Dubbed ‘Kopitiam: Double Shot’
Kopitiam was a legendary sitcom series that ran before the turn of the millennium and into the early 2000s. More than that however, it painted a familiar scene, a short escape into a world that transcends racial politics, and anything else that’s bad about Malaysian reality, in order to provide feel good entertainment on NTV7.
Now though, Viu has decided to reboot the series, not exactly continuing where it left off, but a bit further down the timeline. Titled ‘Kopitiam: Double Shot,’ the series brings the audience back to the familiar kopitiam, once owned by Marie (played by Joanna Bessey) is now in the hands of a prematurely jaded Steven (Douglas Lim).
Just as he plans to let go of the unloved business, the kopitiam is saved by a couple of regulars, a retrenched dreamer named Alia (Sharifah Amani), and her spacey but well-intentioned bestie, Seleb (Melissa Campbell). Together with the cute but awkward chef (Harvinth Skin), a know-it-all helper who just doesn’t want to be fired (Charles Roberts), and the world’s most improbable Hollywood star (Joe as reprised by Rashid Salleh), the team embark on an adventure to bring the long forgotten Kopitiam to the 21st century.
Kingsley Warner, General Manager of Vuclip Malaysia had this to say, “We are extremely pleased and humbled to see our Malaysian audiences enthusiasm and adoption of our Viu Originals aired thus far. This inspires us in our journey to continue to strive harder and harder to bring exciting local stories that our audience can relate to and enjoy. Kopitiam was loved by many Malaysians and we realized the opportunity to present it to the newer generation who were not as aware of the iconic series. In a digitally native format and situations that resonate with them, we have decided to continue the show’s legacy!”
Original cast members Lina Teoh, Joanna Bessey, Mano Maniam, and Tan Jin Chor will also make cameo appearances in the upcoming reboot, sure to tug at the strings of nostalgia for the ones who watched the original series.
The reboot sure has plenty to live up to, but with a few veterans on the show, as well as a bunch of talented newcomers, we’re excited to see what’s brewing behind closed doors. ‘Kopitiam: Double Shot’ premiers exclusively on Viu on the 28th of November, 2019, featuring 2 back-to-back episodes every Thursday on the app.
