Netflix Comedy Series ‘Mom, Don’t Do That!’ Wins Taipei Festival Award Ahead of Worldwide Debut
Netflix’s latest Chinese-language family comedy series Mom, Don’t Do That! received a burst of buzz ahead of its global release Friday, winning the Taipei Film Festival’s audience award July 9.
The first two episodes of Mom, Don’t Do That! were screened in a special preview at the Taipei Film Festival on July 1. The series went on to beat 145 films and television shows from around the world to take home the event’s audience award.
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“We are so excited about the prize,” series director Chen Wei-ling says. “We’ve been paying a lot of attention to getting the comedy right, and it’s an honor to receive the audience award as a TV series in a film festival. Throughout the two hours, I constantly observed viewers around me. Fortunately, they burst into laughter from the very beginning all the way to the end. It was such a relief.”
The crowd-pleasing series stars Taiwanese actress and pop star Billie Wang as a new widow looking for a second chance at love during her golden years with the help of dating apps, with award-winning actress Alyssa Chia (The World Between Us) and Alice Ko (Monga) playing her lovelorn and lovestruck daughters, respectively. Each member of the family deals with grief in their own way, but the daughters are united in their disapproval of their mom’s online dating adventures.
“We hope this show can give courage to everyone out there who is trying to find true love no matter where they are or how old they are,” said Jerry Zhang, manager of content at Netflix. “From Light the Night to Mom, Don’t Do That!, we are blessed to be able to partner with top creative talent in Taiwan, where global streamers are welcomed and encouraged to showcase great local stories to global audiences.”
Budgeted at TWD100 million ($3.35 million), Mom, Don’t Do That! was adapted from a Taiwanese bestselling novel and produced by Butt Mountain Co. and CJ E&M HK under South Korea’s CJ E&M. Lead Alyssa Chia also served as an executive producer.
“The TV and film industry in Taiwan is still developing,” said executive producer Sarso Chou. “By working with Netflix, we have been able to learn the way a global platform approaches content, planning and marketing. That has been invaluable.”
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