Holland V Sequel? It's A No For Xie Shaoguang... But Why?

It takes a special kind of actor to make time stand still.

Be it Du Han Ming from Stand By Me (1998), Bai Ze in The Crime Hunters (2004), Sai Wei in The Golden Pillow (1995), or Yang Xiong from Holland V (2003) — nearly every character Xie Shaoguang has played remains iconic even after more than 20 years.

But will we ever see the now 64-year-old revisit those all-time favourites?

Following his successful and highly acclaimed comeback in the Mediacorp drama The The Gift of Time, mediacorp.re.dian recently revisited one of Shaoguang’s most memorable works — Holland V.

Yes, the very drama that earned him his fourth Star Awards Best Actor trophy in 2003. (He has five in total — a record he held for 15 years until Chen Hanwei surpassed it in 2019.)

Fans were instantly swept up in nostalgia, flooding the comments with admiration for Shaoguang’s enduring talent.

Many hailed Holland V as “one of the best dramas" in Singapore’s TV history, while others confessed that they still rewatch the long-form series from time to time.

Of course, one recurring request stood out among fans — a sequel.

"Hoping for a Holland V sequel more than 20 years later. Actually, most of the cast are still around, having a long-running Holland V 2.0 wouldn’t be so bad," wrote one enthusiastic viewer.

​Unfortunately for fans, Shaoguang isn’t exactly on board with the idea.

“The dramas and characters we created back then are too iconic,” he explained in an interview with reporters. “They have their own life — they’re like an IP — and I don’t dare touch them.”

To him, Holland V’s magic was something that belonged to its time.

“It’s impossible to recreate the glory of that era,” he said. “Besides, how could I play Yang Xiong again? Age, era, everything is different now. I think it would be hard to surpass Holland V, so it’s better not to ruin the audience’s memories.”

And honestly? He’s right. Some things are perfect precisely because they can’t be repeated.