When a beloved story is adapted for a new audience, the challenge is not simply to reproduce what made the original successful. It is about finding a new identity for the story while preserving the themes that made it resonate in the first place.
That was the task facing the cast and creative team behind Fired Up!, HBO Max's new 12-episode Taiwanese coming-of-age drama adapted from Gwangjin's popular Kakao webtoon Itaewon Class.
Previously adapted into a hit 2020 South Korean television series, Fired Up! relocates the story to Taiwan while retaining its central themes of justice, ambition, friendship and revenge. The series is now streaming on HBO Max, with new episodes dropping every Friday.
At the centre is Chou Lu-yung, played by Mandopop star Eric Chou, a young chef determined to uncover the truth behind his father's tragic death while struggling to save his family's restaurant, Jin Lai Hao. Facing a powerful restaurant empire connected to his family's past, Lu-yung finds himself surrounded by an unlikely group of people who help him keep the restaurant alive.
For the cast, however, bringing the story to Taiwan meant more than simply changing the setting.
"We've made a lot of localisation to make it a Taiwanese version," Angela Yuen explained, describing her character, Chao Yi-hsuan, a highly intelligent and outspoken YouTuber. "For example, I speak Taiwanese Mandarin. I've never done that before because my mother tongue is Cantonese and that's also something very special."
Yuen embraced the opportunity to play a character unlike anyone she had portrayed before.
"She speaks before she thinks and she's so accurate. I love that energy. It's like diva energy," she said. "I get to command a lot, and I don't really internalise a lot of negative feelings inside myself."
For Eric Chou, the localisation could also be found in the smallest details. His character has a scar running down his forehead, something Chou himself has had since childhood. Because he had to shave his hair for the role, the scar became visible and was incorporated into Lu-yung's backstory.
"I'm glad this scar got to be used," Chou laughed.
The actors also brought their own interpretations to characters with complicated personal histories. Shao Yu-wei, who plays Wu Hsiu-wen, had already read Itaewon Class before receiving the script and was immediately drawn to the role. She described Hsiu-wen as brave, determined and unafraid of being misunderstood as she pursues her dreams.
One of the character's most memorable scenes involves something as simple as eating an onigiri. For Hsiu-wen, the food is connected to a childhood memory of hiding alone in a convenience store, giving an otherwise ordinary meal an emotional significance.
Cosmos Lin, meanwhile, found that her character, Ma Yu-li, differed considerably from her previous roles. "She has a really distinct story and I feel like her eye contact is a really crucial part of the series," she said.
Akira Huang approached Lin Chin-nan from a different direction. His character has a strong hip-hop influence, which Huang discussed with director Kao Pin-chuan during the character-design process. He even created a slogan for Chin-nan: "Make Jin Lai Proud Again."
For Sean Lin, Fired Up! represented the first time playing a villain. To create Chang Chien-yuan, he drew inspiration from people he remembered from high school who liked to pick on others.
"I just tried to annoy somebody," he said. "Basically, this is the first time I've tried being aggressive, cocky and acting in so many different ways."
Ben Wu, who plays Chang Chien-wu, was also familiar with the original story and was excited to join the adaptation. His character faces a particularly difficult conflict between family loyalty and doing what he believes is right. "I think that's the hardest part for me and my role," he said.
While the drama contains mystery, romance, revenge and business rivalry, the cast believes its Taiwanese identity will be one of its strongest attractions for international viewers.
"The team put in a lot of effort trying to make the food look very good," Chou said. "I think it's definitely the Taiwanese culture that stands out in this series."
The restaurant set itself became an important part of that atmosphere. Although the main shooting location was a set, Yu-wei said that walking into Jin Lai Hao made her feel as though she had entered an actual Taipei stir-fry restaurant, complete with a beer fridge and a distinctly Taiwanese atmosphere.
Food was also an important part of the cast's experience away from the cameras. Chou remembers three-cup chicken as a dish associated with warm memories of his fellow cast members, while Lin recalled that making the dish herself was a first. Huang immediately chose lu rou fan, or braised pork rice, while Wu recommended Taiwanese braised pork leg.
For Sean Lin, the memory was more nostalgic: pig blood cake with sweet chilli sauce, which he used to buy for NT$10 (10 baht) after school before going to cram school.
The actors also underwent serious culinary preparation. Chou described the training as "quite challenging", with the cast working in a real Chinese kitchen alongside Michelin-recommended chefs. They learned everything from cutting and slicing ingredients to cooking over high heat with large woks.
Not everyone had to work quite as hard in the kitchen. Yuen joked that because Yi-hsuan is a famous YouTuber who commands people and judges their food, she mostly got to use "my brain, my mouth" and eat.
Lin had another skill to master, undertaking training in cocktail-making for her role.
Despite the intensity of the shoot, the chemistry between the cast developed naturally. Before filming began, Chou hosted a hot-pot dinner so everyone could spend time together as friends. During the four-month shoot, he continued treating the cast to food, something Yuen jokingly blamed for their weight gain.
"It's part of Taiwanese culture," she said. "It's almost like everybody treats everybody to food and drinks."
That sense of camaraderie seems to have translated directly onto the screen. Huang described Yuen as outgoing and full of new ideas, while praising Chou for taking care of the cast during the cold winter and even giving them red packets during Lunar New Year.
When asked which character they would most like to spend time with, the answers revealed just how differently the actors see their roles. Yuen chose Lu-yung because beneath his quiet exterior he is reliable, strong, vulnerable and warm.
Chou chose Yi-hsuan because her energy provides something Lu-yung lacks. Yu-wei chose Ma Yu-li, while Huang simply chose Jin Lai Hao: "We are a team!"
Lin, meanwhile, chose Huang's character, hinting that their characters will develop a particular relationship over the course of the series.
Perhaps fittingly for a show so deeply connected to food, the cast also had very different ideas about the perfect dish. Chou chose three-cup chicken, while Wu recommended pig's trotter noodles. For Sean Lin, there is no single perfect food: if it satisfies him, it qualifies.
Yuen offered a more character-specific answer. For Yi-hsuan, perfection is not only about making a good dish. "You also have to use your brain to market the dish and sell it," she said.
