The Little Nyonya

The story spans over 70 years, from the 1930s till present day.

During a flashback to the past, Huang Ju Xiang is born into a large Peranakan family in Malacca where her mother is a mistress. Not only is Ju Xiang kind and beautiful, she is also remarkable at all skills a Nyonya is expected to have. However, Ju Xiang is a deaf-mute due to a serious illness when she was young. Although she is the daughter of the respectable Huang family, Ju Xiang and her mother Tian Lan are treated as servants due to their illegitimate status, having no say in anything.

During a feast hosted by the Huang family, Ju Xiang catches the eyes of many men - Chen Sheng, the second son of the respectable Chen family, Charlie Zhang, a powerful and cunning businessman, and Yamamoto Yousuke, a Japanese photographer. Seeing his family's matriarch is also fond of Ju Xiang, Chen Sheng proposes to ask for Ju Xiang's hand in marriage but is ultimately turned down because of her disability. Ju Xiang is then forced to be Charlie's mistress by the Huang family in return for business gains. She resists the marriage by running away from home but gets kidnapped by human traffickers. Yosuke rescues her but gets knocked out by Charlie's lackeys after. Ju Xiang finds herself in Charlie's hotel room about to be raped but Yosuke saves her once again. Both of them flee back to Yosuke's studio in Singapore and elope to escape Charlie's clutches.

After 2 years of blissful life, Ju Xiang is pregnant. Yosuke goes back to Japan to visit his ill father but does not return as promised. Ju Xiang painstakingly raises her daughter Yue Niang for 8 years with the support of Chen Sheng.

Just as World War II breaks out in Singapore, Yosuke returns. It is revealed that shortly after returning to Japan, he was forced into military by the Japanese for the past few years, and has only managed to return by deserting his post. However, the family reunion is shortlived as Ju Xiang and Yamamoto die during the war, leaving behind their daughter.

The orphaned Yue Niang eventually arrives at the Huang family's house on her own. Her grandmother Tian Lan and faithful servant Ah Tao rejoice at her return. Yue Niang learns to cook Peranakan dishes and sew, being as remarkable as Ju Xiang was.

Yue Niang grows up looking exactly like her beautiful mother. After the war, the Huang family members who sought refuge in England return home. Yue Niang ends up leading an abusive life just like her mother, but she puts up with the mistreatment to protect her grandmother.

Yue Niang catches the eye of Chen Xi, who is the nephew of Chen Sheng. Chen Xi pretends to be a chauffeur so that Yue Niang will befriend him. Yueniang's kindness, purity and persistence move Chen Xi and he falls in love with her. This incurs the wrath of the Huang family as they intend to marry off either of Yue Niang's cousins - Zhen Zhu, the mean elder sister and Yu Zhu, the kind younger sister.

Despite Chen Xi's determination, he is arranged to marry Yu Zhu after many sabotages and obstacles. At the same time, Yue Niang is forced to marry a lowly butcher turned gangster boss, Liu Yi Dao. Chen Sheng reminds Chen Xi to not give up on Yue Niang like he did with Ju Xiang, so Chen Xi works with Yu Zhu, who supports Chen Xi's and Yue Niang's relationship, to help them elope.

On the night when Yu Zhu helps Yue Niang escape, Yu Zhu is raped by Robert Zhang, son of Charlie, who had mistaken Yu Zhu for Yue Niang. Zhen Zhu takes Yu Zhu's place in marrying Chen Xi, who had no say in the marriage as he was gravely ill and in a coma after the unsuccessful elopement. In shock and guilt for Yu Zhu's plight, Yue Niang marries Yi Dao without resistance. Yu Zhu is then married off to Robert, who mistreats her and turns her insane.

After marrying Yi Dao, Yue Niang decides she will not accept the life made by others for her and tries to end her life. Her strong personality impresses Yi Dao and they become sworn siblings instead.

Yue Niang begins learning to trade and becomes a successful businesswoman. She makes peace with the Huang family by inviting them back to live in the ancestral house which she has bought from the bank. Chen Xi, still in love with Yue Niang, tries to ask for her hand in marriage again, but she turns him down to avoid a divorce scandal for the respectable Chen family.

Yueniang ends up marry a charming and righteous British lawyer, Paul. Zhen Zhu leaves her loveless marriage and Chen Xi starts a relationship with good friend Libby. Yue Niang adopts Yu Zhu's son and names him Zu Ye. Zu Ye has two sons and a daughter.

Back in the present time, the elderly Yue Niang's granddaughter, Angela, realises Yu Zhu is her biological grandmother and grieves for Yu Zhu's bitter life. Yue Niang finishes telling Angela their family history and tells Angela to never forget their family roots. Shortly after, Yue Niang passes away peacefully wearing a traditional white garment, signifying that she will be reunited with her husband in the afterlife.

