Turner invests in Tencent drama starring Tuzki
April 25, 2019
Tuzki, the WeChat emoticon, has scored a starring role in Tencent Pictures’ upcoming Chinese drama, Second Time is a Charm.
The famous rabbit IP is owned by Turner Asia Pacific, a WarnerMedia company, and has established itself as an instantly-recognisable figure in China both on- and off-screen. Its use has been licensed to Tencent for the series and, as part of the agreement, Turner has also made a financial investment in the production.
Tuzki will feature heavily in the show as well as in animated shorts at the end of each episode as part of a special story recap. Momo Wang, the creator of the rabbit IP, is creatively involved in the project to design new characters and adaptations of the show’s characters in Tuzki’s unique style. Momo’s career has also been used as inspiration for An’an, the leading character (played by Olivia Wang) in Second Time is a Charm.
Lisa Li, Turner China Country Head, said: “This is the next evolution of the Tuzki brand together with Tencent. We’ve worked together already on an animated series and on the upcoming theatrical movie, and of course on the WeChat messaging platform. But this will be the first drama series that features Tuzki, and it’s going to appeal to an audience that has grown up using the character to communicate with their friends and who know him as a fashion icon.”
Second Time is a Charm will premiere in 2019 and is expected to have approximately 50 episodes. Tuzki has been used as an emoji in excess of a billion times on popular messaging platforms such as WeChat.