 胡佳嬑	Winnie Guo	Guo Shiming's daughter Zhao Youting's wife
Jiahao 家豪	Dai Enlai 戴恩来	Horse Trainer Dislikes Zhao Yaozhong
Jeffrey Xu 徐鸣杰	Volunteer Lin 林义工	Zhao Xiaomin's fiance Likes Zhao Xiaomin
Darren Lim 林明伦	Huijing 辉京	Zeng Shanmei's friend
Lawrence Wong	Junhao 君豪	Zhao Xiaomin's ex-boyfriend Deceived Xiaomin
Wang Yuqing 王昱清	Guo Shiming	Winnie Guo's Father Zhao Youting's father-in-law Zhao Yaozong's ex-employer
Li Dan	Caihua 蔡花	Came from China Salesgirl Ex-beer seller Ex-Prostitute Zhao Haiguang's friend
Zhu Xiufeng	Granny 纸巾婆婆	Main Villain Gave Zhao Yaozong and the episode 20 guest wishing coins (She gave six wishing coins to Zhao Yaozhong (three each time) and three wishing coins to the guest)
Jesseca Liu 刘子绚	Guest appearance 特别嘉宾	It appears that she is the next victim of the Granny as she was given three wishing coins by the Granny, leaving the show in a cliffhanger	20

Trivia

• Huang Biren's 2014 drama after Mars vs Venus .
• Apple Hong's 2014 drama after Joys of Life .
• Huang Biren and Thomas Ong appears in the same drama again after 1999 drama Are You My Brother?
• Yao Wenlong's second villainous role, after 1996 drama Dr Justice 2 .
• It is the first Channel 8 drama to spin off a children's series as a continuation. Titled Three Little Wishes, the 13-episode drama debuted on 25 December 2016.

Star Awards 2015

Three Wishes won 1 out of 5 awards in Star Awards 2015, the Top Rated Drama Series for 2014. The Star Awards are presented by Mediacorp.

Star Awards – Acting Awards
Nominees	Accolades	Category	Result
Tan Jun Sheng 陈俊生	Star Awards 2015 Show 1 红星大奖2015 – 第一场	Young Talent Award 青苹果奖	Nominated
N/A		Top Rated Drama Serial 最高收视率电视剧	Won
Thomas Ong 王沺裁	Star Awards 2015 Show 2 红星大奖2015 – 第二场	Best Actor 最佳男主角	Nominated
Julie Tan 陈欣淇		Best Supporting Actress 最佳女配角	Nominated
N/A		Best Drama Serial 最佳电视剧	Nominated
Julie Tan 陈欣淇		BottomSlim Sexiest Legs Award 最佳美腿奖	Won

See also

• List of Three Wishes episodes
• List of MediaCorp Channel 8 Chinese drama series (2010s)

References

1. "Huang Biren to return in new drama "3 Wishes"" . Retrieved 25 April 2019.
2. "'Three Wishes' attracted a viewership of over 1,000,000". 28 October 2014.^{[ non-primary source needed ]}
3. "黃碧仁王沺裁 最有夫妻Feel" (in Chinese). China Press Malaysia. 9 November 2014. Archived from the original on 14 November 2014.
4. "Three Wishes: Not just an ordinary family drama". xinmsn Entertainment. 19 November 2014. Archived from the original on 22 November 2014.
5. "Three Wishes finale draws more than 1.1 million viewers". Channel NewsAsia. 24 November 2014.