Sites of the Pinang Peranakan Mansion were used in the drama

The Little Nyonya took a year of research and four months to film.[2] More than 150 staff members were involved in production of the series and the cast was required to travel frequently from Singapore to Penang, Malacca and Ipoh during filming. The Little Nyonya was notable for having the highest production budget in the history of MediaCorp due to the elaborate period costumes. A pair of beaded shoes traversed over a cost of SGD$1200, while a dining table acquired for the set cost $15000.

Rumours indicate that the role of Xiufeng was initially offered to May Phua, who turned the offer down due to her pregnancy at the time of filming, which resulted Pan Lingling taking over the role. Huang Biren was said to be a prime candidate for the role of Tian Lan, although the actress' decision not to renew her contract with MediaCorp ultimately resulted in Xiang Yun obtaining the part. It was also rumoured that Zoe Tay had expressed interest in portraying a role in the series, although there were no suitable roles for her. Elvin Ng was originally considered to be portraying Yamamoto Yousuke, but unfortunately, he was injured before filming began, which resulted Dai Xiangyu replacing him. Andrew Seow was first choice to play Robert Zhang but he declined due to him leaving MediaCorp and not renewing his contract, which resulted the role being replaced and portrayed by Zen Chong.

The series initially received a 30-episode order, although over-runs in filming led the series to be extended to 34 episodes instead. Possibly as a result, two episodes were aired on Mondays from 15 December 2008 till the conclusion of the series.

Promotion for The Little Nyonya lasted throughout the initial broadcast of the series as well after the series ended. Twelve members of the cast participated in "The Little Nyonya Public Event" 小娘惹户外影迷会 at Compass Point on 27 December 2008, which included an autograph session. An estimated 5000 people were present during the event. 100 posters were given out to members of the audience. The unprecedented number of appearances resulted in damage of the flooring at Compass Point. Certain tiles on the floor cracked under the pressure exerted by the crowd.[3][4]

Due to the overwhelming response of the initial public event, a "Thank You Roadshow" was held at Suntec City on 31 January, where fans were allowed to take photographs with the cast and then shake hands. It featured several cast members from the first event as well as Olivia Ong, who recorded the theme song of the series.

Minor roadshows were held at various locations between January and April 2009. On 17 January, Jeanette Aw and Xiang Yun promoted bird nest at Tiong Bahru Plaza, while Qi Yuwu and Joanne Peh appeared at Courts Megastore along Tampines Road. Qi and Peh later appeared in character as part of the official launch for Media Fiesta at Marina Square on 5 March. On 26 April, Aw and Pierre Png made an appearance at the first anniversary of the Singapore Peranakan Museum shortly before leaving to attend the Star Awards.

The Little Nyonya achieved extremely high ratings during its initial run, with an average of 993 000 viewers[6] per episode and peaking at 1.67 million viewers on the final episode.[5] In addition, the series achieved the highest viewership rating in Singapore in 14 years.

Viewership for The Little Nyonya steadily increased throughout its run. Its first episode garnered an estimated 1.098 million viewers, which equates to 20.3% of the country's population. On Episode 11, the show rating increased to 23.6%. The 15th and 16th episodes, both broadcast back-to-back, was watched by 24.1% of the country's population. The rating increased by 2.2% a week later, and further increased to 27.8% by the 27th and 28th episodes. The viewership peaked at 33.8% on the final two episodes, also broadcast back-to-back.

The Little Nyonya has been critically acclaimed. However, despite being lauded as a drama that provides an insight into the unique Peranakan culture, the show has received criticism in local media over portrayals and promotion. Issues that were raised early included the castings of Pan Lingling and Cynthia Koh to portray teenage girls albeit being already in their thirties. This issue was counter-argued by being tantamount to ageism, as well as the fact that it was raised only three episodes after the show began airing.[7] The character development of Xiufeng has come under fire due to the character's exhibitions of violence.

Criticism was also leveled at MediaCorp's bias towards Jeanette Aw. Many viewers saw The Little Nyonya as a television series conceived as a launching vehicle for Aw's career in television and to secure an award at the next Star Awards. Several viewers also believe that the producers intentionally wrote Aw's first role as a mute in attempt to conceal her imperfect delivery of Mandarin.[8] In response, producers have lauded Aw's work, saying that she performed in a professional manner. Despite this, Aw's portrayal of Juxiang and Yueniang has been praised by members of the audience.[9]

Mass publicity for The Little Nyonya began two months before the show premiered – it had also received criticism from the public. Within MediaCorp, there are also some misgivings in regards to the over-promotion this show has received. The cast of the long-running drama Love Blossoms have privately lamented that the show, which used to receive tremendous amounts of advertising support from MediaCorp, is being neglected in favour of The Little Nyonya.[10]

