Local broadcaster Mediacorp will be shaking things up later this year with their first post-apocalyptic, dystopian-crime drama The Leftovers.
Zhang Zetong stars as one of the main characters in the blockbuster series, which spans three eras, and he spoke to AsiaOne in an interview about his experiences working on it.
The 33-year-old portrays Lin Zhekang, a young man living in the fictional land of Equaland which is plagued by severe environmental pollution due to a volcanic eruption. His mother Lin Aiqin (Jesseca Liu) consequently suffers from organ failure like many other citizens, and he resorts to fighting illegal boxing matches to fund her lung transplant.
When asked why he said yes to working on The Leftovers, Zetong candidly told us: “When I first read this script, one thing that blew my mind is that this isn’t what Mediacorp typically produces. We’re strong in family dramas and yes, there are family elements in this series, but the themes and background setups here feel like a very big show that I would love to experience.
“What really stood out to me when auditioning was later in the series when this whole ‘cultish’ thing begins to happen, because (Li) Nanxing’s character has become so successful and essentially, built a cult for himself.”
Nanxing, 61, plays antagonist Xiao Wenze, a disgraced doctor determined to advance his research on artificial human wombs and lab-grown organs. To recover his lost research, he seeks to locate his former research assistant Aiqin to regain possession of an essential research sample to rebuild his career.
Zetong elaborated: “In the third instalment of the series, there’s this whole cultish movement and it took me in and I was like, ‘Wow, I’d love to explore some cultish behaviour,’ because my character evolves into one of Wenze’s followers. When I saw that in the script, I knew I had to give it a try.”
He added that it would be his first time taking on such a role, and his interest was further piqued after chancing upon documentaries about cults and undercover investigations.
Playing Zhekang came with its own set of challenges, given that he is a character who lives in a fictitious society with vast differences from Singapore.
“This is Equaland we’re in and that whole vibe of a man living in a slum and trying to fight for survival is something new to me,” said Zetong.
Changing initial approach to the role
To better understand his role, he began preparations by watching an array of documentaries depicting children living in slums overseas.
He told us: “What’s interesting is that before coming across these documentaries, you’d think that if you were to live in a slum, things would be very depressing and people would be generally sad – but they actually aren’t, because they grew up in them.
“I’d say a lot of the kids are very witty and quite hopeful. They often play with what they can find, like water or leftover toys.”
[[nid:719852]]
While dystopian films were given by the director as references to paint a picture of the environment in The Leftovers, Zetong stated that he mostly tried to reference real-world material in his research. As such, he would also tune in to documentaries, depicting how people survived volcanic eruptions.
Overall, his learnings changed his initial approach to Zhekang’s character – he’d originally intended for him to be more straightforward in facing the hardships and scarcity living in the underbelly of Equaland.
Zetong shared: “It turned out that I should be doing the opposite. Oftentimes, people in these environments band together and form very small, close-knit communities which is showcased in our show.
“The story between Zhekang and his mum is a very heartwarming family story, and it’s a rare one to me, given that it’s under the shadows of this very dangerous place.”
[[nid:723949]]
‘Immersive’ underground city
In a desperate attempt to save his ailing mother, Zhekang becomes a boxer at an underground club run by local gang members who sell party favours, drugs and operate bets on the fighters.
To truly embody his character’s fighting spirit, Zetong was tasked to take lessons from SEA Games 2025 muay thai fighter Terrence Teo, who ends up as his on-screen opponent in the drama. He shared that he attended two technique-focused lessons, each spanning about three hours.
In the filming period from May to November 2025, the set locations had alternated between Singapore and Johor, Malaysia, where Zetong is from. However, he shared that he didn’t get the opportunity to return home during his breaks.
“Where my family stays, it’s about an hour’s drive away from set,” explained Zetong. “Most of the filming days start at 6am, so it wouldn’t make sense for me to come back to work an odd hour in the morning just because I wanted to spend time with family.
“But I did manage to meet up with just my parents for a meal, so that was nice.”
The set was in Iskandar, in the same studio where Zetong filmed Emerald Hill – The Little Nyonya Story back in 2024. He remarked his mind was “blown away” by the underground city built on set, with how endless it seemed.
The city contains landmarks like a small community with a playground, a noodle shop belonging to Zhekang’s parents, as well as a town hall. “It’s so immersive – think Universal Studios, but even more than that!” he exclaimed.
He shared that his favourite would be the town hall for its symbolism of the connection between the rich and poor in the series.
Zetong explained: “The rich stay on the land and they have to walk down many steps to get to this underground place. And here, there’s always heavy security ensuring that you’re not a bad person before entering the underground city
“Once you pass that, it’s the main town hall – that’s where all the stuff is. You have bankers there, as well as people selling oxygen, and others who sell everyday items. It’s very bustling, so I like that because in other [shows], the rich and poor are usually quite segregated but here, they’re quite connected.”
The Leftovers also stars Zoe Tay, Jeremy Chan, Desmond Tan, James Seah, Zhu Zeliang, Lim Pin Juen, Yunis Toh. It has three seasons, with the first set to premiere in October 2026 on Mediacorp and Mewatch.
Additional reporting by Esther Lam
[[nid:741043]]
No part of this article can be reproduced without permission from AsiaOne.
Read the full article here
