CHINESE Mango TV’s talent show “Call Me by Fire,” which brings together 32 male entertainers to vie for a spot in a 17-member performance group, premiered on its video-sharing platform Aug. 12.

The first episode has notched up more than 606 million views on the platform. The participants — including Paul Wong, 57, former member of the renowned Hong Kong rock band Beyond; Taiwanese pop singer Terry Lin, 55; Hong Kong actor Jordan Chan, 54; mainland kung fu star Zhao Wenzhuo, 49; and pianist Li Yundi, 39 — will live together and undergo intensive training over three months to prepare for seven concerts staged with different themes.

One of the contestants, the 47-year-old actor Zhang Jin, says that he learned martial arts from a very young age and began doing acting 21 years ago. However, as he always had a desire to perform singing and dancing onstage, the show has given him an opportunity to try something new.

Hong Kong singer and actor Julian Cheung, 50, has also joined “Call Me by Fire.” “I’m growing older year by year. My physical strength declines with age. I want to give the audience good performances in the show before my strength has waned,” he says.

Among the 32 entertainers, Chan, Michael Tse and Jerry Lam starred in the popular 1990s Hong Kong triad movie series “Young and Dangerous” and their first appearance in “Call Me by Fire” caused frenzy among fans since many are obsessed with the brotherhood that these actors share both on screen and in real life.

The “Young and Dangerous” film series directed by Andrew Lau from 1995 to 2000 is a collection of six films about a group of young triad members detailing their adventures, dangers and growth in a Hong Kong triad society. The series is based on popular comic book series “Teddy Boy.” Although the series was condemned by the press as glorifying triad societies, it was immensely popular in the 1990s and launched its main actors into superstardom.

“Call Me by Fire” is also called the male version of Mango TV’s another celebrity talent show “Sisters Who Make Waves,” which gathered 30 female celebrities aged over 30 to compete for a spot in a seven-member performance group.

“Sisters” was acclaimed as a great show with splendid performances, successfully capturing the turbulent emotional undercurrent of modern women’s stress, speaking for their anxiety and showing courage to resist societal bias over age and gender.(China Daily)