As many of the Peranakan characters in the series (such as most of the Huang family, as well as Charlie Zhang and son Robert) are antagonists (Jincheng, Xiufeng and Huangyuan are part-time antagonists), many viewers think that the series will negatively stereotype Peranakans as being ruthless. In response, the show's writer, Ang Eng Tee, said that ruthlessness and petty politicking, which are basic human interactions, appears within any culture, and is not an exclusive trait of the Peranakans.[9]

Due to the usage of dramatic license, the series also contains a significant number of historical inaccuracies, particularly in the first few episodes involving Juxiang's life and Yueniang's childhood. Notable examples include the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1932 (as opposed to 1937) and the first air raid on Singapore (8 December 1941) occurring in broad daylight (which took place at night in reality).

This drama was seen as an extremely strong contender in the Star Awards 2009, held on 26 April 2009, minting a new record of having 16 nominations in the acting category, surpassing former record holder's Holland V (which got nine) until it was topped by the first season of The Dream Makers in 2014, which have 21. The series became the biggest winner for the ceremony, taking home nine awards including the Drama Serial and the Top Viewership Drama Serial of 2008 (tying with the first season of The Dream Makers later in 2014); it was at the time the series won the most awards in a Star Awards ceremony until in the 2016 ceremony, the record was superseded by the second season of The Dream Makers, which received 26 nominations, and won 12.

The spin-off series, The Little Nyonya Reunion Special, and the promotional ad for the encore telecast for the series, were respectively nominated for Star Awards 2010 and Star Awards 2011, with the latter clinching the award.

In total, the entire Little Nyonya franchise won a combined 11 awards from four award ceremonies.

The Little Nyonya has had notable cultural impact in Singaporean media. It was notably parodied in the variety show, Black Rose. In the episode when the encore started its debut, Chen Hanwei played Liu Yidao (留一刀) and Dennis Chew portrayed Yamamoto Yue Niang (山本月娘). It was also used in the skit segment of Star Search 2010 Grand Finals in which contestants played Liu Yidao, Yuzhu, Ah Tao and Robert Zhang.

In an interview with Lianhe Wanbao, the series' scriptwriter, Ang Eng Tee, said that if the demand exists, he will write a special presentation, or even a sequel to the series. Ideas for a possible sequel or special presentation have already been drafted by Ang, one of which would have Angela receiving a secret wooden box from Ah Tao, before Angela returns to Singapore. The box was owned by Yueniang, and Ah Tao defied her orders to burn the contents before Yueniang died. The box contained details on Yueniang and Chen Xi's relationship, in addition to a letter from Libby, telling Yueniang that Chen Xi and Libby did not get married after all.[13] However, it was noted that production sequels have been much frowned upon by producers, and owing to the high production costs, a sequel seems to be very unlikely, but another drama in 2010 Unriddle is having a sequel to the original in 2012.

The drama serial was broadcast overseas, mostly in the Asian region.

Country of Broadcast	Broadcasting Network	Release Date
Malaysia	Astro Shuang Xing, Astro AEC	2 February 2009[24]
Malaysia	NTV7	26 October 2009
Cambodia	PPCTV Drama 9	29 March 2009
France	MIPTV	31 March 2009
Philippines	Associated Broadcasting Company(TV5)	24 August 2009
Myanmar	MRTV	5 September 2009
United States	Tai Seng Entertainment Channel (broadcast on DirecTV)	1 December 2009
Vietnam	Vietnam Television	12 August 2010
China (Shanghai)	TBA	2009
China (run across China via satellite)	TBA	16 January 2010 [25]
Thailand	Thai Public Broadcasting Service	20 January 2010
Hong Kong	TVB PayVision	26 April 2010
Malaysia	Astro AEC	16 December 2019

In Indonesia, aired on B Channel starts July 2011. The series was originally scheduled to air in Malaysia in mid-January, but was later delayed to February. The series was also aired by TV stations in Cambodia, Vietnam, and Mainland China.[26]

On 1 December 2009, Tai Seng Entertainment Channel, an ethnic Chinese entertainment channel on DirecTV, became the first non-Asian station to air The Little Nyonya. It is also the first station to air the series with Cantonese dubbing.

Hong Kong broadcaster TVB purchased the rights to telecast the series in April 2009,[27] and aired the series a year later, in late April 2010. Like the US, the series has also been Cantonese-dubbed.

The series was promoted at the MIPTV Television Trade Show in Cannes, France, near the end of March 2009. Qi Yuwu and Jeannette Aw were also in Cannes to promote the series at MIPTV.[28]

• List of MediaCorp Channel 8 Chinese Drama Series (2000s)
• List of The Little Nyonya episodes

• Official website
• The Little Nyonya on IMDb